This project and its resultant report examines the Early Jurassic Redcar Mudstone Formation in the Cleveland Basin, NE England, to evaluate the controls on fracture networks and how faults influence mudstone seal performance. The succession provides a direct stratigraphic analogue for fine-grained sealing units associated with geological carbon storage targets across the wider North Sea region.

A combination of field-based structural data, SEM-EDS and MICP analyses, reveals that the sealing capacity of mudstones within fault damage zones is significantly reduced. Furthermore, scaling factors for fault damage zone width (W) relative to fault displacement (D) are much higher than reported in the literature, with W>>D for small displacement faults.

The Redcar Mudstone Formation also contains a pervasive joint network that exhibits a close geometric relationship with the axis of a regional fold, suggesting formation during a phase of basin inversion. The joints curve perpendicular and parallel in proximity to fault planes, suggesting the presence of pre-existing faults perturbed the stress field.

These results emphasise that sub-seismic faults may have a larger impact on seal performance than is generally appreciated and highlight the value of incorporating detailed analogue studies in risking profiles.

Completed: December 2025

Report details: Mechanical stratigraphy and fault damage zones impacts on a Lower Jurassic mudrock seal analogue, Cleveland Basin, UK

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