ABSTRACT
The Petroleum Department of the Board of Trade also appears to have been enthusiastic, under the leadership of Sir Boverton Redwood; the published statements of Cunnigham-Craig, J.A.L. Henderson and H.P.W. Giffard indicate their prior optimism, although Henderson (in Wade, 1928) tempered his optimism after the fact, giving a detailed account of the operational difficulties in the United Kingdom (UK) onshore area which would draw much sympathy from those currently involved in such operations. No commercial hydrocarbons were found, and by the end of this cycle period B.P. had come to realise the problems of the petroleum geology of Southern England, the complexities of the timing of structural development and the paucity of Jurassic reservoirs. The Suez Crisis which cut off oil supplies from the Middle East fields via the Suez Canal, as well as bringing petrol rationing to this country, also brought a boom in UK onshore exploration.
