The Permian Upper Rotliegend Group in the UKCS Quads 48-49 was deposited in a mixed aeolian–fluvial–playa– lacustrine environment which displays different orders of internal cyclicity.

A low-frequency backstepping–forestepping depositional sequence, which encompasses the whole Rotliegend succession in the study area, was probably influenced by a long-term tectonic control. This depositional sequence can be subdivided into five cycle sets, 30–70 m thick, designated Unit U1 to Unit U5. These units are defined by the recognition of marked shifts in the evolution of depositional systems. The cycle sets are in turn subdivided into 16 elementary cycles (15–20 m thick), bounded by...