CURRICULUM VITAE
NIGEL R. AINSWORTH
Consultant Stratigrapher: Riley Geoscience Ltd.
Home / Office:
39 De Tany Court
St. Albans
Hertfordshire AL1 1TU
UK
Phone / Fax: (44) - 01727 - 845720
Email: nigelainsworth@btinternet.com
DATE OF BIRTH: 7th September 1958
NATIONALITY: British, UK resident
EDUCATION:
1977-1980
University of Aston in Birmingham:
B.Sc. Combined Honours in Geology & Transport Planning and Operation.
Lower Second Class.
1980-1981
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth:
M.Sc. Micropalaeontology. Thesis title ‘The Biostratigraphy and
Palaeoecology of the Miocene and Pliocene Ostracoda of the Northern Indian
Ocean’.
1985-1988
Trinity College, Dublin:
Ph.D. Geology. Thesis title ‘Upper Triassic, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous
Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest Ireland’.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
1982-1990
Research Fellow in the Applied Geology Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.
Employed as a micropalaeontologist / stratigrapher.
1990-1992
Paleo Services, Stratigrapher / Micropalaeontologist.
1992-1993
Paleo Services, Chief Micropalaeontologist (UKCS).
1993-1994
Paleo Services, Senior Micropalaeontologist
1994-1995
Consultant Micropalaeontologist / Stratigrapher
1995-2005
Consultant Micropalaeontologist / Stratigrapher: Riley Geoscience Ltd &
Director of BVR International Ltd
2005
Consultant Micropalaeontologist / Stratigrapher: Riley Geoscience Ltd
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WORK EXPERIENCE:
Mesozoic micropalaeontology (ostracods, foraminiferids, radiolaria) and lithostratigraphy, with
emphasis on the Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Regional stratigraphic/geological synthesis of the Inner
Moray Firth, Outer Moray Firth, North Viking Graben, South Viking Graben, Central Graben, East
Shetland Basin, Southern Gas Basin, Norway, Danish Central Graben, Dutch Offshore, onshore Wessex
Basin and English Channel, Inner Hebrides Basins, Kish Bank Basin, North and South Celtic Sea,
Fastnet Basin, Goban Spur, Cardigan Bay, Bristol Channel Basin, Porcupine Basin, Slyne Trough, Erris
Trough, Donegal Basin, Western Approaches, Jeanne D’Arc Basin, South Whale Basin, Flemish Pass,
Orphan Knoll Basin and Yemen.
Regional stratigraphic synthesis, inter- and intra-field correlations relating to exploration, appraisal and
development programmes; integrated with microfossil, wireline logs, sedimentology and reservoir data
(Ben Nevis, North Ben Nevis, Hebron, Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose, Brae, Brodgar, Brent,
Buzzard, Emerald, Finnlagen, Glenn, Highlander, Lowlander, Piper, Iona, Saltire, Chanter, Scott,
Ettrick, Buchan, Britannia, Scapa, Fulmar, Statfjord, Ballycotton, Connemara, Seven Heads and Kinsale
Head Fields).
Compilation of Jurassic biostratigraphic package upon the North Celtic Sea.
Use of calcareous microfossils (foraminiferids and ostracods) as thermal maturation indices, offshore
Ireland, UK and West Africa.
Additional experience includes Mesozoic micropalaeontology of south-east France, Portugal, offshore
South Africa, Georgia and India.
Well-site Jurassic-Cretaceous micropalaeontology in the UK and Dutch North Sea, North Celtic Sea,
Porcupine Basin, onshore Portugal, Eastern Canada-Orphan Knoll Basin.
Forward base micropalaeontology in Cork, Ireland for the North Celtic Sea and Porcupine Basins, and
also in St. John’s, Newfoundland for the Jeanne d’Arc and Orphan Knoll Basins.
Development with other Paleo Services personnel of a non-exclusive report on the Exploration Geology
of the English Channel.
COURSES ATTENDED:
1986
Basic Open Hole Log Interpretation Course, Schlumberger
1989
Acquisition and evaluation of modern open hole log data (J.A.P.E.C.)
1990
Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of the North Sea (J.A.P.E.C.)
1991
1 week - Combined Offshore Survival and Firefighting Course, Southampton Institute of
Maritime Studies
1993
4 days - Applications to Field Development and Exploration for Deep-Water Sandstones,
Arkansas. Examination of the Pennsylvanian Jackfork. Led by D. Lowe for the Brittania
Group
2003
Transocean Onshore Induction and Permit to Work Training
2006
1 day H2S Course, Petrel Technologies Ltd., St. John’s, Canada
2006
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System Course, Petrel Technologies Ltd., St.
John’s, Canada
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2006
3 day – European Further Training Course (UK FOET OPITO Approved, HUET and EBS
Approved by OPITO and NOGEPA, OLF Approved Further Training), Petans, Norwich
2007
Full Oil and Gas UK Medical Certificate
2007
Cresent Certificate of Training Britannia PTW Level 2
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
British Micropalaeontological Society, Chairman of Ostracod Group (1991 -1994)
Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain
European Association of Petroleum Geoscientists
Fellow of the Geological Society of London
Member of the Geologists’ Association
PUBLICATIONS:
Ainsworth, N. R. 1985. Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin,
offshore southwest Ireland. Irish Journal of Earth Sciences., 7, pp. 15-33.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1986a. Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin,
offshore southwest Ireland. Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, 7, pp. 145-168.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1986b. Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin,
offshore southwest Ireland. Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, 8, pp. 53-72.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1986c. Toarcian and Aalenian Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest
Ireland. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Ireland, 3, pp. 277-336.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1987a. Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin,
offshore southwest Ireland. Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, 8, pp. 139-154.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1987b. Pliensbachian Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest Ireland.
Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Ireland, 4, pp. 41-62.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1989a. Remarks on the nomenclature of two ostracod species from the Pliensbachian
and Upper Toarcian-Aalenian of the Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest Ireland. Bulletin of the
Geological Survey of Ireland, 4, pp. 41-62.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1989b. Rhaetian, Hettangian and Sinemurian Ostracoda from the Fastnet Basin,
offshore southwest Ireland. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Ireland, 4, pp. 107-150.
Ainsworth, N. R. 1990. Uppermost Triassic to Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) Ostracoda from the
Porcupine Basin, Slyne Trough, Erris Trough and Donegal Basin, offshore west Ireland. Bulletin of the
Geological Survey of Ireland, 4, pp. 169-200.
Ainsworth N. R. and Boomer, I. In press. The Triassic. In: Athersuch, J. Keen, M. C. and Wilkinson, I.
(Editors). A stratigraphical index of Ostracods.
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Ainsworth N. R. and Boomer, I. 2001. Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic stratigraphy from
exploration well L134/5-1, offshore Inner Hebrides, west Scotland. Journal of micropalaeontology,
20, pp. 155-168.
Ainsworth, N. R. and Horton, N. F. 1986. Mesozoic micropalaeontology of exploration well Elf 55/301 from the Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest Ireland. Journal of micropalaeontology, 5, pp. 19-29.
Ainsworth, N. R. Horton, N. F. and Penney, R. A. 1985. Lower Cretaceous micropalaeontology of the
Fastnet Basin, offshore southwest Ireland. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2, pp. 341-349.
Ainsworth, N. R., O'Neill, M., Rutherford, M. M., Clayton, G., Horton, N. F. and Penney, R. A. 1987.
Biostratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous, Jurassic and uppermost Triassic of the North Celtic Sea and
Fastnet Basins. In: Brooks, J. and Glennie, K. (Editors). Petroleum Geology of North West Europe.
Graham and Trotman, pp. 11-22.
Ainsworth, N. R., O'Neill, M. and Rutherford, M. M. 1989. Jurassic and Upper Triassic biostratigraphy
of the North Celtic Sea and Fastnet Basins. In: Batten, D. and Keen, M.C. (Editors). Northwest
European Micropalaeontology and Palynology. Ellis Horwood, pp. 1-44.
Ainsworth, N. R., Burnett, R and Kontrovitz, M. 1990. Mesozoic ostracod colour change by thermal
alteration, offshore Ireland and the western U.K. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 7, pp. 288-297.
Ainsworth, N. R., Riley, L. A. and Sinclair, I. K. 2005. A mid-Cretaceous (Upper Barremian –
Turonian) lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic framework for the Hibernia Oilfield, Jeanne d’Arc
Basin, Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In: Hiscott, R. and Pulham, A. (Editors). Petroleum Resources
and Reservoirs of the Grand Banks, Eastern Canadian Margin. Geological Association of Canada,
Special Paper 43, pp. 45-73.
Ainsworth, N. R., Braham, W., Gregory, F. J., Johnson, B and King, C. 1998 (a). A proposed latest
Triassic to earliest Cretaceous microfossil biozonation for the English Channel and its adjacent areas.
In: Underhill, J. (Editor). The development and evolution of the Wessex Basin. Geological Society
Special Publication, 133, Bath, pp.87-102.
Ainsworth, N. R., Braham, W., Gregory, F. H., Johnson, B. and King, C. 1998 (b). The lithostratigraphy
of the latest Triassic to earliest Cretaceous of the English Channel and its adjacent areas. In: Underhill,
J. R. (Editor). Development and Evolution of the Wessex Basin. Geological Society Special
Publication, 133, Bath, pp.103-164.
Ainsworth, N. R., Riley, L. A. and Gallagher, L. G. 2000. An Early Cretaceous lithostratigraphic and
biostratigraphic framework for the Britannia Field reservoir (Late Barremian – Late Aptian), UK North
Sea. Petroleum Geoscience, 6, pp. 345-367.
Boomer, I. and Ainsworth, N. R., 1991. On Ektyphocythere bizoni Ainsworth, 1986. Stereo-Atlas of
Ostracod Shells, 18, pp. 33-36.
Boomer, I., Ainsworth, N. R. and Exton, J. 1998. A re-examination of the Pliensbachian and Toarcian
Ostracoda of Zambujal, west-central Portugal. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 17, pp. 1-14.
Boomer, I. and Ainsworth, N. R. In press. The Jurassic, Part 1 (Hettangian - Aalenian). In: Athersuch,
J. Keen, M. C. and Wilkinson, I. (Editors), A stratigraphical index of Ostracods.
Clark, D. N., Riley, L. A. and Ainsworth, N. R. 1993. Stratigraphic, structural and depositional history
of the Jurassic in the Fischer Bank Basin, UK North Sea. In: Parker J. R. (Editor). Petroleum Geology
of North West Europe. Proceedings of the 4th Conference. The Geological Society, London, pp. 415424.
Coles, G., Ainsworth, N. R., Whatley, R. C. and Jones, R. W. 1996. Foraminifera and Ostracoda from
Quaternary carbonate mounds associated with gas seepage in the Porcupine Basin, offshore western
Ireland. Revista Española de Micropaleontologia, 28, pp. 113-151.
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Harding, I. C., Armitage, J., Hollingworth, N. and Ainsworth, N. R. 2000. Sourcing mudsprings using
integrated palaeontological analyses: an example from Wotton Bassett, Wiltshire, England: Geological
Journal, 35, pp. 115-132.
Kontrovitz, M., Ainsworth, N. R., Burnett, R. D. and Zhao, Y. 1989. Induced shell colour of
foraminifera: An aspect of taphonomy and potential paleo temperature indicator. Geological Society of
America Abstract.
Kontrovitz, M., Slack, J. M., Ainsworth, N. R., and Burnett, R. D. 1990. The extraneous origins of dark,
rich colours of fossil freshwater and marine ostracodes. Geological Society of America Abstract.
Kontrovitz, M., Ainsworth, N. R., Burnett, R. D. and Slack, J. M. 1992. Induced colour in ostracode
shells : An experimental study. University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions, 2, 10 pp.
Melnyk, D. H., Athersuch, J., Ainsworth, N. R. and Britton, P, D. 1995. Measuring the dispersion of
ostracod and foraminifer extinction events in the subsurface Kimmeridge Clay and Portland Beds,
Upper Jurassic, United Kingdom. In: Mann, K. O. and Lane, H. R. (Editors). Graphic Correlation.
Society for Sedimentary Geology, Special Publication, 53, pp. 185-204.
Murphy, N. and Ainsworth, N. R. 1991. Stratigraphy of the Triassic, Lower Jurassic and Middle Jurassic
(Aalenian) of the Fastnet Basin, offshore south-west Ireland. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 8, pp.
417-429.
Rutherford, M. M. and Ainsworth, N. R. 1989. Micropalaeontological and stratigraphical recognition of
the Triassic - Jurassic boundary in the North Celtic Sea and Fastnet Basins. In: Batten, D. and Keen, M.
C. (Editors). Northwest European Micropalaeontology and Palynology. Ellis Horwood, pp. 45-69.