The late Volgian to late Ryazanian Rowan Sandstone Member of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation was deposited along the western margin of the South Viking Graben in UK Block 16/12a in response to Late Cimmerian tectonic activity. Initial deposition was within a submarine slope-apron complex, which evolved in time to a radial basin-floor submarine fan. Syntectonic activity, eustatic sea-level changes and pre-existing basin-floor topography were the major controls on fan morphology and architecture. Coeval submarine-fan sequences are present in the northern part of Block 16/17 and in Block 15/23 of the Witch Ground Graben, implying that the Fladen Ground Spur continued to be a positive feature throughout the Late Jurassic and into the Early Cretaceous.