Shallow gas migration and trapping in the cenozoic eridanos delta deposits, Dutch offshore (Z045)

Shallow gas in the Dutch offshore predominantly occurs in shallow marine to continental deposits of the Plio-Pleistocene Eridanos delta (Fig. 1). This delta was fed by an ancient fluvio-deltaic system that prograded through Northwestern Europe due to simultaneous uplift of the Fennoscandinavian Shield and accelerated subsidence of the North Sea Basin. The dimensions of its drainage area and the thickness of the deltaic deposits make it one of the largest deltas and complex in the world. The origin of the shallow gas may be deep subsurface thermogenic sources or biogenic sources in shallower strata. It is either structurally trapped in anticlines associated with rising salt domes or occurs in stratigraphic or depositional traps.