Challenges and opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration within the Mesozoic sub-basalt plays of the Norwegian Atlantic Margin
Ben KilhamsLauren ChedburnLucinda K. LayfieldNick SchofieldIngelin Løkling LundeLorcan KennanHollie RomainDavid W. JolleyChristian Haug Eide
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The sub-basalt domain of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) is one of the last remaining hydrocarbon exploration frontiers in Europe. While there is an established geological and tectonic framework, little has been published that addresses the remaining hydrocarbon exploration risks/uncertainties. Unlike the Faroe Shetland Basin and Rockall Trough, at the time of writing, there are currently no industry-drilled sub-basalt well penetrations on the Norwegian continental shelf. Numerous potential Mesozoic sub-basalt hydrocarbon plays exist on the NCS but, due to the lack of industry-drilled sub-basalt penetrations, there is a perceived large exploration risk. By using cross-border analogues, basin modelling workflows and integration of available seismic data the main uncertainties across the NCS are outlined including charge timing, structural definition, and details of reservoir presence. Generically the Late Cretaceous and Middle Jurassic intervals are potential plays which may be present on the Norwegian Margin. However, there is considerable uncertainty on their depth and preservation. Although significant challenges and uncertainties remain, the authors believe that the integration of well results, consideration of basin modelling driven heat flow estimates and new 3D seismic data may open sub-basalt opportunities for a new exploration frontier on the NCS. Thematic collection: This article is part of the New learning from exploration and development in the UKCS Atlantic Margin collection available at https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/new-learning-from-exploration-and-development-in-the-ukcs-atlantic-marginKeywords:
Prospectivity mapping
Hydrocarbon exploration
Continental Margin
Flood basalt
Trough (economics)
Interpretation of seismic lines from the offshore NE Wales area has provided information on the structural and stratigraphic evolution of the southern part of Morecambe/Liverpool Bay. Basin-wide megasequence boundaries are present between the Dinantian and overlying sequences and between the Upper Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic megasequences. Geological information obtained from seismic lines has been used to construct an E–W geological cross section and a basin analysis summary chart for the NE Wales–Cheshire onshore area. Stratigraphic interpretations have been considered in an assessment of the petroleum potential of the region. The distribution of Carboniferous oil and gas prone source rocks is a key element in predicting hydrocarbon accumulations. Source rock maturity may have been reached in the offshore area prior to a phase of inversion and uplift during Tertiary times. Fault-controlled hydrocarbon traps generated during Triassic-Jurassic rifting were modified during Tertiary inversion and new structures were generated.
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Summary A transect of four coreholes, drilled by the Glomar Challenger across the Irish continental margin at the Goban Spur, evidences a dynamic palaeoceanographic regime during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Shallow marine waters invaded the rift-stage grabens of the Goban Spur in the early Barremian. Thereafter, the margin subsided rapidly, producing a pelagic depositional regime by late Barremian time. Deep marine conditions were maintained as sea-floor spreading began in the early Albian, and chiefly pelagic deposition continued to the present. Among a series of significant post-rift oceanographic changes, one of the most notable is the familiar fluctuation of oxic and anoxic sea-floor environments during the Cenomanian and Turonian. Another marked change took place during the late Palaeocene, when cooler, oxygen-rich, northern bottom waters reached the Goban Spur as a consequence of rifting and sea-floor spreading between Greenland, Rockall Plateau, and Norway. Later during the Cenozoic, the initial production of Antarctic bottom water, several accelerations of polar icecap growth, and fluctuating eustatic sea-level produced a variety of circulatory shifts on the Goban Spur. A particularly significant sedimentological consequence of these interacting processes was the widespread creation of numerous erosional and non-depositional unconformities.
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The N. Sakhalin Basin has high potential for large hydrocarbon reserves, with prospectivity focused primarliy on the thin sands that derive from the Amur Delta. However seismic challenges require that leading technologies are used for data acquisition an
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This study presents a 500-km-long crustal transect across the Lofoten volcanic passive continental margin, N. Norway, by compiling the results of two successive Ocean Bottom Seismographic (OBS) experiments performed in 1988. The OBS profiles were acquired from the Norwegian mainland, across the continental shelf, over an area covered with landward flood basalts, to the Lofoten basin. The land side end of the crustal model represents a thinned continental structure. The crust in this part has strong structural complexity, mainly due to faulting during pre-Tertiary continental thinning phases. Between the continental shelf and the seaward dipping reflectors (SDR), the model represents an extremely thinned continental crust and ocean/continent transition zone. This region is interpreted to be dominated by an early Tertiary continental rifting phase that progressed until early Eocene. The observed lower crustal reflectors, which are interpreted as intrusions in the lower crust, as well as the landward flood basalts indicates an extensive magmatic activity during the continental rifting phase. Between the SDR and magnetic anomaly 21, an oceanic crust with thick lower crust and a high velocity layer at the bottom of the crust (7.3km/s) are obtained. This high velocity layer is believed to be created by anomalously hot asthenospheric material rising around a hot spot. The comparison of the crustal structure across the Lofoten margin with the structure of the Voring-More margin shows significant differences in the volume of the lower crustal high velocity layer, which can be interpreted in terms of a NE-ward decrease of the influence of the hot spot.
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The hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Walton Basin offshore Jamaica has been high-graded through new geological interpretations and advances in seismic imaging. This basin has seen little hydrocarbon exploration in the last 25 years but recent exploration efforts has identified a potential new oil and gas province. Only 11 hydrocarbon exploration wells have been drilled in Jamaica to date and 10 of these have had oil or gas shows, yet surprisingly there has been limited modern exploration interest in Jamaica. Historically the Walton Basin has been plagued by poor seismic imaging from the effects of the thick Tertiary carbonate cover and present day carbonate banks and consequently the Basin has been downgraded. Simply put “if you can’t see it, you can’t explore for it”. Recent advances with the acquisition of new long offset 2D seismic data and reprocessing the data using Beam pre-stack depth migration now provide a step change in the seismic imaging of the sedimentary section. This advance, coupled with the increased geological understanding of the basin, means that the new and re-rated plays within this overlooked basin can be imaged and industry can now focus towards exploration drilling to unlock its hydrocarbon potential.
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Summary PETRONAS embarked on aggressive studies. The result of the study is relatively remarkable for the purpose to unlock the prospectivity of the frontier onshore Klias Peninsula. The new seismic data, geochemical analyses, FTG, structural restoration and basin modeling have provided a better understanding of the geology of the Klias Peninsula that could fascinate exploration activities to explore the hydrocarbon potentiality. MPM as the opener and shaper of the exploration activities for the frontier areas believed that there is value creation for the exploration from onshore Klias Peninsula and the surrounding area in future.
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The deep-water Taranaki Basin, located off the north west coast of New Zealand, is an underexplored, frontier area with one recent exploration well and limited 2D seismic coverage. The basin developed through multiple tectonic cycles, including Mesozoic rifting, followed by Late Cretaceous and Paleogene subsidence associated with seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea. Large-scale Neogene channel systems that developed throughout the basin provided transport of significant volumes of sediment into the deeper water areas. The channel systems confirm that large fan complexes are likely to be present, however, poorly understood due to the limited extent of 2D seismic coverage. New regional interpretation has been carried out to improve understanding of key stratigraphic sequences, structural elements and basin evolution, providing new insights into the prospectivity of this underexplored region. A key focus of this interpretation was to enhance understanding of the distribution and configuration of the channel systems, providing new insights into prospective potential outboard of the shelfal areas which have been the main focus for exploration drilling to date. A significant amount of public domain seismic and well data, primarily covering the shallow water shelfal areas, provided the basis for interpretation in this study. The study was undertaken with an integrated approach, utilizing all available well and seismic data, combining sequence stratigraphy to identify and map key sequence boundaries, seismic reservoir characterization to produce rock property and lithological probability for key seismic lines, and a comprehensive review of previous studies carried out in the area. In addition to new regional interpretation, the study provides detailed mapping of the large Neogene channel systems and encouraging evidence for associated large scale depositional features beyond the extent of previous exploration.
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Neogene
Hydrocarbon exploration
Palaeogeography
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The focus of exploration activity on the Norwegian Sea Continental Shelf has shifted westwards from the shallow water areas over the Trøndelag Platform and Halten Terrace to the deep water areas over the Cretaceous Vøring and Møre basins. The basins, especially the Vøring Basin, have been involved in a complex tectonic development since the main extensional phase in the late Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, including Cenomanian–Campanian and Maastrichtian–Eocene extension and thermal uplift and intermittent phases of compression/transpression. While the Jurassic is the prospective interval in the Trøndelag Platform and Halten Terrace, the potential in the Vøring and Møre basins is seen mainly in the Cretaceous and Paleocene – the Jurassic is too deeply buried. The two first deep water exploration wells in these basins, 6707/10-1 and 6305/5-1, have already proven two effective plays, with excellent reservoir sands in the Upper Cretaceous and lower Paleocene charged with thermogenic gas in structural traps in rotated fault blocks and compressional domes. Palaeogeographical reconstructions indicate that these reservoir rocks may be widespread within the basin areas. No good oil-prone source rock at a suitable depth of burial is so far proven, but the palaeogeographical reconstructions linked to surrounding well data and regional analyses indicate a chance for the existence of Upper Cretaceous oil source intervals. The thermal history of the basins is as complex as their tectonic history, and is further complicated by the possible effects of the Paleocene–Eocene magmatic activity, making any basin modelling results at the present stage unreliable.
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Continental Margin
Basin modelling
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