Structural elements and petroleum geology of the Norwegian sector of the northern Barents Sea

Abstract

The northern Barents Sea is divided into two principal prospective provinces: (1) the platform areas south and east of Svalbard contain possible hydrocarbon plays in Upper Palaeozoic clastics and carbonates, and in Mesozoic sandstones; (2) The Barents Sea margin, which includes the Yermak Plateau, with possible plays in late Mesozoic and Tertiary sandstones. The platform areas are underlain by a Palaeozoic rift system of highs and intervening basins, containing Devonian and Early Carboniferous rocks overlain by relatively flat-lying sequences of Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age. The Barents Sea margin is a complex basin province formed in response to phases of the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic break-up of the Pangea supercontinent, and subsequent seafloor spreading west of Spitsbergen.The northern Barents Sea is as yet not open for commercial exploration, and no deep wells have been drilled in the offshore areas. It is one of the largest remaining frontier areas in western Europe and as such affords a wide range of exploration opportunities. However, the area is considered to be of high risk for petroleum exploration, with generally low statistical probabilities of discovery, largely because of the limited amount of data available to evaluate potential hydrocarbon plays, and in particular the presence, distribution, quality and maturity of source rocks. Hydrocarbon resource estimates are therefore characterized by large uncertainties.Potential reservoir rocks are identified, and seismic mapping has revealed many structural and stratigraphic leads on the Sentralbanken High, the Kong Karls Land Platform, the Gardarbanken High and in the Mesozoic and Tertiary sub-basins northwest of Bjørnøya. Future challenges will be focused on reducing uncertainties in mapping the distribution of source rocks of suitable quality. Limited basin modelling studies indicate that oil may have been generated and accumulated in many provinces, but better constrained models are required to evaluate Early Cretaceous thermal events and Late Cenozoic uplift processes that may have had negative effects on both oil generation and the retention of hydrocarbons in traps.

Crustal structure and evolution of the Arctic Caledonides: Results from controlled-source seismology

“…The location of crossing profiles is indicated by red triangles. section are attributed to Late Cenozoic uplift and erosion (Eidvin et al, 1993;Grogan et al, 1999;Ohm et al, 2008;. Erosion has removed up to 3200 m from the sedimentary section in the northwestern end of the profile and about 1600 m in the southeastern end (e.g.…”

“…8) where the depths reach 10 km and 12 km, respectively. The Sørkapp Basin is defined at Permian and Triassic levels Grogan et al, 1999) (Fig. 1).…”

Regional tectono-sedimentary development of the highs and basins of the northwestern Barents Shelf

“…1A) (Rønnevik et al, 1982;Gabrielsen et al, 1990;Faleide et al, 1991Faleide et al, , 2008Gudlaugsson et al, 1998;Grogan et al, 1999;Worsley et al, 2001;Henriksen et al, 2011). The orientation of lineaments reflects the inherited structural grain from the Late Neoproterozoic Timanian orogeny (Roberts & Siedlecka, 2002;Siedlecka et al, 2004) and two ensuing major orogenic events; the Silurian-Devonian Caledonian (Scandian) orogeny and Ellesmerian orogeny (Gee, 1975;Soper & Higgins, 1990;Higgins et al, 2000;McKerrow et al, 2000;Gee & Teben'kov, 2004;Johansson et al, 2005;Labrousse et al, 2008;Gernigon et al, 2014), and towards the east the Carboniferous-Triassic Uralian orogeny (Otto & Bailey, 1995;Berzin et al, 1996;WittNilsson et al, 1998;Gee et al, 2006).…”

“…It is apparent that the development of the northwestern Barents Shelf reflects shifting stress regimes and shifting locus of influence (Rønnevik & Jacobsen, 1984;Riis et al, 1986;Wood et al, 1989;Faleide et al, 1993Faleide et al, , 2008Braathen et al, 1999b;Grogan et al, 1999;Worsley et al, 2001;Worsley, 2008;Barrère et al, 2009;Ritzmann & Faleide, 2009;Henriksen et al, 2011;Gac et al, 2012;Gernigon et al, 2014). It has previously been observed, for example, that the Sørkapp basin, which forms the main Carboniferous depocentre on the northwestern Barents Shelf ( Fig.…”

The theropod that wasn't: an ornithopod tracksite from the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Boltodden, Svalbard

“…In contrast, the Triassic -Lower Cretaceous basin fill in Svalbard and the western platform areas were deposited in a subsiding epicontinental sag basin (Steel & Worsley 1984;Faleide et al 2008;Worsley 2008;Midtkandal & Nystuen 2009;Glørstad-Clark et al 2010). Although these areas experienced no major extensional or compression tectonics, the deposition of the Mesozoic basin fill was controlled by faulting, halokenesis in some basins, volcanism, and the vertical movement and tilting of major structural elements (Steel & Worsley 1984;Grogan et al 1999Grogan et al , 2000Glørstad-Clark et al 2010;Anell et al 2014;Senger et al 2014).…”