Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 26 ... - Geus
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 26 ... - Geus
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 26 ... - Geus
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<strong>Geological</strong> assessment <strong>of</strong> the East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin<br />
Michael B.W. Fyhn, Thorkild M. Rasmussen, Trine Dahl-Jensen, Willy L. Weng,<br />
Jørgen A. Bojesen-Koefoed <strong>and</strong> Tove Nielsen<br />
The East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin consists <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> sedimentary<br />
basins, platforms <strong>and</strong> structural highs (Figs 1, 2).<br />
Due to the challenges imposed by the Arctic climate, the<br />
region is in an early stage <strong>of</strong> exploration, <strong>and</strong> knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
the geology <strong>and</strong> petroleum potential <strong>of</strong> the margin is limited.<br />
However, the significant prospectivity <strong>of</strong> the conjugated European<br />
North Atlantic margin <strong>and</strong> the nature <strong>of</strong> the North-<br />
East Greenl<strong>and</strong> onshore geology prompt for future <strong>of</strong>fshore<br />
exploration. The US <strong>Geological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> thus highlighted the<br />
North-East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin in their latest assessment <strong>of</strong><br />
the Arctic region (Gautier et al. 2011). With a mean estimate<br />
<strong>of</strong> undiscovered recoverable oil, gas, <strong>and</strong> natural gas liquids<br />
<strong>of</strong> approximately 31 billion barrels <strong>of</strong> oil equivalents, the US<br />
<strong>Geological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> ranked the North-East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin<br />
fourth in the entire Arctic region, only superseded by known<br />
producing petroleum provinces.<br />
In preparation for the initial East Greenl<strong>and</strong> licence<br />
rounds in 2012 <strong>and</strong> 2013 the <strong>Geological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Denmark</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> Greenl<strong>and</strong> gathers geological information on the<br />
margin necessary for the decision process <strong>of</strong> the Greenl<strong>and</strong><br />
authorities regarding exploration. Geophysical analyses complemented<br />
by well-data, onshore geology <strong>and</strong> information<br />
from the conjugated Atlantic margin form the backbone <strong>of</strong><br />
the study. The East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin is covered by an open<br />
seismic grid supplemented by gravimetric <strong>and</strong> magnetic data.<br />
All existing 2D seismic, gravimetric <strong>and</strong> magnetic data are<br />
included in the current study. Most <strong>of</strong> the data are confidential.<br />
Restricted by the general confidential nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
project, this paper aims to summarise the geology <strong>of</strong> the East<br />
Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin based on the current <strong>and</strong> previous studies<br />
<strong>and</strong> to briefly assess some <strong>of</strong> the implications for the regional<br />
petroleum prospectivity.<br />
East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin south <strong>of</strong> Shannon<br />
A continuous Paleocene–Eocene (61–53 Ma) pre- to postbreak-up<br />
volcanic cover blankets almost the entire East<br />
Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin between Kap Farvel <strong>and</strong> the isl<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Shannon (Fig. 1). Paleocene – Early Eocene magmatism re-<br />
Nordostrundingen<br />
Shannon<br />
Hold with Hope<br />
70°N<br />
Liverpool<br />
L<strong>and</strong><br />
Blosseville<br />
Kyst<br />
10°W<br />
ODP P9<br />
917A<br />
ODP 987E<br />
Fig. 3<br />
[nT]<br />
345<br />
174<br />
110<br />
82<br />
59<br />
39<br />
23<br />
7<br />
–16<br />
–37<br />
–59<br />
–83<br />
–112<br />
–156<br />
–<strong>26</strong>4<br />
-1<br />
East Greenl<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>fshore geology<br />
The East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin stretches almost 3000 km from<br />
Kap Farvel in the south to Nordostrundingen in the north<br />
(Fig. 1). In the south it is narrow, but north <strong>of</strong> Liverpool<br />
L<strong>and</strong> it begins to widen to more than 300 km. The geology<br />
varies considerably along its length.<br />
Kap Farvel<br />
Continent–Ocean<br />
transition<br />
250 km<br />
Fig. 1. The East Greenl<strong>and</strong> margin from Kap Farvel to Nordostrundingen<br />
with <strong>of</strong>fshore magnetic total field anomaly from the CAMP-GM compilation<br />
(Gaina et al. 2009).<br />
© 2012 GEUS. <strong>Geological</strong> <strong>Survey</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Denmark</strong> <strong>and</strong> Greenl<strong>and</strong> <strong>Bulletin</strong> <strong>26</strong>, 61–64. Open access: www.geus.dk/publications/bull<br />
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