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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fourth in the entire Arctic region, only superseded by known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 />

61

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