The Regional Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Baltic Sea

HASELTON, THOMAS M., Haselton 3D ApS, Klampenborg, Denmark, BRANGULIS, ARNIS P., and LAZAR S. MARGULIS, Soyuzmorinzhgeologiya, Riga, Latvia, USSR, and SERGEI KANEV, Vniimorgeo, Institute of Submarine Geology and Geophysics, Riga, Latvia, USSR

The Baltic Sea is roughly equivalent in size to the North Sea. Like the North Sea, it has an excellent oil prone source rock present over most of the area. In the entire Baltic Sea about 40 wells have been drilled. During the 1980s, exploration was carried out in the Soviet, Polish, and East German sectors of the Baltic Sea by Petrobaltic. Twenty-eight wells were drilled, 14 of which tested hydrocarbons. Two wells have been drilled in Danish waters and 11 in Swedish waters--all dry holes.

Most of the Baltic Sea is included in the Baltic syneclise. In the deepest part of the basin a full Paleozoic and Mesozoic section is present. Major structural features are associated with reactivation of old basement faults. Most hydrocarbon discoveries are associated with structural arches. Exploration targets are Cambrian sandstones and Ordovician and Silurian reefs. The major discoveries are the B3 field in Poland and the D6 field offshore Lithuania and Kaliningrad, both of which have in-place reserves of around 100 million bbl.

The Teisseyre-Tornquist line to the southwest represents the plate boundary between the East European platform and Europe. Repeated strike slip movements along this zone result in a complex pattern of extensional and compressional features in the Danish and German sectors. Primary exploration targets include Permian carbonates and sandstones as well as older zones. Gas has been tested in the German sector onshore.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91007© 1991 AAPG International Conference, London, England, September 29-October 2, 1991 (2009)