Abstract: The Application of a High Resolution Sequence Stratigraphic Framework to Underexplored Paleogene Plays in the Northern North Sea

TRAYFOOT D. M., T. BJAERKE, F. T. LYSELL*, B. H. SAETERSOEN, I. WREGLESWORTH

Paleogene plays in the North Sea Basin have received varying degrees of investigation during the history of exploration in the region. The UK government, for Paleogene plays, in 1990, stated that 22 billion barrels of oil equivalent had been discovered, and up to 5.5 billion remained to be found in the UK sector alone. In Northern North Sea region, one of Europe's most petroliferous provinces, with hydrocarbons predominantly reservoired in Mesozoic structural traps, the Paleogene succession remains underexplored. PGS Reservoir AS, have re-evaluated the Paleogene succession there, using high resolution sequence stratigraphic techniques. Utilizing over 16,000 km of PGS seismic data and 190 wells, the Paleogene has been subdivided into 26 stratigraphic sequences, extending and modifying a framework initially developed for the Central Graben in 1991.

The application of high resolution sequence stratigraphic techniques to the Paleogene succession of the Northern North Sea has contributed to a better understanding of its petroleum prospectivity, incorporating:
- A more accurate and higher resolution stratigraphy, with 27
sequence boundaries for mapping and facies correlation,
- Greater constrained basin paleoenvironments and clearer
defined sandstone fairways,
- Increased ability to predict reservoir and seal quality and
continuity,
- The regional basin development throughout time,
- Sequence constrained velocity models for time-depth con-
version processes,
- The timing and volume of hydrocarbon generation may be
estimated more accurately, to facilitate mapping and tracking of
petroleum migration within sequence-constrained carrier hori-
zons.

These developments allow ranking and risking of predicted new plays to be performed more confidently.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90942©1997 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria