--> Live Oil Onshore West Greenland: A New and Encouraging Discovery, by F. G. Christiansen, J. Bojesen-Koefoed, G. Dam, and A. K. Pedersen; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Live Oil Onshore West Greenland: A New and Encouraging Discovery

Flemming G. Christiansen, Jorgen Bojesen-Koefoed, Gregers Dam, Asger K. Pedersen

Field work followed by core-drilling in August 1993 on the Nuussuaq peninsula, West Greenland, has revealed the existence of live oil in Paleocene lavas. The oil plugs most available porosity in two fault blocks that can be traced more than 1 km along strike and several hundreds of meters across strike. The oil was confirmed in several vesicular lava tops within the uppermost 90 m of a 448 m deep borehole which terminated in volcanic breccias. The discovery is in the oldest and previously undescribed part of the volcanic succession in a structurally complex area close to the major transcurrent Itilli fault zone. The volcanics dip approx. 20° E and are cut by several steeply dipping faults which are the most likely leakage pathway from the sediments that are inferred to be immedia ely underlying.

Despite the near-surface position, biodegradation varies from low to moderate, suggesting active replenishment into the structure, probably by late or recent long-distance migration from offshore areas. Extraction, GC and GC/MS data suggest a low thermal maturity and that the oil-prone material in the source rock is terrestrial in origin, but deposited under marine conditions. The high contents of bisnorlupane and oleanane indicate a late Cretaceous or early Tertiary deltaic source rock which yet has to be recognized in outcrop or in wells.

The implications of this significant discovery are very encouraging for future exploration offshore Labrador, West and North-West Greenland since it demonstrates for the first time that oil-prone source rock exists and thus challenges the 1970s' reputation of this region for being entirely gas-prone.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994