Barents Sea Basin -Modelling of Burial History and Hc Generation

Maxim Korotaev
Geological Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.

Barents Sea basin is the greatest sedimentary basin of Arctic. Geology of basin is well investigated by geophysics and deep wells. Geological history of the basin give very good condition for great hydrocarbon field formation. But significant vertical movement and erosion on the last stages of geological history probably destroy some oil fields.
Modelling of the burial history, thermal history and hydrocarbon generation history was done for Barents sea basin. It was made for 1D, 2D and 3D cases, we use “Sedim” software package (Geological faculty of Moscow State University).

Result of burial history modelling - model of tectonic history: Late Devonian - formation of East-Barents Sea basin; Carboniferous-Early-Permian - postrift subsidence and deep-ater basin formation; Late Permian - filling basin by clinoform complexes; Permian-Triassic boundary - rapid subsidence of basin; Late Jurassic - weak extension event, deepening of basin; Neogene-Quarternary - compression, uplift, erosion.

Thermal history model was calibrated by thermal well logs and burial history results.

Hydrocarbon generation history modelling was done for main source rocks of region - Triassic, Early Jurassic and Middle Jurassic. For Trassic sediments main phase of HC generation was in Midddle Jurassic and for Jurassic sediments - in present time. Main HC generation regions are in deepest parts of depression.

Some estimations of erosion by different methods shows 100-200 m in elevated part of basin.

We have done modelling of vertical movements as flexural model of heterogeneous lithosphere under compression. Results of modelling are close to profiles of observed vertical movement.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90096©2009 AAPG 3-P Arctic Conference and Exhibition, Moscow, Russia