Basins and Prospectivity in the NE Baffin Bay, West Greenland

Ulrik Gregersen, John R. Hopper, and Paul Knutz
GEUS, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Large structures and deep rifted sedimentary basins occupy an area of more than 600 km by 150 km in the northeastern Baffin Bay, offshore North-West Greenland. Mapping based on seismic reflection and other geophysical data shows 7-15 km deep basins separated by structural highs that are typically 1 km to 3 km depths below sea-level. Eight main seismic units and a number of subunits are mapped, some of which are correlated and mapped into the western part of the Baffin Bay. Ages of the units are uncertain since no wells have been drilled in the North-East Baffin Bay. However, it is likely that these basins contain primarily Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, some of which may include petroleum systems. This interpretation is based on the geological evolution of the region observed in offshore wells south of 71°N, indications from seabed samples in the Davis Strait and Melville Bay, and potential analogues to outcrops and division of the units by inferred Palaeogene volcanic successions both onshore and offshore. However, older sedimentary rocks from Early Paleozoic and Proterozoic are also expected in deeper units, especially to the North. Seismic interpretation suggests the presence of potential DHI’s over the large structures and mapping indicates that parts of the Cretaceous succession is likely to be in the oil window at present. Some of the large structural closures seem to have km scale Cenozoic overburden and limited distances in up-dip directions from possible kitchen areas. Some of the main structures probably formed during Cretaceous rift-phases and some structures were in the Palaeogene probably formed by compressional and/or transtensional tectonics. Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic sections formed thick overburden over the basins and deeper structures. The data also indicate some later Cenozoic marginal uplift toward the eastern part of the Melville Bay.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90130©2011 3P Arctic, The Polar Petroleum Potential Conference & Exhibition, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 30 August-2 September, 2011.