Structure and Development of the NE Greenland Margin

Mikal G. Trulsvik¹, Sverre Planke¹, Reidun Myklebust², Jens Christian Olsen², Jan Inge Faleide³, and Dani Schmid^4
1VBPR AS, Oslo, Norway.
²TGS Nopec Geophysical Company, Oslo, Norway.
³Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
⁴Geomodelling Solutions, Oslo, Norway.

The continental margin offshore northeast Greenland shares a common geological history with the conjugate Mid-Norway and Barents Sea margins leading up to breakup in the earliest Eocene. However, the geology offshore northeast Greenland is poorly understood due to a limited geophysical database, and current geological interpretations are largely based on constraints from onshore geology and the well-explored margin offshore Mid-Norway. Recent acquisition of 100,000 km of aeromagnetic and aerogravity data, 2,800 km of new 2D seismic data, and 12,000 km of reprocessed seismic data provide important insight into the basin geometry, volcanic structure, and post-breakup development of the northeast Greenland margin. We have interpreted the structure and development of the margin based on these data. The interpreted basin sequences are constrained by the onshore geology of Greenland and analogs from the conjugate Vøring and Lofoten margins. The geophysical data reveal several margin-parallel structural highs and downfaulted sedimentary terraces with rotated fault blocks and large inversion structures east of the Koldewey Platform. The adjacent Paleozoic and Mesozoic basins are intruded by large sill complexes contributing to the hydrocarbon maturation, whereas the northern Danmarkshavn Basin is heavily influenced by salt tectonics creating structural traps. Tectonic modeling of the burial and uplift history of potential source and reservoir rocks across the Danmarkshavn Ridge and adjacent Danmarkshavn and Thetis basins confirms several potential petroleum systems. New and reprocessed seismic data on the outer margin allows for better interpretation of the breakup-related volcanic complex and improved definition of the continent-ocean boundary. A revised plate tectonic reconstruction highlights the basin structure and the development of the volcanic complex in a conjugate margin context. On the northeast Greenland margin the volcanic complex is poorly developed relative to the conjugate Vøring and Lofoten margins; however volcanic seismic facies units such as Inner Flows and SDR’s are observed locally east of the Thetis Basin and in the southern Danmarkshavn Basin.

 

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

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