Print this pageEstablishing Exploration Plays in from Emerging Deepwater Province: The Outer VøRing Basin, Norwegian Sea
The deepwater Outer Vøring Basin forms part of the Norwegian passive margin and has attracted a lot of interest in the recent Norwegian 20th Licensing Round. Historically, this part of the Vøring basin has received little exploration activity due to the field sizes required for project success and the complex nature of exploration plays. Integration of geophysical techniques with recent geological studies from Eastern Greenland and advanced source rock modelling and migration studies of the Vøring Basin, calibrated to recent well results, now provide an improved understanding of the complex plays.
The Vøring basin developed in response to the generation of the North East Atlantic Rift system during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Subsequent post-rift thermal subsidence has been punctuated by compressional and extensional episodes that have contributed to the complex nature of the plays.
These plays will be presented for the various structural terrains focussing on the Cretaceous plays in the Vigrid Syncline, Gjallar Ridge, Fenris Graben and an exciting new Jurassic play on the Ran Ridge. These plays have been established from the use of geophysical techniques that employ the latest developments in combined Electromagnetic/Magneto-telluric (CSEM/MT) investigations, long offset seismic acquisition and AVO/Inversion analysis. Simultaneous inversion of a long offset regional seismic line within the Vigrid Syncline has demonstrated the ability to now identify hydrocarbon saturated reservoirs in a region where amplitude anomalies are compromised by intrusive sills and hydrothermal vents. Combined CSEM/MT surveys now allow the thickness of basalts and the depth to electrical basement to be estimated thus revealing the presence of deeper and previously unrecognised sedimentary sequences that form new sub-basalt plays. Advanced 3D source maturation and migration modelling studies shed new light on the possibility of an effective Jurassic and Cretaceous source rocks being present within the basin and allows exploration sweet spots to be identified.
Application of these techniques has encouraged the industry to now recognise the Outer Vøring basin as an emerging deepwater province with high potential plays.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90090©2009 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, June 7-10, 2009