Sedimentary successions of the Arctic region (58-64° to 90°N) that may be prospective for hydrocarbons

TitleSedimentary successions of the Arctic region (58-64° to 90°N) that may be prospective for hydrocarbons
TypeBook Section
Year2011
Author(s)Grantz, A., Scott, R.A., Drachev, S.S., Moore, T.E. and Valin, Z.C.
Book TitleArctic Petroleum Geology
Editor(s)Spencer, A.M., Embry, A.F. and Sørensen, K.
Volume35
Pagination17-37
PublisherGeological Society, Memoirs
LocationLondon
URLhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1144/M35.2
People LinksRobert Scott

Abstract

A total of 143 sedimentary successions that contain, or may be prospective for, hydrocarbons were identified in the Arctic Region north of 58–64°N and mapped in four quadrants at a scale of 1:11 000 000. Eighteen of these successions (12.6%) occur in the Arctic Ocean Basin, 25 (17.5%) in the passive and sheared continental margins of the Arctic Basin and 100 (70.0%) on the Circum-Arctic continents of which one (<1%) lies in the active margin of the Pacific Rim. Each succession was assigned to one of 13 tectono-stratigraphic and morphologic classes and coloured accordingly on the map. The thickness of each succession and that of any underlying sedimentary section down to economic basement, where known, are shown on the map by isopachs. Major structural or tectonic features associated with the creation of the successions, or with the enhancement or degradation of their hydrocarbon potential, are also shown. Forty-four (30.8%) of the successions are known to contain hydrocarbon accumulations, 64 (44.8%) are sufficiently thick to have generated hydrocarbons and 35 (24.5%) may be too thin to be prospective. Copyright The Geological Society of London 2011