A pilot seismo-stratigraphic study on the West Greenland continental shelf

Abstract

Seismo-stratigraphic interpretation of seismic sections dating from the mid-1970s has disclosed the existence of four megasequences of sediments, the oldest of which has not previously been reported from West Greenland. The basins containing these sediments developed as a series of coalescing half graben, in which the main site of tectonic activity changed with time. A structural closure of sufficient size to contain interesting quantities of hydrocarbons, given suitable source rocks, reservoir and seal, is identified. The study has shown that the evaluation of the West Greenland Basin during the 1970s was inadequate, and that abandonment of exploration by the petroleum industry may have been premature.