Depostional models for Cenozoic sandy systems

A recent gas discovery in the North Sea is located at just 160 m sub-bottom depth. The reservoir consists of Pliocene glacial sandstone capped by glacial diamicton; it represents a milestone in exploration of the North Sea and highlights the potential for commercially recoverable hydrocarbons in the thick successions of glacigenic sediments offshore Norway. The main focus of this study will be to develop depositional models for the sandy glacigenic systems of the Cenozoic sediment wedge of the Barents Se a Margin. The investigation will be based on a semi-regional industry 3D seismic data set, regional 2D seismics and well information, most of which is already in the data base at the University of Tromsø. With dense sampling and 3D migration techniques, 3 D seismic data opens new avenues to seismic interpretation, with detailed plan-view images of depositional environments, structural features, distribution patterns of different lithologies, and their changes in space and time. The seismic data sets prov ide information of part of these systems only, because of their limited areal extent. In order to obtain more details on the sand distribution and its controlling factors, the results from a modern system will be integrated. Here we will focus on a nearb y turbidite system, the Andøya Canyon - Lofoten Basin Channel. This system can be followed from source to sink.