Reconstructing the Triassic northern Barents Shelf; basin infill patterns controlled by gentle sags and faults

The Triassic succession of the Barents Sea offers a petroleum system with potential for new discoveries. Fundamental insight into this system is in demand, spanning from regional basin analysis to subject-based studies, both of which are beneficial for the industry. The project on the northern Triassic Barents Shelf addresses this demand by exploring this novel region, in a fully integrated analysis of the geological setting. The work will include on land outcrop studies as a platform for offshore data analysis, spanning from the Svalbard region south and eastward on the shelf. The work is undertaken by a team of uttermost Norwegian academic expertise (UiO, UiB, UNIS and institutes) backed by international partners. The project has developed a welt of new information for the Triassic succession of the Barents Shelf, including; (i) new palaeographic understanding of the history of the infill of the mainly shallow marine shelf, (ii) tectonic activity controlling basin development, and (iii) reservoir properties and sandstone source areas. Our team of 4 postdocs and 4 PhDs backed by seniors have worked closely with industry personnel, creating a dynamic mixture of enthusiasm and guidance. Hereunto, the project can show to 49 peer-review international journal articles (prognosis suggest there will be around 60 articles in total), more than 120 conference and seminar contributions, 6 popular science contributions, and 10 Master theses. PhD candidates Mulrooney, Haile og Yenwongfai have defended their thesis, whereas Smyrak-Sikora will defend later in 2019. Project results have progressively been presented in the three tours to each of the industry partners. A final large project workshop was arranged 25-26 October 2017, with invited speakers and presentations of results. Final reporting includes compilation of 2 volumes of articles published by the project: The first one has been sent to the partners, the second one will be sent in February 2019. Further, unique ddigital outcrop models of Kvalpynten and other areas on Edgeøya, acquired and interpreted during the course of the project, will be available online through the SAFARI public outcrop. The project has succeeded in the dialog with industry representatives. The close dialog between the industry and project management, impacting work plans and activity, as well as the information flow, have been mentioned as key success factors.

The broad approach and major efforts to the project has allowed both the Petroleum Directorate and industry partners to harvest datasets and knowledge, impacting their in-house work and strategic decisions. Accordingly, better decisions around Barents Sea exploration will save both federal and company funds in the foreseeable future. Another activity with shorter term gains was the work on the Goliath Field. Project results here added value to the ongoing field development. The project has offered comprehensive competence building; by educating 4 PhD?s and mentoring 4 Postdocs. Three of Trias North?s PhD?s have successfully defended their PhD?s, with the last defence expected in 2019. In total 10 Masters have also been educated in the project (13 monographs). This is a new generation of geoscientists that is fundamental in maintaining the highly skilled workforce in industry and federal organizations.

The Triassic succession of the Barents Sea offers a prolific petroleum system; verified for parts of the shelf but underexplored for vast areas. Several recent discoveries and opening of novel areas have caused a major drive into New Ventures of the Baren ts Shelf and nearby regions. Fundamental insight and datasets are in demand, spanning from regional basin analysis to subject-based play concept studies, both of which are beneficial for the industry. The proposed project on the northern Triassic Barents Shelf addresses this demand by targeting the following knowledge gaps: - Exploring this novel region, in a fully integrated analysis of the sedimentological, stratigraphical and structural setting, with a team of uttermost Norwegian academic expertise ba cked by international partners, - Performing detailed studies of sedimentary systems, to establish better temporal links between source areas, sediment routing and sedimentary sinks, - Undertaking tectonic analysis to better understand large-scale driving forces of sag/warp basins and highs versus fault system development, - Summarizing large-scale and in-depth studies into comprehensive regional reconstructions.