MIMES: Mechanical Implications of Magma Emplacement on Sedimentary sequences

Volcanism is often considered as destructive for hydrocarbon systems: the tremendous heat provided by magma is expected to burn the hydrocarbons contained in rock formations. Nevertheless, recent studies and discoveries demonstrate that this assumption is too simplistic, if not wrong. Good examples are hydrocarbon discoveries (1) within the core of volcanoes in the Neuquén Basin, Argentina, and (2) within structures induced by the emplacement of magma along the Norwegian margin. Despite these examples, the real impact of magma emplacement on hydrocarbon systems remains poorly understood. In particular, how do magma intrusions deform the surrounding rocks? How does this affect the migration and storage of hydrocarbons? Answering these questions has potentially substantial implications for hydrocarbon exploration in the Møre and Vøring Basins, offshore Norway, where magmatism considerably impacted the sedimentary sequences. The MIMES project proposes to build new mechanical understanding of how magma bodies (intrusions) affect the structure of the sedimentary sequences they intrude. The project builds on state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research. The project team will first lead several geological expeditions in the Patagonian Andes, which offer unique field analogues of the volcanic basins of the Norwegian margin, in particular spectacularly exposed magmatic systems in a hydrocarbon-producing environment. While these geological objects are frozen, we will grasp their dynamics by producing miniature magmatic systems in the laboratory of the University of Oslo and virtual computer simulations, leading to a quantitative understanding of the mechanics associated with magma bodies in sedimentary sequences. The results of the project will be crucial for assessing hydrocarbon potentials in the Møre and Vøring volcanic basins of the Norwegian margin, among others.

The aim of the MIMES project is to create novel structural and mechanical knowledge to considerably improve hydrocarbon exploration possibilities in the volcanic basins of the Norwegian continental shelf, such as the Vøring and Møre Basins, Lofoten Basin, and the southwestern Barents Sea. Recent volcanic-related hydrocarbon discoveries (Tulipan Sill, Møre Basin) have highlighted that these basins, which host voluminous magmatic intrusions, can offer strategic possibilities for hydrocarbon exploration in Norway. Currently, exploration risks in these segments of the Norwegian margin are quite high because (1) our mechanical understanding of intrusion-induced structures is limited, and (2) our knowledge of the full structures of these magmatic complexes is incomplete, as they can only be studied from seismic data. The MIMES project aims to overcoming these challenges through state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research that integrates (1) combined quantitative fieldwork and seismic interpretation in a unique case study, (2) detailed seismic interpretation of intrusion-induced structure in key Norwegian volcanic basins, (3) frontier quantitative laboratory experiments using the latest technical developments at UiO, (4) numerical modeling using Discrete Element Models (DEM) and (5) elasto-plastic theoretical modeling. The results from the MIMES project will (1) considerably improve our understanding of the permeability architectures of large- (whole igneous plumbing systems) and small-scale (intrusion walls) intrusion-related structures and (2) assess trapping and reservoir properties of sill- and laccolith-induced forced folds. This project results thus have the potential to become strategic for considerably enhancing hydrocarbon exploration prospects in the yet poorly explored Norwegian volcanic basins.