A depositional and sequence stratigraphic model for cold-water, spiculitic strata based on the Kapp Starostin Formation (Permian) of Spitsbergen and equivalent deposits from the Barents Sea

Ehrenberg, S. N.; Pickard, Neil A. H.; Henriksen, Leif Bjørnar; Svånå, T.; Gutteridge, P.; Macdonald, David I. M.

doi:10.1306/8626d347-173b-11d7-8645000102c1865d

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The status and cause of the Capitanian crisis are based on evidence from tropical (Tethyan) latitudes, while little data exist from higher latitudes. Here, we redress this imbalance with a detailed evaluation of Boreal marine fos-sil ranges in the Kapp Starostin Formation of Spitsbergen, a Permian-aged mixed spiculite chert-carbonate unit that formed in cool, shelf seas of the Boreal Ocean (Ehrenberg et al, 2001;Stemmerik and Worsley, 2005;Blomeier et al, 2013;Dustira et al, 2013). We assess the role of redox changes during this interval using a combination of petrographic and geochemical approaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An abrupt extinction in the Middle Permian (Capitanian) of the Boreal Realm (Spitsbergen) and its link to anoxia and acidification

Bond¹,

Wignall²,

Joachimski³

et al. 2015

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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The controversial Capitanian (Middle Permian, 262 Ma) extinction event is only known from equatorial latitudes, and consequently its global extent is poorly resolved. We demonstrate that there were two, severe extinctions amongst brachiopods in northern Boreal latitudes (Spitsbergen) in the Middle to Late Permian, separated by a recovery phase. New age dating of the Spitsbergen strata (belonging to the Kapp Starostin Formation), using strontium isotopes and d 13 C trends and comparison with better-dated sections in Greenland, suggests that the first crisis occurred in the Capitanian. This age assignment indicates that this Middle Permian extinction is manifested at higher latitudes. Redox proxies (pyrite framboids and trace metals) show that the Boreal crisis coincided with an intensification of oxygen depletion, implicating anoxia in the extinction scenario. The widespread and near-total loss of carbonates across the Boreal Realm also suggests a role for acidification in the crisis. The recovery interval saw the appearance of new brachiopod and bivalve taxa alongside survivors, and an increased mollusk dominance, resulting in an assemblage reminiscent of younger Mesozoic assemblages. The subsequent end-Permian mass extinction terminated this Late Permian radiation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An abrupt extinction in the Middle Permian (Capitanian) of the Boreal Realm (Spitsbergen) and its link to anoxia and acidification

Bond¹,

Wignall²,

Joachimski³

et al. 2015

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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“…Upper Permian organic-rich argillaceous mudstones assigned to the Ørret Formation (Fig. 2) are oil-prone source rocks (Ehrenberg et al, 2001;Lerch et al, 2018;Matapour et al, 2019). During the Early-Middle Triassic, a large-scale progradational system developed in the Barents Sea (Riis et al, 2008;Lundschien et al, 2014) and thick sequences of clastic sediments, transported from provenance areas in the Urals foldbelt and western Siberia, were deposited in transgressive-regressive cycles (Faleide et al, 2010;Høy and Lundschien, 2011;Lundschien et al, 2014;Gilmullina et al, 2021;Gilmullina et al 2022).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Pleistocene Glaciation on Petroleum Systems and Gas Hydrate Stability in the Olga Basin Region, Barents Sea

Amberg,

Littke,

Lutz

et al. 2024

Journal of Petroleum Geology

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This study presents the results of a 2D numerical basin and petroleum systems model of the Olga Basin in the NW Barents Sea offshore northern Norway, a frontier exploration area in which there are abundant seafloor oil and gas seepages. The effects of Pleistocene ice sheet advances on rock properties and subsurface fluid migration in this area, and on seafloor hydrocarbon seepage, are not well understood. The 2D numerical model takes account of recurrent ice advances and retreats, together with related erosional and temperature effects, and investigates the influence of these parameters on fluid migration. Model results show that Pleistocene glaciations reduced the temperature in the sedimentary succession in the Olga Basin by up to 20 °C, for example in the uppermost Cretaceous and Jurassic sediments which underlie the seafloor down to a depth of 0.5 to 1 km. The decrease in temperature was in general predominantly related to the intensity of glacial erosion, which was set in this study to a depth of 600 m based on previous studies. Hydrocarbon fluids expelled from potential thermogenic source rocks of Carboniferous to Triassic ages on the SW margin of the Olga Basin migrated to the seafloor through permeable carrier beds. However, fluid migration to the surface in the NE of the study area took place along fault conduits. In a closed fault model scenario, only 0.3 Mt of hydrocarbons are modelled to have migrated along the 0.5 km wide model section; in a second scenario with partially open faults, about 22 Mt of hydrocarbons, representing about 11% of the total hydrocarbons generated by potential thermogenic source rocks in the study area, were lost to the surface during the Pleistocene. The potential for microbial methane generation in the Olga Basin was limited both during the Pleistocene and at the present day due to the significant reduction in temperature during glacial episodes, and due to the intense glacial‐related erosion of the Mesozoic to Cenozoic stratigraphy. During glacial stages, the gas hydrate stability zone beneath the ice sheet is modelled to have extended to a depth of up to 900 m for a pure methane composition, and to a depth of up to 1100 m for a possible thermogenic‐sourced mixed gas composition of 90% methane, 7% propane and 3% ethane. Gas hydrates with this mixed composition are modelled to have been stable in the Olga Basin during the last three glacial advances and into the present. These modelling results provide an insight into the key factors controlling the migration and surface leakage of hydrocarbon fluids in the Olga Basin region, and into the effects of glaciations on rock properties in a glaciated basin.

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“…Large oil companies that drilled in the 1970s like Fina, Total and Caltex, were all majors at that time and have certainly obtained existing data, as highlighted also in the thorough preparation by Caltex for the initial claiming in the 1960s (Brugmans, 2008 (Marshall et al, 2015b), contribute to this pervasive west-east trend for the sandstones and the organic-rich mudstones (i.e., following the principle of chemical compaction and maturation of source rocks; Bjørlykke, 2015;Bjørlykke & Jahren, 2015). The prediction of the reservoir properties of Upper Palaeozoic carbonates and spiculites is, however, challenging, due to the pervasive heterogeneity of the succession (Ehrenberg et al, 2001;Eliassen & Talbot, 2005;Stemmerik & Worsley, 2005).…”

Section: Paleogene Coal Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Petroleum, coal and research drilling onshore Svalbard: a historical perspective

Senger¹,

Brugmans²,

Grundvåg³

et al. 2019

NJG

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The beginning of the Norwegian oil industry is often attributed to the first exploration drilling in the North Sea in 1966, the first discovery in 1967 and the discovery of the supergiant Ekofisk field in 1969. However, petroleum exploration already started onshore Svalbard in 1960 with three mapping groups from Caltex and exploration efforts by the Dutch company Bataaffse (Shell) and the Norwegian private company Norsk Polar Navigasjon AS (NPN). NPN was the first company to spud a well at Kvadehuken near Ny-Ålesund in 1961. This drilling marked the start of an exciting period of petroleum exploration in Svalbard, with eighteen exploration wells drilled in the period from 1961 to 1994. The deepest well so far, Caltex's Ishøgda-I near Van Mijenfjorden, reached 3304 m in 1966. NPN was involved in nine of the eighteen wells. The remaining wells were drilled by American (Caltex/Amoseas), Belgian (Fina), French (Total), Soviet/Russian (Trust Arktikugol), Swedish (Polargas Prospektering) and Norwegian companies Norsk Hydro and Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani. None of the wells resulted in commercial discoveries, though several wells encountered gas in measureable quantities. Only the two wells drilled in the early 1990s were drilled on structures defined using a sparse 2D seismic grid, while the other wells were drilled based on geological mapping at the surface. Furthermore, more recent research and coal exploration boreholes have confirmed moveable hydrocarbons in close proximity to the Longyearbyen and Pyramiden settlements. In this contribution, we present a historical and brief geological overview of the petroleum exploration wells onshore Svalbard. We illustrate that the eighteen petroleum exploration wells have together penetrated over 29 km of stratigraphy, with the Late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic successions particularly well covered. Coal exploration and research boreholes primarily focus on the Mesozoic-Cenozoic successions. As such, the boreholes represent an important window to decipher the stratigraphic evolution of both Svalbard and the greater Barents Shelf.

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A depositional and sequence stratigraphic model for cold-water, spiculitic strata based on the Kapp Starostin Formation (Permian) of Spitsbergen and equivalent deposits from the Barents Sea

Cited by 12 publications

References 25 publications

An abrupt extinction in the Middle Permian (Capitanian) of the Boreal Realm (Spitsbergen) and its link to anoxia and acidification

An abrupt extinction in the Middle Permian (Capitanian) of the Boreal Realm (Spitsbergen) and its link to anoxia and acidification

Influence of Pleistocene Glaciation on Petroleum Systems and Gas Hydrate Stability in the Olga Basin Region, Barents Sea

Petroleum, coal and research drilling onshore Svalbard: a historical perspective

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