Definition of the Churchill River Delta and its petroleum potential, offshore Labrador, Canada

Abstract

Starting in 2011, a multiyear modern 2D long offset broadband seismic survey was acquired offshore Labrador, Canada, by TGS and PGS in partnership with Nalcor Energy. This regional survey covers the slope and deepwater portions of the margin. Three Mesozoic and Cenozoic-aged basins were informally defined from these data, the Chidley, Henley, and Holton; also, the poorly constrained Hawke Basin was remapped. The 2D data set imaged for the first time a very large Cenozoic-aged delta adjacent to the mouth of Lake Melville. We have mapped this delta on a [Formula: see text] 2D seismic grid. The delta is 5–8 km thick, and its aerial extent is [Formula: see text]. The age of this delta has been interpreted to be Eocene to Miocene. Adjacent to this Cenozoic delta on the Labrador shelf, there is a working petroleum system within the proximal Hopedale and Saglek Basins where there are five gas discoveries and one oil discovery. The modern long-offset 2D data set appears to indicate a working petroleum system within the newly mapped Cenozoic delta, and two phases of hydrocarbons may be present.