Undiscovered oil and gas resources may be present under the volcanic rock basalt in the western part of the Norwegian Sea. However, no exploration wells have been drilled in these areas.
Could it be possible to explore for, and find, petroleum under the basalt on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS)?
This is the general topic at the seminar organised by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate in Stavanger today, 15 October. There was considerable interest in the seminar, which was fully booked in short order.
Basalt disrupts seismic
'It’s uplifting to see the companies’ interest in sub-basalt exploration. The areas we’re talking about are among the least explored on the NCS, and there could be significant undiscovered resources there,' says Vaka Antonsdottir, Assistant Director for Exploration at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.
The sub-basalt areas in the western part of the Vøring and Møre Basins were opened for petroleum activity as early as in 1994. However, to date, only a handful of production licences have had exploration targets under the basalt layers. No exploration wells have been drilled in these areas.
Basalt covers up the older deposits
Over the course of geological time, the sub-basalt areas have been influenced by several phases of rifting and eventually volcanism. This is due to the spreading of the Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Greenland, resulting in locally thick basalt sequences forming a cover over the older sedimentary deposits. ?
These types of geological conditions make it difficult to explore for prospective oil and gas areas in the subsurface.
'The basalts disrupt the seismic imaging of the underlying sedimentary deposits when conventional ‘streamer’ seismic is used', Antonsdottir explains.
Primary objective
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate's primary objective is to contribute toward generating the greatest possible values for Norwegian society from oil and gas activities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) through efficient and prudent resource management, while also taking into account health, safety, the environment and other users of the sea. This is laid out in the allocation letter from the Ministry of Energy.
Source: Norwegian Offshore Directorate
