Late Cenozoic erosion estimates on the Norwegian Barents Shelf from measured/modeled

thermal maturity and sonic/seismic velocity data

Irfan Baig1, Jan Inge Faleide1, Nazmul H. Mondal1 and Jens Jahren1
1

Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway

The Barents Sea is believed to have been influenced in most parts by Late Cenozoic uplift/erosion.
This late exhumation of the Barents Sea had large effects on sediment properties and on hydrocarbon
maturation and migration. The current study seeks to estimate exhumation from shale compaction
and vitrinite reflectance trends in the Norwegian Barents Sea and discuss its implications for
hydrocarbon exploration.
Well logs and geochemical data from about 50 wells and seismic refraction velocities based on
widely distributed shot gathers along long-offset seismic reflection lines have been used to determine
the shale compaction in the uplifted Barents Sea. The vitrinite reflectance and velocities have been
used to quantify exhumation in the area as these are indicative of maximum depth and temperature to
which sediments were buried.
Velocities from seismic refraction profiles were calculated by Herglotz Wiechert method which
assume continuous increase in velocity with depth. The likely transition zones between mechanical
and chemical compaction zones in shales were identified from the rock physics templates and bottom
hole temperature analyses in reference wells located in the west (Troms and Srvestnaget basins).
The reference velocity-depth trends for shales and composite lithology were established respectively
from the sonic logs and seismic refraction data at locations where velocity was lowest, and relatively
thick Cenozoic succession was present. The velocity-depth trends from the other areas were then
calibrated and any deviation from the reference trend was measured as erosion/uplift. The vitrinite
reflectance vs. depth data was plotted on a semi-logarithmic scale and best fit curves were drawn for
each well and extrapolated to near surface vitrinite reflectance of 0.2%. The difference between zero
and extrapolated depth at 0.2% was then estimated as erosion/uplift.
The vitrinite reflectance was also computed from the present day geothermal gradients and lithology
information. The predicted vitrinite reflectance results suggested notably lower values and were
compensated by different amount of erosion to fit with the measured vitrinite reflectance. The
exhumation estimates from different methods presented in this study were all data driven.The results
were within the agreement limit of 80-90% to each other and follow more or less similar trends in the
study area. The exhumation trends from all the methods suggest minimum or no erosion in the
western margin of the SW Barents Sea whereas exhumation increases significantly towards the NE
and slightly towards the East in the Hammerfest Basin and on the platform areas. By combining and
averaging the results from these methods, a general picture of exhumation in the area is determined
resolving the under/over-estimation problems associated with a particularly method. The results
suggested approximately 500 2000 m of erosion within the study area depending on the location.
The shale properties in the Barents Sea area are significantly affected by exhumation resulting in
higher velocities and densities, and lower porosities at shallow depths than expected for normal
compaction. The results from this study are useful input for modeling of maturation, generation,
migration and trapping of hydrocarbons in the area.