Study of a Palaeogene intrabasaltic sedimentary unit in southern East Greenland: from 3-D photogeology to micropetrography

Abstract

Establishment of robust reservoir models and estimates of subsurface hydrocarbon volumes in relatively unknown subsurface settings can be improved by using data from field analogues. The discovery of the Rosebank oilfield in the Faroe–Shetland Basin showed that intrabasaltic sandstones can form important hydrocarbon reservoirs in volcanic basins (Helland-Hansen 2009). The Sødalen region in southern East Greenland (Fig. 1) forms an excellent field analogue to the Rosebank oilfield where contemporaneous Palaeogene sediments interbedded with lava units can be studied and sampled (Larsen et al. 1999). In this area many of the exposures are located along steep, inaccessible cliffs with excellent exposures that are ideal for 3-D photogeological studies based on digital high-resolution photographs taken from a helicopter.