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Project description
In the Southern Norwegian North Sea, northwest of the Central Graben, where the Late Jurassic source rock is mature, there are previously unpublished reports of widespread gas seeps. These seeps show strong spatial clustering, with two main types: one associated with salt diapirs and the other with the truncation of Plio-Pleistocene deposits by the Upper Regional Unconformity. Understanding this seepage is important for several reasons, including its environmental impact, implications for the integrity of COâ‚‚ storage sites, the climate effects of methane release from sedimentary basins, and its relevance to hydrocarbon exploration.

This project aims to investigate the first type, where hydrocarbon seepage is linked to salt diapirs. In Block 9/12, a publicly available 3D seismic survey images a series of salt diapirs. Some, but not all, of these diapirs are overlain by prominent soft-kick anomalies within the upper Oligocene. A subset of these is associated with gas seepage, another with oil seepage, while a third subset shows no seepage at all.

The hypothesis is that the seepage state of these diapirs—whether there is no accumulation, oil seepage, both oil and gas seepage, gas seepage, or no seepage—is controlled by the degree of deformation above each diapir. The candidate will characterize the deformation above each salt diapir in the area, investigate potential trap geometries, deduce the geological history of deformation, accumulation, and seepage, and correlate seepage state with the degree of deformation for each diapir.

Data from DISKOS, SODIR

Photo:

Christian H. Eide

Proposed course plan during the master's degree (60 ECTS)
GEOV251
GEOV272
GEOV300
GEOV364
GEOV261
GEOV352
GEOV360
SDG207

Field-, lab- and analysis work
Participation on cruise with G.O. Sars in 2025.
3D seismic interpretation