Academic literature on the topic 'Cromer Knoll'

The Danish Central Graben is part of the mainly Late Jurassic complex of grabens in the central and southern North Sea which form the Central Graben. The tectonic elements of the Danish Central Graben in the Late Jurassic are outlined and compared to those in the Early Cretaceous based on reduced versions of published maps (1:200 000), compiled on the basis of all 1994 public domain seismic and well data. The Tail End Graben, a half-graben which stretches for about 90 km along the East North Sea High, is the dominant Late Jurassic structural feature. The Rosa Basin (new name) is a narrow, north–south-trending basin extending from the south-western part of the Tail End Graben. The Tail End Graben ceased to exist as a coherent structural element during the Early Cretaceous and developed into three separate depocentres: the Iris and Gulnare Basins to the north and the Roar Basin to the south (new names). The Early Cretaceous saw a shift from subsidence focused along the East North Sea High during the Late Jurassic to a more even distribution of minor basins within the Danish Central Graben. The depth to the top of the Upper Jurassic – lowermost Cretaceous Farsund Formation reaches a maximum of 4800 m in the northern part of the study area, while the depth to the base of the Upper Jurassic reaches 7500 m in the Tail End Graben, where the Upper Jurassic attains a maximum thickness of 3600 m. The Lower Cretaceous Cromer Knoll Group attains a maximum thickness of 1100 m in the Outer Rough Basin.

AbstractAn integrated tectonic and sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Cretaceous and Danian of the Danish Central Graben has led to significant new insights critical for our understanding of the chalk facies as a unique cool-water carbonate system, as well as for the evaluation of its potential remaining economic significance.A major regional unconformity in the middle of the Upper Cretaceous chalk has been dated as being of early Campanian age. It separates two distinctly different basin types: a thermal contraction early post-rift basin (Valanginian–Santonian), which was succeeded by an inversion tectonics-affected basin (Campanian–Danian). The infill patterns for these two basin types are dramatically different as a result of the changing influence of the tectonic, palaeoceanographic and eustatic controlling factors.Several new insights are reported for the Lower Cretaceous: a new depositional model for chalk deposition along the basin margins on shallow shelves, which impacts reservoir quality trends; recognition of a late Aptian long-lasting sea-level lowstand (which hosts lowstand sandstone reservoirs in other parts of the North Sea Basin); and, finally, the observation that Barremian–Aptian sequences can be correlated from the Boreal to the Tethyan domain. In contrast, the Late Cretaceous sedimentation patterns have a strong synsedimentary local tectonic overprint (inversion) that influenced palaeoceanography through the intensification of bottom currents and, as a result, the depositional facies. In this context, four different chalk depositional systems are distinguished in the Chalk Group, with specific palaeogeography, depositional features and sediment composition.The first formalization of the lithostratigraphic subdivision of the Chalk Group in the Danish Central Graben is proposed, as well as an addition to the Cromer Knoll Group.

The Danish part of the Central Graben (DCG) is one of the petroliferous basins in the offshore region of north-western Europe. The source rock quality and maturity is here reviewed, based on 5556 Rock-Eval analyses and total organic carbon (TOC) measurements from 78 wells and 1175 vitrinite reflectance (VR) measurement from 55 wells, which makes this study the most comprehensive to date. The thermal maturity is evaluated through 1-D basin modelling of 46 wells. Statistical parameters describ-ing the distribution of TOC, hydrocarbon index (HI) and Tmax are presented for the Lower Jurassic marine Fjerritslev Formation, the Middle Jurassic terrestrial-paralic Bryne, Lulu, and Middle Graben Formations and the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous marine Lola and Farsund Formations in six areas in the DCG. For the Farsund Formation the source-rock richness is presented for selected stratigraphic sequences. The upper part of the Farsund Formation is immature in the southern part of the Salt Dome Province, and late oil mature in and near the Tail End Graben and in the Søgne Basin. The lower part of the Farsund Formation is immature in local areas, yet post-mature in the Tail End Graben and in the Salt Dome Province. The Lower and Middle Jurassic shales are gas-prone in most of the DCG. The depth of the oil window, as defined by a VR of 0.6% Ro, ranges between 2200 and 4500 m. The variations are ascribed to heat flow differences in the DCG and can be modelled by a simple depth model, which includes the thickness of the Cretaceous to Palaeo-gene Chalk and Cromer Knoll Groups. According to the model, a thick Chalk Group offsets the oil window to deeper levels, which likely can be attributed to the thermal properties of the highly thermally conductive chalk compared to the underlying less thermally conductive clays. The DCG is an overpressured basin, and high-pressure, high-temperature conditions are expected to occur deeper than 3.8 km except for the Feda and Gertrud Grabens where such conditions, due to generally lower tem-peratures, are expected to occur deeper than around 4.7 km.

AbstractThe clay mineralogy of the Cretaceous strata of the British Isles is described and discussed within its lithostratigraphical and biostratigraphical framework using published and unpublished sources as well as 1400 new clay mineral analyses. The regional clay mineral variation is described systematically for the following strata:(1)Southern England — Purbeck Limestone Group (Berriasian/Ryazanian; Lulworth and Durlston formations), Wealden Group (Valanginian—Barremian/Aptian; Ashdown, Wadhurst Clay, Tunbridge Wells Sands, Grinstead Clay Member, Wealden Clay, Wessex and Vectis formations), Lower Greensand (Aptian—Lower Albian; Atherfield Clay, Hythe, Sandgate, Folkestone Sands, Ferruginous Sands, Woburn Sands and Faringdon Sponge Gravels formations), Selborne Group (Middle—Upper Albian; Gault Clay and Upper Greensand formations) and the Chalk Group (Cenomanian—Lower Maastrichtian).(2)Eastern England — Cromer Knoll Group (Ryazanian—Upper Albian; Speeton Clay, Spilsby Sandstone, Sandringham Sands, Claxby Ironstone, Tealby, Roach Ironstone, Dersingham, Carstone and Red Chalk (or Hunstanton Red Limestone) formations).(3)Scotland — Inner Hebrides Group (Cenomanian—Campanian; Morvern Greensand, Gribun Chalk, Coire Riabhach Phosphatic Hibernian Greensands formations).(4)Northern Ireland — Hibernian Greensands (Cenomanian—Santonian) and Ulster White Limestone formations (Santonian—Lower Maastrichtian).The stratigraphical patterns of clay mineral variation divide naturally into two types; firstly, the more complex pattern of the Lower Cretaceous strata and secondly, the simple pattern of the Upper Cretaceous. Clay mineral variations in the non-marine and marine Lower Cretaceous strata of England are best explained by the interplay of two main clay mineral assemblages between which all gradations occur. The assemblage which dominates the main clay formations consists of mica, kaolin and poorly defined mixed-layer smectite-mica-vermiculite minerals, and sometimes includes vermiculite and traces of chlorite. It is dominantly of detrital origin and detailed evidence indicates it is derived largely from the reworking of Mesozoic sediments although ultimately from weathered Palaeozoic sediments and metasediments. Although mainly of detrital origin, this assemblage contains a persistent component that formed coevally with the approximate depositional age of its host sediment. Whether this component is of soil origin or was neoformed in the sediment shortly after deposition is unclear. There is little firm evidence indicating the sources of this clay mineral detritus. However, in the strata of the Wealden Group of southern England, mineral trends suggest three sources; one of these was to the west (Cornubian Massif), another must have been the Anglo- Brabant landmass. In the Selborne Group (Middle—Upper Albian) and in the overlying Lower Chalk (Cenomanian) where this assemblage makes its last appearance in the Cretaceous of England, there is good evidence of easterly and south-easterly sources.The second main assemblage tends to be largely monominerallic, and usually dominated by smectite with or without small amounts of mica; less frequently, kaolin, berthierine or glauconite sensu lato is the sole or dominant component. It is considered to be of volcanogenic origin, derived from the argillization of volcanic ash under different conditions of deposition and diagenesis. The source of the ash in Berriasian—Aptian times seems to have been an extensive volcanic field in the southern part of the North Sea and in the Netherlands, whereas in the Albian (and extending into the Cenomanian) a westerly source dominated. The current controversy about the role of climate or pattern of volcanic activity controlling the clay mineral stratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous is reviewed.In the lower part of the Upper Cretaceous strata of England, Scotland and Ireland, sand-grade glauconite is particularly abundant. Much of it represents the glauconitization of pene- contemporanous volcanic ash, possibly of basaltic origin, associated with continental breakup and the opening up of the Atlantic Ocean and the earliest stages in the development of the Hebridean Tertiary Igneous Province. The Upper Cretaceous Chalk facies of England and Ireland is dominated by a smectite-rich clay assemblage containing mica, and the various hypotheses for its origin (detrital, neoformation, volcanogenic) are reviewed in the light of available mineralogical, chemical and geological data.

This study is an evaluation of the lithostratigraphy of the Early Cretaceous Cromer Knoll Group in an area of the UK Central Graben, Central North Sea. These fine grained sediments were deposited in an open marine, clastic-dominated system. Background carbonate deposition became more dominant during periods of reduced clastic input. There were also periods of dysaerobic conditions with brief, but well defined, anoxic events, producing regionally correlateable markers. 13 wells and 650km of 2D and 3D seismic data have been used to construct detailed correlations and isochore maps. The factors governing the deposition of these sediments have been evaluated by the integration of detailed biostratigraphy, lithological and wireline log analysis and seismic interpretation. These factors are thought to have been an interaction between the thermally-sagging basin, the existing tectonic style, the movement of salt at depth and environmental controls such as the presence or absence of polar ice masses and fluctuations in hinterland precipitation. Limited available core information has been used as detailed lithological calibration. The tectonic style is governed by the thermally sagging basin, the boundaries of which were defined by the pre-existing Late Cimmerian and older fault patterns; there has been subsequent inversion within the study area during the Late Cretaceous and Tertiary. The problems of data resolution and scale are discussed, a striking example being the difference between the seismically-derived interpretation of simple onlap with the log-derived interpretation of condensed sequences over an intra-basinal high. Previously un-reported Barremian-aged ammonites and a new species of belemnite of Tethyan affinities have been recovered from the cores. These, together with the nannofossils of Tethyan origins, are presented as evidence for Tethyan incursions into the Boreal realm during the Barremian. The value of detailed biostratigraphy is clearly demonstrated as it constrains the log correlations.

The Heidrun field is located in the Halten Terrace of the Mid-Norwegian Continental Shelf and is one of the first giant oil fields found on the Norwegian Sea. Modern 3D seismic reflection data acquired over the field, as well as well data were used to define the key structural and stratigraphic elements within the study area. The basic geologic history of the Heidrun field is typical of most North Sea plays, and includes Triassic rift sequences that are masked by the reactivation of bounding faults that were active during the Jurassic rift phase. This rifting phase was followed by deposition of marine black shales and subsequent carbonaceous shales during the Latest Jurassic to Earliest Cretaceous. The next sequence was characterized by the deposition of Paleocene-Eocene boundary tuffs, which were formed due to volcanism associated with a rifting event that separated Norway and Greenland. Finally, an Eocene to present passive margin marine sequence is dominant over the study area that is mainly composed by glacial deposits. Traditional reservoir intervals within the Heidrun field are located within the Jurassic age inter-rift sequence. However, most recently Cretaceous-age turbidites have been explored in the Norwegian and North Sea as possible targets with some success. These Cretaceous turbidites are traditionally found as basin floor fan deposits within rifted deeps along the Norwegian continental shelf and are believed to be sourced from localized erosion of Jurassic- age rifted highs. Data within our study area revealed the existence of a deep-water Cretaceous age wedge located within the downthrown hanging wall of several smaller half-grabens formed on the Halten Terrace. Seismic attribute extractions taken within this Cretaceous wedge show the presence of several elongate to lobate bodies that seem to cascade over fault-bounded terraces associated with the rifted structures. These high amplitude elongated bodies are interpreted as proximal sedimentary conduits that are time equivalent to the Cretaceous basin floor fans located in more distal portions of the basin to the west. Several wells penetrate the updip, tilted half-graben hanging walls which are believed to be sourcing these turbidite systems. These half graben fills have the potential to contain high quality Cretaceous sandstones that might represent a potential new reservoir interval within the Heidrun field.<br>text