| Title | Palynological analyses of the two Labrador Shelf wells, Petro-Canada et al. Corte Real P-85 and Petro-Canada et al. Pothurst P-19, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Download | Downloads |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Williams, G L |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8182, 2017, 50 pages (6 sheets), https://doi.org/10.4095/299653  Open Access |
| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Eastern offshore region |
| NTS | 31O; 31P; 14A; 14B; 14C; 14F; 14G; 14H; 14I; 14J; 14K; 14L |
| Area | Labrador Shelf; Labrador Sea |
| Lat/Long WENS | -64.0000 -56.0000 59.0000 55.0000 |
| Subjects | fossil fuels; marine geology; paleontology; stratigraphy; petroleum resources; hydrocarbons; hydrocarbon potential; palynology; palynomorphs; biostratigraphy; paleoenvironment; correlations;
lithostratigraphy; wells; well log analyses; core samples; microfossils; micropaleontology; fossil spores; miospores; pollen; vegetation; fossil assemblages; palynostratigraphy; Paleogene; Paleocene; Eocene; Oligocene; Neogene; Miocene; Pliocene;
Pleistocene; unconformities; bedrock geology; lithology; continental margins; continental shelf; structural features; faults; Corte Real P-85 well; Pothurst P-19 well; Hopedale Basin; Saglek Basin; Acritarchs; dinoflagellates; Chitinozoa; Kenamu
Formation; Leif Member; Gudrid Formation; Saglek Formation; Mokami Formation; Cartwright Formation; Markland Formation; Baffin Bay Unconformity; Beaufort Unconformity; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Quaternary; Tertiary |
| Illustrations | location maps; photomicrographs; stratigraphic columns; well logs; bar graphs; biostratigraphic charts |
| Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Baffin Petroleum Systems |
| Released | 2017 01 24 |
| Abstract | Both the Saglek and Hopedale sedimentary basins, respectively located on the northern and southern offshore Labrador margins, attracted hydrocarbon exploration in the 1970s and early 1980s. Two
significant wells were Corte Real P-85 in the Hopedale Basin and Pothurst P-19 in the Saglek Basin. To determine the ages and paleoenvironments of the sediments in these wells, I undertook analyses of the organic-walled microfossils (dinocysts,
miospores, acritarchs, chitinozoa), which are collectively termed palynomorphs. Both wells encountered only Tertiary sediments, with Corte Real P-85 being in the Ypresian at total depth and Pothurst P-19 being in the Lutetian at total depth. In both
wells I identified a thick Lutetian section, an unusual occurrence in Labrador Shelf wells. One pleasant surprise was the flood of small pollen grains in the Plio-Pleistocene of Corte Real P-85, which holds promise for subdividing this time interval
in Labrador Shelf wells. Reworking trends occur in both wells, with Carboniferous spores and Cretaceous spores and dinocysts common in Corte Real P-85, whereas in Pothurst P-19 only Cretaceous palynomorphs are reworked. Presumably the specimens were
transported from the west and northwest. Significant breaks in the section are the apparent absence of Bartonian and Middle Miocene and the attenuated Priabonian sediments in Pothurst P-19. Neither well discovered oil nor natural gas. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Both the Saglek and Hopedale sedimentary basins, located on the offshore Labrador margins, attracted hydrocarbon exploration in the 1970s and early
1980s. Two significant wells were Corte Real P-85 in the Hopedale Basin and Pothurst P-19 in the Saglek Basin. I undertook analyses of the organic-walled microfossils to determine the ages and paleoenvironments of the sediments in these wells.
Both wells encountered only Tertiary sediments, with Corte Real P-85 being in the Ypresian at total depth and Pothurst P-19 being in the Lutetian at total depth. Reworking trends occur in both wells, with Carboniferous spores and Cretaceous spores
and dinocysts common in Corte Real P-85, and reworked Cretaceous palynomorphs in Pothurst P-19, that presumably were transported from the west and northwest. Significant breaks in the section are the apparent absence of Bartonian and Middle Miocene
and the attenuated Priabonian sediments in Pothurst P-19. Neither well discovered oil nor natural gas. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 299653 |
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