| Title | Qualitative petroleum resource assessment of the Labrador Margin |
| Download | Downloads |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Carey, J S ;
McCartney, T; Hanna, M C; Lister, C J; Ferguson, R; Kung, L E |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8535, 2019, 104 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/314721  Open Access |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is superceded by Qualitative petroleum
resource assessment of the Labrador Margin |
| File format | readme
|
| File format | pdf (Adobe® Reader®); rtf; docx (Microsoft® Word®); gdb (ESRI® ArcGIS® v.10.x); shp (ESRI® ArcGIS® v.10.x); xml (ESRI® ArcGIS® v.10.x); mxd (ESRI® ArcGIS® v.10.x) |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador; Northern offshore region; Eastern offshore region |
| NTS | 3; 13H; 13I; 13J; 13N; 13O; 13P; 14C; 14F; 14K; 14L; 14M; 14N; 15C; 15D; 15E; 15F; 25A; 25H |
| Area | Labrador Sea |
| Lat/Long WENS | -65.0000 -49.0000 62.0000 52.5000 |
| Subjects | fossil fuels; economic geology; marine geology; tectonics; stratigraphy; structural geology; geophysics; geochemistry; paleontology; continental margins; continental shelf; continental slope; offshore
areas; petroleum resources; hydrocarbon potential; oil; gas; hydrate; methane; modelling; thermal analyses; petroleum generation; hydrocarbon generation; source rocks; reservoir rocks; hydrocarbon migration; porosity; permeability; mineral potential;
mineral deposits; mineral occurrences; metals; nickel; cobalt; copper; uranium; gold; chromite; coal; zinc; diamond; iron; gypsum; lithium; lead; mines; geothermal resources; geothermal potential; geophysical interpretations; seismic interpretations;
seismic reflection surveys; well logging; sedimentary basins; tectonic history; tectonic setting; rifting; sea floor spreading; deformation; intrusions; plutons; burial history; thermal history; structural interpretations; crustal thickness;
depositional models; organic geochemistry; pyrolysis; bitumen; thermal maturation; heat flow; wells; geothermal temperatures; facies analyses; bathymetry; bedrock geology; basement geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; shales; sandstones; mudstones;
clastics; conglomerates; siltstones; limestones; dolostones; dolomites; igneous rocks; intrusive rocks; volcanic rocks; structural features; traps; fault zones; faults; faults, normal; grabens; fracture zones; shear zones; biostratigraphy; vitrinite
reflectance; petrophysics; Archean; Labrador Margin; Hopedale Basin; Saglek Basin; Bjarni Formation; Gudrid Formation; Labrador Marginal Trough; Saglek Bank; Okak Bank; Okak Saddle; Nain Bank; Hopedale Saddle; Makkovik Bank; Harrison Bank; Cartwright
Saddle; Hamilton Bank; Hawke Saddle; Okak Arch; Snorri Fracture Zone; Cartwright Fracture Zone; Cartwright Arch; Kaipokok Bay Shear Zone; Kanairiktok Shear Zone; Makkovik Province; Nain Province; Hopdale Block; Saglek Block; Markland Formation;
Cartwright Formation; Kenamu Formation; Mokami Formation; Alexis Volcanics; Saglek Formation; gas hydrates; platinum group elements; Phanerozoic; Cenozoic; Tertiary; Mesozoic; Cretaceous; Paleozoic; Devonian; Silurian; Ordovician; Precambrian;
Proterozoic |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; geochronological charts; schematic cross-sections; tables; cross-sections; models; profiles; stratigraphic columns; plots |
| Program | Geoscience for New Energy Supply (GNES) Frontier basin analysis |
| Released | 2019 07 08 |
| Abstract | (Summary)
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) conducted a qualitative petroleum resource assessment for the Labrador continental margin (Figure 1) in order to inform any future decisions related
to marine spatial planning including marine conservation. Funding for this study came from the Marine Conservation Targets (MCT) initiative, which provided targeted funding to Environment and Climate Change Canada (represented by the Parks Canada
Agency), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) as part of the Government of Canada's commitment to conserve 10% of Canada's marine and coastal waters by 2020.
The study area encompasses approximately 425,000 km2
northeast of Labrador between 53?N and 61?N, and from the shoreline to the 200 nautical mile limit, where water depths can exceed 3000 m (Figure 2). Information compiled, produced and reviewed for this report is included in appendices including the
interpretive geologic framework (Appendix A), thermal modeling and petroleum generation (Appendix B), the petroleum system analysis by play (Appendix C), an assessment of the unconventional petroleum potential (Appendix D), mineral potential
(Appendix E), list of all reviewed documents (Appendix F), and a glossary of terms (Appendix G).
This qualitative assessment of the conventional petroleum potential of the Labrador Sea builds on previous petroleum potential studies of the
Labrador Margin (e.g. Sheppard and Hawkins, 1980), and incorporates new insights gained from recent scientific work (e.g. Jauer and Budkewitsch, 2010; Dickie et al., 2011; Keen et al., 2018a, b) and examination of seismic survey data acquired between
1975 and 2016 (Figure 3). The present study summarizes relative petroleum resource potential of the study area, and provides the scientific foundation for any subsequent quantitative assessment of the potential. The petroleum assessment includes
evaluations of petroleum plays in two sedimentary basins: the Hopedale Basin and Saglek Basin (Figure 4), as well as their corresponding deepwater systems. Data coverage and principal geological features and basin architecture are shown in Figures 2,
3 and 4, and discussed in Appendices A and B.
The interpretation of conventional petroleum resource potential, visually represented by a qualitative potential map (Figure 1), indicates the highest potential is located in areas of the continental
shelf where early Cretaceous depocentres are found, with moderate to high potential in parts of the continental slope with thick sediments.
A secondary objective of the study was to assess the potential for unconventional hydrocarbons such as gas
hydrates, coal-bed methane, shale oil and shale gas (Figure 5). The unconventional energy potential is viewed as moderate based solely on review of the literature with no additional research or analysis.
A tertiary objective of the study was to
identify areas with potential mineral resources through literature review (Appendix E) and regional geologic mapping. Mineral resources identified in coastal Labrador include nickel, cobalt, copper and uranium. Figure 6 provides information on
mineral occurrences and mines near the study area. Viability of offshore mineral resource extraction would first require a regulatory framework that allows offshore mineral mining in Canada. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This open file summarizes the results of a qualitative assessment of the petroleum and mineral resource potential for the shelf and slope offshore
Labrador. This work was undertaken by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) in support of NRCAN's commitment to assess offshore areas proposed for protection by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or Parks Canada Agency.
A relative prospectivity map for the margin is presented that represents a summation of all recognized play opportunities using the methodology described in GSC Open File 8404 (Lister et al., 2018) |
| GEOSCAN ID | 314721 |
|
|