BRAATHEN A.

Permeability measurements in Mesozoic, low-permeability sandstone units within the strata cored in seven drillholes near Longyearbyen, Svalbard, have been analysed to assess the presence of aquifers and their potentials as reservoirs for the storage of carbon dioxide. These targeted sandstones are located in the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic De...

Cone-in-cone (CIC) and beef (BF) carbonate lenses ornament detachment zone faults underlying Triassic growth basins on Edgeoya. Field relationships place CIC and BF growth as during early diagenesis and a transition from hydroplastic to a later brittle-style of faulting that is marked by coarser calcite veining. Deformation is constrained to...

Closely spaced, sub-parallel fracture networks contained within localized tabular zones that are fracture corridors may compromise top seal integrity and form pathways for vertical fluid flow between reservoirs at different stratigraphic levels. This geometry is exemplified by fracture corridors found in outcrops of the Jurassic Entrada...

We discuss discrete zones of enhanced fracturing characterized by closely-spaced, sub-parallel fracture networks (i.e. fracture corridors) as preferential fluid flow pathways which serve to bypass sealing systems and to connect reservoirs at different stratigraphic levels. We identify 3 types of fracture corridors on the basis of their...

Late Mesozoic mafic igneous rocks are widespread across the Arctic region, and are collectively referred to as the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). In Svalbard the HALIP is represented by the Diabasodden Suite, an extensive system of predominantly basic intrusive doleritic rocks. Associated lava flows are exposed on the far east of...

The target siliciclastic aquifer investigated by the Longyearbyen CO2 Lab as a possible test-scale CO2 storage unit is a dual-permeability reservoir characterized by fractured, tight lithologies. By integrating borehole and outcrop data, the reservoir section has been subdivided in intervals defined by 5 lithostructural units (LSUs), each one...

Both thermogenic and biogenic gas were encountered during scientific drilling on Svalbard, Arctic Norway. The thermogenic gas has been encountered in an interval at 650-703 m depth, spanning both the lower part of the caprock, an organic-rich shale unit with subordinate siltstone intervals, and the upper part of the siliciclastic reservoir...

This baseline study on fracture populations affecting the Mesozoic sedimentary succession of central Spitsbergen (Svalbard) has been performed to characterize the reservoir-caprock system explored for potential subsurface CO2 storage by the Longyearbyen CO2 Lab project. Integrating structural and stratigraphie analyses of outcrop and borehole...

We present a geological model of an unconventional siliciclastic reservoir projected for CO2 sequestration near Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The reservoir is characterized by a substantial sub-hydrostatic pressure regime, very low matrix porosity and -permeability values, extensive natural fracturing and the presence of igneous dykes and sills. Due...

Storage capacity is a key aspect when validating potential CO2 sequestration sites. Most CO2 storage projects, for obvious reasons, target conventional aquifers (e.g., saline aquifers, depleted hydrocarbon fields) with good reservoir properties and ample subsurface data. However, non-geological factors, such as proximity to the CO2 source, may...

World-class examples of fault-controlled growth basins with associated syn-kinematic sedimentary fill are developed in Upper Triassic prodelta to delta-front deposits exposed at Kvalpynten, SW Edgeøya in East Svalbard. They are interpreted to have interacted with north-westerly progradation of a regional delta system. The syn-kinematic...

Cooling fracture orientations in diabase sills associated with the Cretaceous High Arctic Large Igneous Province and syn-sedimentary Triassic faults help constrain a model for Svalbard's (NE Barents Shelf) Mesozoic stress field evolution. Fracture data from Edgeøya and adjacent islands in SE Svalbard, from S Spitsbergen, and from literature...

The Late Triassic outcrops on southern Edgeøya, East Svalbard, allow a multiscale study of syn-sedimentary listric growth faults located in the prodelta region of a regional prograding system. At least three hierarchical orders of growth faults have been recognized, each showing different deformation mechanisms, styles and stratigraphic...

The study describes the depositional development and sediment partitioning in a prograding paralic Triassic succession. The deposits are associated with the advance of large prism-scale clinoforms across a shallower platform area. Approaching the platform, the limited accommodation and associated relative higher rates of deposition generated...