Reservoir architectures of interlava systems: a 3D photogrammetrical study of Eocene cliff sections, Faroe Islands

Abstract Following the intra-volcanic Rosebank discovery in the Faroe–Shetland Basin, NE Atlantic, there has been a need to find suitable analogues to characterize reservoir architectures, connectivities and compartmentalization of interlava clastic beds. The Faroe Islands, situated c. 160–190 km to the NW of this discovery, are an exposed remnant of the Palaeogene lava field host and the near-vertical cliff sections afford the opportunity to map lateral variations over many kilometres. This was achieved through 3D photogrammetry based on high-resolution digital photographs taken from a helicopter. The study focused on the Eocene Enni Formation, which is dominated by a mixture of simple and compound lava flows commonly separated by minor volcaniclastic beds, including the widespread Argir Beds. In general, the interlava beds are tabular shaped and <1 to c. 6 m thick. Locally they thicken in depressions formed by the wedging out or differential erosion of underlying lava flow lobes. Connectivity may be caused by the wedging out of successive lava flows leading to the lateral merging of interlava beds or more rarely be hydraulically connected via conglomeratic fills of major channels. Lateral compartmentalization may be caused by the intersection of interlava beds by dykes, lava tubes, lava-filled channels or reverse faults.

[1]  A. Pedersen,et al.  Preparation of accurate geological and structural maps, cross-sections or block diagrams from colour slides, using multi-model photogrammetry , 1993 .

[2]  Óluva Ellingsgaard.  Formation evaluations of interlava volcaniclastic rocks from the Faroe Islands and the Faroe-Shetland Basin , 2009 .

[3]  R. Suthren.  Facies analysis of volcaniclastic sediments: a review , 1985, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[4]  B. Bell,et al.  The Staffa Lava Formation: graben-related volcanism, associated sedimentation and landscape character during the early development of the Palaeogene Mull Lava Field, NW Scotland , 2012 .

[5]  R. Waagstein.  Structure, composition and age of the Faeroe basalt plateau , 1988, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[6]  S. Passey.  The volcanic and sedimentary evolution of the Faeroe plateau lava group, Faeroe Islands and Faeroe-Shetland Basin, NE Atlantic , 2004 .

[7]  A. Noe-Nygaard,et al.  Petrology of A 3,000 metre sequence of basaltic lavas in the Faeroe Islands , 1968 .

[8]  Q. Fisher,et al.  Reservoir compartmentalization: an introduction , 2010 .

[9]  N. Nørgaard-Pedersen,et al.  Basin Evolution in Southern East Greenland: An Outcrop Analog for Cretaceous-Paleogene Basins on the North Atlantic Volcanic Margins , 1999 .

[10]  A. Whitham,et al.  Evidence for a major sediment input point into the Faroe-Shetland Basin from the Kangerlussuaq region of southern East Greenland , 2005 .

[11]  L. Keszthelyi,et al.  Emplacement of continental flood basalt lava flows , 2013 .

[12]  D. L. Robinson,et al.  Structuring and transfer zones in the Faeroe Basin in a regional tectonic context , 1993 .

[13]  E. Lamers,et al.  The Paleocene deepwater sandstone play West of Shetland , 1999 .

[14]  N. Schofield,et al.  Development of intra-basaltic lava-field drainage systems within the Faroe–Shetland Basin , 2013 .

[15]  D. Jolley,et al.  A revised lithostratigraphic nomenclature for the Palaeogene Faroe Islands Basalt Group, NE Atlantic Ocean , 2008, Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

[16]  J. Lund.  A late Paleocene non-marine microflora from the interbasaltic coals of the Faeroe Islands, North Atlantic , 1989 .

[17]  O. Jørgensen.  The regional distribution of zeolites in the basalts of the Faroe Islands and the significance of zeolites as palaeo- temperature indicators , 2006 .

[18]  J. Austin,et al.  Hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation West of Shetlands , 2014 .

[19]  G. Walker.  Compound and simple lava flows and flood basalts , 1971 .

[20]  H. Johnson,et al.  Geology of the Faroe-Shetland Basin and adjacent areas , 2011 .

[21]  A. Morton,et al.  Insights into Cretaceous–Palaeogene sediment transport paths and basin evolution in the North Atlantic from a heavy mineral study of sandstones from southern East Greenland , 2004, Petroleum Geoscience.

[22]  M. Storey,et al.  Timing and duration of volcanism in the North Atlantic Igneous Province: Implications for geodynamics and links to the Iceland hotspot , 2007 .

[23]  K. Rodolfo.  Origin and early evolution of lahar channel at Mabinit, Mayon Volcano, Philippines , 1989 .

[24]  A. Hartley,et al.  Lava–sediment interactions in an Old Red Sandstone basin, NE Scotland , 2013, Journal of the Geological Society.

[25]  A. Morton,et al.  Understanding basin sedimentary provenance: evidence from allied phytogeographic and heavy mineral analysis of the Palaeocene of the NE Atlantic , 2007, Journal of the Geological Society.

[26]  K. S. Dueholm,et al.  Reservoir Analog Studies Using Multimodel Photogrammetry: A New Tool for the Petroleum Industry , 1993 .

[27]  R. Fredsted,et al.  Palaeogene magmatism in the Faeroe–Shetland Basin: influences on uplift history and sedimentation , 1999 .

[28]  B. Richmond,et al.  Storm-controlled oblique dunes of the Oregon coast , 1983 .

[29]  S. Passey.  The habit and origin of siderite spherules in the Eocene coal-bearing Prestfjall Formation, Faroe Islands , 2014 .

[30]  T. Varming,et al.  Surface interpolation within a continental flood basalt province: An example from the Palaeogene Faroe Islands Basalt Group , 2010 .

[31]  A. Kerr,et al.  The north Atlantic igneous province , 2013 .

[32]  Pierpaolo Guarnieri,et al.  From oblique photogrammetry to a 3D model - Structural modeling of Kilen, eastern North Greenland , 2015, Comput. Geosci..

[33]  B. Bell,et al.  Morphologies and emplacement mechanisms of the lava flows of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group, Faroe Islands, NE Atlantic Ocean , 2007 .

[34]  R. Gatliff,et al.  Early Tertiary magmatism in the offshore NW UK margin and surrounds , 1999 .