The geochemistry of two unusual oils from the Norwegian North Sea: implications for new source rock and play scenario

Two oils from the Norwegian North Sea and a source-rock extract from the Danish North Sea are seen to have chemical properties deviating from any previously known North Sea oils. An organic geochemical investigation concludes that the two oils are of low to medium maturity, and that these oils represent alternative organic facies of Upper Jurassic age. The organic facies that sourced the investigated oils are believed to be hypersaline and carbonate-type source rocks, which were most likely deposited in locally developed, secluded lagoonal settings with elevated salinity and low clastic influx. The alternative source rocks inferred by the two atypical oils may add new concepts to petroleum exploration on the margins of the Mesozoic Central Graben and Viking Graben in the North Sea.