Structural Development of the Dutch Central Graben - New Ideas from Recent 3D Seismic

A regional study on the northern Dutch Central Graben (DCG) and Step Graben (SG) based on, amongst others, very recent regional 3D seismic data has resulted in new ideas on the structural development of the area.

It is postulated that main rifting of the DCG occurred during Middle to Late Triassic. The Late Jurassic extensional phases and the Early Cretaceous inversion phases affected the NS orientated DCG and SG in a different way than the NW-SE orientated basins. Under the NE-SW Late Jurassic extension, the NS bounding faults were not reactivated but WNW-ESE extensional faults developed creating a graben stepping down to the north. Furthermore, it seems that the Early Cretaceous inversion also did not reactivate the NS bounding faults but manifests itself only in a broad basin uplift with minor transpressional features.

Based on this regional work, we expect to improve our understanding of the timing of events, erosion amounts and paleogeography. We foresee future basin modeling to obtain further insights into the hydrocarbon maturation history. The observed WNW-ESE fault trends in the DCG could have tectonically controlled Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sedimentation and local accommodation space along the fault escarpments may create interesting opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration.