Paleozoic Carbonate Play in the Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf

Abstract

In-depth risk mitigation and integration of different datasets is an essential task to identify, validate and rank Paleozoic prospects in the Norwegian Barents Sea Shelf (NBSS). The only significant discoveries have been made in the Upper Permian carbonate play on the Loppa High area, whereas the more immature lowermost Permian carbonate play may trap significant volumes of hydrocarbons. During 2018, three new wells are planned to drill into the Lower Permian strata in the Barents Sea. Aker BP operates one, and participates in another of these. Aker BP have allocated significant effort and resources to enhance in-house understanding and to mitigate Paleozoic play risks in the NBSS. De-risking workflow can be split into three main parts; 1) Collection and detailed analysis of analogous field data from Svalbard archipelago to quantify and predict type of hydrocarbon source rocks present in similar depositional setting as interpreted from seismic data 2) Utilizing different seismic data imaging techniques to enhance seismic imaging and facies and lithology prediction of prospective reservoir levels 3) Incorporating all available data in Petroleum Systems Modelling (PSM) to assess the petroleum charge and preservation risk The resulting enhanced understanding of subsurface have facilitated positive drill decisions outside the present discoveries.