Middle Triassic seals – UK and Dutch offshore wells study (CASP.BSSC.7)

The Middle Triassic Haisborough Group is the primary seal to proposed CO2 storage reservoirs within the Lower to Middle Triassic Bunter Sandstone Formation. However, the composition and sealing quality of the Haisborough Group are poorly constrained, as offshore core material from these mudrocks is generally lacking. This project complements a concurrent study of onshore analogue core material (CASP.BSSC.6) by focusing on core and cuttings from several UK and Dutch offshore wells that penetrate the Haisborough Group or equivalent strata. The data and insights generated by this project will aid assessment of these potential seal units in the Southern North Sea.

Research programme

Detailed logging and compositional characterisation of the seal strata are being conducted on several core sections from the Southern North Sea including the Endurance appraisal well. The composition of the rocks will be determined via petrography, hand-held XRF, SEM-EDS and QXRD analyses where core is available. Results will be linked to the sealing capacity of these strata through MICP analyses. Samples of cuttings from uncored intervals of the same wells will be subjected to a similar analytical protocol, the results of which will supplement the core assessment.

Bunter Project Stratigraphy

Bunter Project Stratigraphy
Figure 1. Triassic stratigraphy of the UK and Dutch sectors of the Southern North sea.

Deliverables

Results will be delivered via an interim data release with an associated presentation for client companies and a final technical report containing:

  • Sedimentary logs and facies interpretation of several core sections, including the ~27 m thick succession in the Endurance appraisal well
  • Composition descriptions and images from petrography analyses
  • Composition descriptions and images from SEM analyses
  • Hand-held XRF measurements taken at regular intervals along the cores
  • MICP data
  • QXRD data

The project will conclude with a client workshop during which all data and interpretations will be presented and discussed.

Bunter Project Map

Bunter Project Map
Figure 2. Early Triassic palaeogeography with offshore sample sites to be studied during this project. Modified from Geluk et al. (2018).

Project duration

The project was launched at the beginning of October 2022 and has a planned duration of 27 months.

Contact: Simon Schneider for further information about this research and licensing options.

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