Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 20, 2010, 75–78

Establishment of robust reservoir models and estimates of

subsurface hydrocarbon volumes in relatively unknown sub-

surface settings can be improved by using data from field

analogues. The discovery of the Rosebank oilfield in the

Faroe–Shetland Basin showed that intrabasaltic sandstones

can form important hydrocarbon reservoirs in volcanic ba-

sins (Helland-Hansen 2009). The Sødalen region in south-

ern East Greenland (Fig. 1) forms an excellent field analogue

to the Rosebank oilfield where contemporaneous Palaeogene

sediments interbedded with lava units can be studied and

sampled (Larsen et al. 1999). In this area many of the expo-

sures are located along steep, inaccessible cliffs with excel-

lent exposures that are ideal for 3-D photogeological studies

based on digital high-resolution photographs taken from a

helicopter.

The analogue study reported on here has integrated re-

sults from a wide range of spatial scales. On a large scale

(kilometre to metre), 3-D photogeology was used to study

the extent, geometry and interfingering of volcanic and in-

trabasaltic sedimentary units. Photogeology was also used

to map faults, dykes and sills, which may lead to compart-

mentalisation (division) of reservoirs. On an intermediate

scale (metre to millimetre), sections are logged in the field,

sedimentary and volcanic facies are mapped and depositional

environments are interpreted. Three-dimensional photoge-

ology is also applied on an intermediate scale to map lateral

variations of sedimentary units between logged sections. On

a small scale (millimetre to micrometre), mineral-chemical,

petrographical and zircon age determinations provide infor-

mation on sediment source, provenance area and diagenetic

inf luences on reservoir properties.

The analogue study has resulted in a large database, which

can form an important source of estimates of reservoir size,

geometry and connectivity, and of vertical and lateral varia-

tions in the sandstone content of reservoirs. Ultimately this

may improve estimates of the actual volumes and recoverable

volumes of hydrocarbons in intrabasaltic subsurface sedi-

ments.

The 3-D photogeological method
The 3-D photogeological method used in this study was de-

veloped at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland

(GEUS) and builds on earlier work by Dueholm et al. (1993)

and Dueholm & Olsen (1993). The method allows the ac-

quisition of geological data from vertical and oblique aerial

photographs, with a three-dimensional overview of the out-

crops. The oblique photographs (1:15 000–1:17 000 scale)

are triangulated with coloured, vertical, aerial photographs

(1:27 000 scale) using a 3-D stereo-plotter coupled with ster-

eo-mirror technology. The mapping of geological features

includes determination of strata thickness, strike direction

and dip values working on a 3-D high resolution vision of the

cliffs. The resolution of volcanic and sedimentary beds and

geological features is c. 10 cm. All the mapped features are

stored in a GIS database and 3-D polylines can be exported

Study of a Palaeogene intrabasaltic sedimentary unit in
southern East Greenland: from 3-D photogeology to
micropetrography

Henrik Vosgerau, Pierpaolo Guarnieri, Rikke Weibel, Michael Larsen, Cliona Dennehy,
Erik V. Sørensen and Christian Knudsen

Sø
d
ale

‘Sødalengletscher’
68°15´N

31°W

Miki Fjord

J.C. Jacobsen Fjord

Greenland

Mainly Palaeogene volcanic rocks

Palaeogene gabbro

Mesozoic–Palaeogene sedimentary rocks

Precambrian basement

10 km

Fig. 2A

Fig. 1. Map of the Sødalen area in southern East Greenland. The red line

shows the location of the profile in Fig. 2A.

7676

A. Large scale

B. Intermediate scale

C. Small scale

Lava unit

Invasive lava
Lower–middle shoreface

Lower–middle shoreface

Lav
a u

nit

Cl Si Sand Gnl

5 m

20%10090%80706050403020100

Upper shoreface

Dyke

20 μm

Volcanics

Chlorite

Quartz

Feldspar

Volcanic fragments

Mica

Heavy minerals

Sphene

Rock fragments

Quartz

Feldspar

Calcite

Illite

Chlorite

Detrital composition Authigenic phases

200 m

Bedding

Dyke

Fault

Intrabasaltic
unit

NWNW SESENW SE

as shape files suitable for 3-D modelling using, for example,

Petrel reservoir engineering software. Moreover, using 3-D

feature databases in ArcGIS, geological cross-sections can be

generated automatically to obtain real representations of out-

crops, and then projected onto a topographic profile, where

the accuracy is as high as the resolution in the photographs.

The oblique photographs used here were small-frame colour

photographs taken from a helicopter f lying close to the cliff

faces (<800 m) and at a constant altitude along straight lines

approximately parallel to the cliffs. The photographs were

taken with a 60 to 80% overlap using a 22 megapixel digital

camera.

On a large scale
(kilometre to metre)
On a large scale, 3-D photogeology is used to study the lat-

eral extent and geometry of the intrabasaltic sediments and

volcanic rocks and boundary relationships. Evidence of com-

partmentalisation of the intrabasaltic reservoir analogues,

caused for example by dykes, sills or faults, are mapped. Figure

2A shows an oblique view of a 1.2 km section on the eastern

side of Sødalen, which is an 8 km long U-shaped valley, orien-

tated SE–NW from Miki Fjord to ‘Sødalengletscher’ (Fig. 1).

The photograph focuses on the stratigraphically lowest intra-

basaltic, whitish sedimentary unit, which dips gently to the

south-east. The geological cross-section in Fig. 2A is pro-

jected on the cliff view, and is obtained from 3-D polylines

created during the 3-D photogeological work. Figure 2A il-

lustrates several large-scale features relevant to the analogue

study such as: (1) top and bottom geometry of the sandstone

unit, (2) density of dykes and faults, which has a large impact

on the lateral extension of the layers due to offsetting and (3)

an evaluation of reservoir compartmentalisation.

On an intermediate scale
(metre to millimetre)
On an intermediate scale, sedimentary and volcanic sections

are logged in the field. Facies types are identified, their lateral

distribution and vertical stacking patterns are mapped and

the boundaries between sedimentary and volcanic units are

studied in detail. The 3-D photogeology is also useful on this

intermediate scale because the high resolution of the digital

photographs allows enlargement to study decimetre-sized

features. Photogeology can therefore be very helpful in map-

ping sedimentary facies assemblages between logged sections

as well as key surfaces separating the different facies, such

as sequence boundaries and marine-f looding surfaces. The

overall depositional environments and the governing mecha-

nisms for facies distribution, such as sediment transport di-

rections, relative sea-level variations and palaeotopography

can be interpreted from these studies.

An example of a study on an intermediate scale is illus-

trated in Fig. 2B where the photograph is an enlargement of

a small area on the digital photograph (Fig. 2A). The log of

the sedimentary unit of shallow marine sandstone is shown

on the left side of the figure. The lower, exposed part of the

unit consists of crudely and irregularly bedded sandstones,

locally with vertical burrows, interpreted as deposited in

the upper shoreface zone. The lower part is overlain by well-

sorted, fine to medium-grained, laterally extensive sandstone

sheets and wedge-shaped sandstone beds with a large variety

of sedimentary structures including local vertical burrows,

cross-stratification and parallel bedding. These sandstones

are interpreted as deposited in the lower to middle shore-

face zone, which implies that the boundary to the underly-

ing upper shoreface sandstones represents a minor f looding

surface. On the photograph (Fig. 2B) it is seen that the up-

per and lower to middle shoreface facies assemblages can be

followed laterally for tens of metres. It is also seen that the

boundary between the lava units and the sedimentary unit is

slightly undulating, and that the invasive lava bed can be fol-

lowed into the overlying lava to the right. The dyke that cuts

through both the sedimentary unit and the lava units may

have led to a possible compartmentalisation of the sandstone

reservoir.

Fig. 2. ( facing page) A: Oblique photograph (upper) and derived geological

cross-section (lower) of the eastern side of Sødalen, an 8 km long U-shaped

glacial valley, extending SE–NW from ‘Sødalengletscher’ to Miki Fjord.
For location see Fig.1. The photograph focuses on the lowest intrabasaltic

sediments (whitish colour) that dip gently to the south-east. Faults and

dykes are also seen. The geological cross-section below is a projection of

3-D polylines along a N–S-oriented profile, slightly different from the

NW–SE orientation of the photograph. B: Close-up view of the white

square in Fig. 2A. A field log of the section (left) labels the sedimentary

facies assemblages which can be followed laterally on the photograph.

Other important observations include an invasive lava bed and a dyke

cutting through both lavas and intrabasaltic sediments. C: Detrital and

authigenic mineralogical composition of the facies in the sedimentary

unit. The larger amount of authigenic phases in the lower-middle shore-

face sandstones compared to the upper shoreface sandstones, ref lect that

these sandstones originally had a larger content of unstable, glass-rich vol-

canic fragments. The positions of the two samples are shown on Fig. 2B.

7878

On a small scale
(millimetre to micrometre)
On a small scale, petrography is used to understand diage-

netically induced reductions in porosity and permeability to

understand the inf luence of provenance, sedimentary facies

and surrounding ‘hot’ units on diagenetic processes. Based

on intensive sampling in a well-described geological frame-

work controlled by 3-D photogeology and logged sedimen-

tary sections, diagenetic changes are compared with detrital

composition, depositional environment and effects from

overlying and underlying lava units as well as dykes and sills.

Provenance variations are revealed from heavy mineral anal-

ysis using computer-controlled scanning electron microsco-

py, zircon age distributions and petrography. Geochemistry

is applied to distinguish different intrabasaltic units.

The intrabasaltic sedimentary rocks consist of a mix-

ture of detrital siliciclastic (quartz, feldspar, mica etc.) and

volcaniclastic input (Fig. 2C). The upper shoreface facies is

richer in volcanic fragments than the lower-middle shoreface

facies, yet it has a lower content of authigenic phases (Fig. 2C).

This is unexpected as volcanic fragments traditionally have

been associated with intensive alteration thereby liberating

elements for extensive authigenic phases. However, the type

of volcanic fragments is also crucial for the degree of diage-

netic alteration. Glass-rich volcanic fragments are common

in the lower-middle shoreface facies, whereas relatively stable

volcanic fragments (lath-shaped plagioclase with little inter-

stitial glass matrix) are more abundant in the upper shore-

face. Glass-rich volcanic fragments, which are easily altered,

result in extensive authigenic formation, including chlorite

as shown in Fig. 2C. The stable volcanic fragments behave as

plagioclase grains during diagenesis and have less inf luence

on the authigenic phases than the glass-rich volcanic frag-

ments. Consequently, the upper shoreface sandstones show

better reservoir properties than the lower-middle shoreface

facies.

Conclusions
The field analogue project at Sødalen integrated the three

disciplines of 3-D photogeology, sedimentology and petro-

graphy, and gave detailed information from kilometre to

micrometre scale. Petrographical investigations revealed the

diagenetic inf luence on the reservoir properties. When the

diagenetic changes were related to the sedimentary facies, the

information on the reservoir properties could be scaled up to

sedimentary bodies. The geometry of the sedimentary bod-

ies and the probability of compartmentalisation are defined

from 3-D photogeology and logged sedimentary sections.

Integration and up-scaling of several types of geological data

resulted in a more complete understanding of the geology of

the area and can form the basic input for reservoir modelling

and as field analogue for hydrocarbon discoveries in a simi-

lar, inaccessible geological setting in offshore areas.

Acknowledgements
Chevron and Sindri Group are thanked for their financial contribution to

the field work in Greenland.

References
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model photogrammetry; a new tool for the petroleum industry. AAPG

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Dueholm, K.S., Garde, A.A. & Pedersen, A.K. 1993: Preparation of accu-

rate geological and structural maps, cross-sections and block diagrams

from colour slides, using multi-model photogrammetry. Journal of

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Authors’ addresses

H.V., P.G., R.W., E.V.S. & C.K., Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark.

E-mail: hv@geus.dk

M.L., DONG Energy A/S, Agern Alle 24–26, DK-2970 Hørsholm, Denmark.

C.D., Chevron Upsteams Europe, Chevron North Sea Ltd., Chevron House, Hill of Rubislaw, Aberdeen AB15 6XL, UK.