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rom salt beds to oil fields: What are the hidden treasures in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin
Located approximately 340 km (210 mi) offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, the Jeanne d'Arc Basin is an offshore sedimentary basin formed by massive plate tectonic forces that tore apart the supercontinent Pangea ( super-continent Pangaea) and triggered seafloor spreading in the North Atlantic. The Jeanne d'Arc Basin is one of a series of rift basins located in the Grand Banks, a broad shallow uplift of continental crust on the east coast of Newfoundland. The basin is named after an old bathymetric map that labeled it "Ste. Jeanne d'Arc.
Basin formation
The upper crust of the Jeanne d'Arc basin consists of older Precambrian and Paleozoic strata that were slightly deformed by compression during the Pangaean assembly. During the subsequent Mesozoic Era, these basement rocks underwent multiple phases of stretching and formed large cracks called faults. As the basin settled, it was gradually filled with sediments eroded from surrounding uplift areas. Many authors agree on the application of the rift theory to this basin, although opinions differ on the number of Mesozoic rifting events it has suffered...
The formation of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin illustrates the dramatic effects of plate tectonic movement, a process that took hundreds of millions of years.
Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential
The generation, capture and preservation of hydrocarbons in a basin requires a combination of geological factors. The geological structure of the region became increasingly complex with the deposition of residual salt layers, and the large amount of salt rock generated during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic was crucial to the later structural deformation and the formation of hydrocarbon traps. important. Due to these factors, the oil potential of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin is becoming increasingly prominent.
Once high-quality Upper Jurassic source rocks were discovered, the entire basin became rich in hydrocarbons following the deposition of multiple sandstone units.
Petroleum Exploration and Development
The first permits for scanning surveys were issued by the Canadian government in the mid-1960s. In 1971, oil companies Amoco and Imperial Oil conducted the first exploration in the southern part of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and discovered non-commercial oil in the deeper northern part in 1973. The drilling of the Egret K-36 well was a key moment in establishing the hydrocarbon potential of the basin. The subsequent drilling of the Hibernia P-15 well confirmed the potential of a huge oil field hidden in the basin. This discovery set off a wave of events that affected Newfoundland and The oil development boom in the surrounding economy.
From Hibernia to Terra Nova, these fields demonstrate the great economic value of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and its resource potential.
Future Outlook
With the discovery of the North Amethyst oil field, we can foresee that the Jeanne d'Arc Basin will become a hot spot for future oil exploration. These discoveries not only enhance the local economic development potential, but also suggest that the development of marine resources must follow environmental protection principles.
So, as we continue to explore the deep mysteries of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin, can we achieve more effective resource management to ensure that our future does not only depend on these treasures?
