Geology of the northern North Sea

This report covers the northernmost part of the North Sea from 58°N to around 62°N and from the Shetland Islands to the UK/Norwegian median line.

The Geology of the area : The area comprises two main structural elements, the East Shetland Platform and basinal areas such as the Viking Graben and East Shetland Basin. The East Shetland Platform comprises metamorphic basement overlain by thick Devonian rocks and minor post-Devonian sediments. Deposition in the basinal areas began in the late Permian, though the main rifting of the North Sea Graben did not start until Triassic times.
During the Jurassic the area became one of marine deposition, deltas spreading out from the south and southeast during the Middle Jurassic and depositing sands that were later to become the major oil reservoirs in the North Sea oil province. Submergence continued during the Cretaceous and thick argillaceous deposits were laid down in the Viking Graben. Uplift during the Tertiary was associated with the opening of the North Atlantic. During the Quaternary the environment was dominated by deposition of glacimarine and glacial sediments.

Author Johnson, H.

ISBN 0118844970

Year Published 1994