Unconventional hydrocarbon resource plays in the North Sea Basin, Northwestern Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Schovsbo ◽  
Stefan Ladage ◽  
Anders Mathiesen ◽  
Susanne Nelskamp ◽  
Margaret A. Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Shale Formations ◽  
The North ◽  
Geological Surveys ◽  
Alum Shale ◽  
Hydrocarbon Resource ◽  
The North Sea

<p>In 2017 the geological surveys contributed to the European wide project ‘EU Unconventional Oil and Gas Assessment’ (EUOGA). The goal of EUOGA was to assess all potentially prospective shale formations from the main onshore basins in Europe and included contributions of twenty-one European geological surveys and the assessment covered 82 geological formations from 38 basins (Zijp et al. 2017).</p><p>To extend the assessment to offshore basins the geological surveys of Denmark (GEUS), Germany (BGR), the Northlands (TNO) and United Kingdom (BGS) are working together on the Geological Analysis and Resource Assessment of selected Hydrocarbon systems (GARAH) project that aims at assessing the conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resource in the North Sea Basin. Within the basin more than 10 shale layers have been recognised as holding potential resources. These shales include the offshore equivalent of the Cambrian Alum Shale, The Carboniferous Bowland shale and the Jurassic Wealden and Kimmeridge shales that onshore have been a target for hydrocarbon exploration within the European Union member states. Each shale layer will be characterized using thirty systematic parameters such as areal distribution, structural setting, average net to gross ratio of the shale reservoir, average Total Organic Carbon content (TOC) and average mineralogical composition.</p><p>This is a part of an ongoing EU Horizon 2020 GeoERA project (The GARAH, H2020 grant #731166 lead by GEUS).</p><p>References</p><p>Zijp, M., Nelskamp, S., Schovsbo, N.H., Tougaard, L. & Bocin-Dumitriu, A. 2017: Resource estimation of eighty-two European shale formations. Proceedings of the 5th Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Austin, Texas, USA, 24–26 July, 2017. https://doi.org/10.15530/urtec-2017-2686270</p>

Nitrogen pollution in the European Union – origins and proposed solutions

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ester van der Voet ◽  
René Kleijn ◽  
Helias A. Udo de Haes
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
N Compounds

SummaryThe European Union is faced with major environmental problems related to nitrogen (N) compounds. The origins of three such problems, the atmospheric deposition of N compounds, the leaching of nitrates to ground-water and the anthropogenic N-input to the North Sea, are investigated by means of a Substance Flow Analysis (SFA); the reference year is 1988. Although the problems occur at various scales and have varying direct causes, food production and consumption together are the main responsible sectors, and the production and import of fertilizer appear to be the major ultimate sources in all three cases. Measures to combat these problems have been agreed to in various international frameworks: the European Community, the International North Sea Conference and the Rhine States Conference. These measures include technical emission reduction for acidifying compounds resulting in a 30% emission reduction; extension of the sewage treatment network and application of denitrification with 50% effectiveness; and introduction of measures directed at efficiency increase and emission reduction in agricultural practice in 10% of the agricultural area. The recent changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are not expected to lead to significant changes in N flows. Assuming full implementation, an almost sufficient 45% reduction is expected for the anthropogenic nitrogen input into the North Sea. The atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds will be reduced by approximately 20%. The leaching of nitrates to the ground-water is expected to remain at the current level or even to increase a little. In all, these measures are conducive to solving, but do not satisfactorily solve, the three problems, mainly because the ultimate origins of the problems are not sufficiently influenced and measures therefore inevitably result in a shifting of problems.

Doggerland: a Speculative Survey

1998 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 45-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Coles
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
River Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Geological Surveys ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
The North Sea

Archaeologists tend to refer to the land that once existed between Britain and the continent as a landbridge. It was, however, a landscape as habitable as neighbouring regions, and here called Doggerland to emphasise its availability for settlement by prehistoric peoples. Evidence from the Geological Surveys undertaken by countries bordering the North Sea Basin, together with allied research, is drawn together to provide an overview of the possibilities. A range of interacting geological processes implies that the present-day relief of the North Sea bed does not provide a sound guide to the relief of the former landscape, nor to the chronology and character of its submergence. A series of maps accompanies the text to provide a speculative reconstruction of the topography, river systems, coastline, vegetation, fauna, and human occupation of Doggerland from the Devensian/Weichselian maximum to the beginnings of the Neolithic.

scholarly journals The Lower Palaeozoic shale gas play in Denmark

1969 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 19-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels H. Schovsbo ◽  
Arne T. Nielsen ◽  
Donald L. Gautier
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Geological Survey ◽  
The North ◽  
Alum Shale ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Potential Resource ◽  
Lower Palaeozoic

The unconventional gas resources in the Lower Palaeozoic shale of Denmark were recently assessed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS; Gautier et al. 2013). Assuming unrestricted application of best practice current technology, recoverable gas resources of 0 to 130 × 109 Nm3 gas were estimated onshore (mean = 67 × 109 Nm3 gas) and 0 to 228 × 109 Nm3 gas were estimated offshore (mean = 119 × 109 Nm3 gas), i.e. a total estimated mean of 186 × 109 Nm3 gas (Nm3: normal cubic metre, unit used for natural gas at 0°C and 101.325 kPa). Nearly all of this potential resource is assumed to be contained in the Cambro-Ordovician Alum Shale. The wide range of estimates reflects the sparse data and the geological uncertainty inherent in the still untested play. The estimated mean quantity of gas resource is comparable to the total volume of gas produced from the Danish part of the North Sea during 1972–2011 and twice the amount of the estimated remaining reserves of conventional gas in the Danish part of the North Sea.

scholarly journals BONN Agreement – More Than 50 Years of Spill Response Cooperation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Marius Ly ◽  
Laura de la Torre ◽  
Ronny Schallier
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Aerial Surveillance ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Bonn Agreement

Abstract In 2019, the BONN Agreement celebrated 50 years of continuous cooperation in dealing with marine pollution in Europe. This makes the Bonn Agreement the oldest regional agreement in the world established by governments for jointly dealing with and responding to pollution incidents. The first “Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil” was signed in 1969 by the eight states bordering the North Sea: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This was shortly after the oil tanker “Torrey Canyon” broke up off Cornwall in 1967 spilling 117 000 tonnes of oil in the first major pollution disaster affecting Western Europe. In 1983 the agreement was expanded to include “other harmful substances” as well as oil and the European Union became a Contracting Party. In 1989 the agreement was amended to include aerial surveillance. In 2010, Ireland was included and in 2019, at the 50'th anniversary, a new enlargement of the geographical scope was approved by including the Bay of Biscay through Spain's accession and a new task related to the monitoring of air pollution from ships was incorporated. The area of the Bonn Agreement now covers the Greater North Sea and its approaches, comprising most of the heavy density traffic area and oil fields in Western Europe. During these 50 years, the cooperation has resulted in a number of achievements on different topics. Some of these are: - aerial surveillance and detection of marine pollution,- harmonized pollution reporting format,- common quantification of oil spills through the Bonn Agreement Oil Appearance Code,- systems for reimbursement of costs when rendering assistance as the Bonn Agreement provides for mutual assistance between Contracting Parties,- joint exercises,- information sharing on experiences and on research & development findings,- Bonn Agreement region-wide risk assessment through the BE-AWARE project. In October 2019, the agreement's 50th anniversary was celebrated and a ministerial meeting was held. This paper will give an overview of the history, the achievements and the future for the Bonn Agreement.

scholarly journals On the Significance of Salt Modelling—Example from Modelling of Salt Tectonics, Temperature and Maturity Around Salt Structures in Southern North Sea

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grunnaleite ◽  
Mosbron
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Structure Evolution ◽  
Basin Modeling ◽  
The North ◽  
Hydrocarbon Maturation ◽  
Salt Structure ◽  
Modeling Software ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Impact

Salt structures are attractive targets for hydrocarbon exploration. Salt can flow as a viscous fluid, act as hydrocarbon seal, and salt-related deformation may create reservoir traps. The high conductivity of salt can be crucial for hydrocarbon maturation in a basin. Here, we present results from the study of salt structures on the Eastern flank of Central Graben, on the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. By using our in-house basin modeling software (BMTTM), we modelled the salt structure evolution and the effects of salt on temperature and maturation. Our results show up to 85 °C cooling due to the salt heat pipe effect. An integrated impact of cooling is the depression of vitrinite Ro by up to 1.0% at the base of a large salt balloon. Our work shows that it is of critical importance to correctly identify salt volumes and to have a good geological model, and to understand the timing and geometrical evolution of salt structures. This study is, to our knowledge, the most specific analysis of the impact of salt on basin temperature and maturation published so far, and is an example of how basin modeling in the future should be an integrated part of exploration.

scholarly journals Investigating fish migration, mortality, and physiology to improve conservation planning of anadromous salmonids: a case study on the endangered North Sea houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (12) ◽  
pp. 1126-1136
Author(s):  
M. Hertz ◽  
L.F. Jensen ◽  
C. Pertoldi ◽  
K. Aarestrup ◽  
S.N. Thomsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Coregonus Lavaretus ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Habitat Directive ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
The North ◽  
Spawning Areas ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Post Spawning

Understanding migratory behavior, mortality, and physiology is essential for conservation of many species, particularly anadromous fish. In this study, freshwater and marine migrations of the endangered salmonid North Sea houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus (Linnaeus, 1758)) were investigated using telemetry. Furthermore, physiological samples were collected from North Sea houting and from resident and anadromous populations of the closely related European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus (Linnaeus, 1758)) to compare hypo-osmotic tolerances. On average, North Sea houting spent 193 days at sea where the mortality was 36%. Most fish returned from sea in the autumn, and river entry correlated inversely with river temperature and positively with discharge. Fish spent an average of 49 days in the estuarine area. Artificial lakes negatively affected migration speeds. Migration speeds did not differ consistently between individuals (i.e., not a repeatable trait) but correlated positively with water temperature. Fish arrived at spawning areas in November. In the post-spawning state, Na+/K+-ATPase activities were elevated in North Sea houting and anadromous whitefish compared with resident whitefish, while osmolality was elevated only in North Sea houting. Our study provides important information for conservation planning related to the Habitat Directive of the European Union that lists the North Sea houting as critically endangered.

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