Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008

Tennyson, Marilyn E.-, Pitman, Janet K.-X jpitman@usgs.gov · 2020 · Report

The Sverdrup Basin Province, an area of 515,000 square kilometers on the northern margin of North America, extends 1,300 kilometers across the Canadian

This 2020 document, Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008, is preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library for research and reference. Original source: pubs.usgs.gov.

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008 Chapter I of The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Professional Paper 1824 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

Cover. Northwestward view across the southern foothills of the Brooks Range along Akmagolik Creek, approximately 150 miles southwest of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Exposed rocks are part of the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Lisburne Group and include a thrust-fault ramp at left. Photo includes two helicopters for scale, a blue-and-white one near the center and a red one at center-right at creek level. U.S. Geological Survey photograph by David Houseknecht.

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008 By Marilyn E. Tennyson and Janet K. Pitman Chapter I of The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Edited by T.E. Moore and D.L. Gautier Professional Paper 1824 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior DAVID BERNHARDT, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2020 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit ://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit ://store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Tennyson, M.E., and Pitman, J.K., 2020, Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008, chap. I of Moore, T.E., and Gautier, D.L., eds., The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1824, 21 p., ://doi.org/10.3133/pp1824I. ISSN 2330-7102 (online)

The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Chapter A.  Introduction to the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) Professional Paper By Donald L. Gautier and Thomas E. Moore Chapter B.  Methodology for Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources for the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal By Ronald R. Charpentier North America Chapter C.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Chukchi Borderland Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird and David W. Houseknecht Chapter D.  Geology and Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Hope Basin Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht, and Janet K. Pitman Chapter E.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Arctic Alaska Petroleum Province, 2008

By David W. Houseknecht, Kenneth J. Bird, and Christopher P. Garrity Chapter F.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Central Alaska Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird and Richard G. Stanley Chapter G.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Northwest Canada Interior Basins Province, Arctic Canada, 2008 By Marilyn E. Tennyson and Janet K. Pitman Chapter H.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Franklinian Shelf Province, Arctic Canada and North Greenland, 2008 By Marilyn E. Tennyson and Janet K. Pitman Chapter I.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008 By Marilyn E. Tennyson and Janet K. Pitman Greenland Chapter J.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the West Greenland- East Canada Province, 2008 By Christopher J. Schenk Chapter K.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the East Greenland Rift Basins Province, 2008 By Donald L. Gautier

North Atlantic Ocean Chapter L.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent Province, 2008 By Thomas E. Moore and Janet K. Pitman Eurasia Chapter M.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Mezen' Basin Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter N.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, Russia, 2008 By Christopher J. Schenk Chapter O.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the East Barents Basins Province and the Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett Chapter P.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the North Kara Basins and Platforms Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter Q.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Northern West Siberian Mesozoic Composite Total Petroleum System of the West Siberian Basin Province, Russia, 2008 By Christopher J. Schenk Chapter R.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Yenisey-Khatanga Basin Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter S.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter T.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Lena-Anabar Basin Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter U.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Tunguska Basin Province, 2008 By Craig J. Wandrey and Timothy R. Klett Chapter V.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman

Chapter W.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter X.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Zyryanka Basin Province, 2008 By Timothy R. Klett and Janet K. Pitman Chapter Y.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the East Siberian Sea Basin Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht, and Janet K. Pitman Chapter Z.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Vilkitskii Basin Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht, and Janet K. Pitman Chapter AA.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Long Strait Basin Province, 2008 By Kenneth J. Bird, David W. Houseknecht, and Janet K. Pitman Chapter BB.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Amerasia Basin Petroleum Province, 2008

By David W. Houseknecht, Kenneth J. Bird, and Christopher P. Garrity Arctic Ocean Chapter CC.   Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Lomonosov- Makarov Province, 2008 By Thomas E. Moore, Kenneth J. Bird, and Janet K. Pitman Chapter DD.  Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Eurasia Basin Province, 2008 By Thomas E. Moore and Janet K. Pitman

Contents Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Province Description 2 Geologic History and Petroleum Geology 3 Petroleum Systems and Assessment Units 7 Assessment Units 12 Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic Assessment Unit 12 Description 12 Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability 12 Sverdrup Mesozoic Assessment Unit 13 Description 13 Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability 13 Analogs used in this assessment 14 Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim Assessment Unit 16 Description 16 Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability 16 Analogs Used in this Assessment 17 Assessment Results 17 References Cited 18 Figures

1.  Map of Sverdrup Basin Province 2

2.  Stratigraphic chart for Sverdrup Basin Province 4

3.  Regional structure cross section across Sverdrup Basin Province 6

4.  Map of Upper Paleozoic Composite Petroleum System 8

5.  Petroleum generation model for Drake Point D-68 well 9

6.  Map of Mesozoic Composite Petroleum System 10

7.  Petroleum generation model for North Sabine H-49 well 11

8.  Plots showing history of gas discoveries in Sverdrup Basin Province 15 Tables

1.  Discovered oil and gas accumulations in the Sverdrup Basin Province 5

2.  Assessment results for the Sverdrup Basin Province 18 Appendixes [Available for download at ://doi.org/10.3133/pp1824I] 1.  Input data for the Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic Assessment Unit. 2.  Input data the Sverdrup Mesozoic Assessment Unit. 3.  Input data for the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim Assessment Unit.

Chapter I Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, Arctic Canada, 2008 By Marilyn E. Tennyson and Janet K. Pitman The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Edited by T.E. Moore and D.L. Gautier U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1824 Abstract The Sverdrup Basin Province, an area of 515,000 square kilometers on the northern margin of North America, extends 1,300 kilometers across the Canadian Arctic Islands from near the Mackenzie Delta to northern Ellesmere Island. It consists of an intracratonic late Paleozoic to early Cenozoic rift-sag basin and a Mesozoic rift shoulder that bounds it on the north. Basin inception was Mississippian, manifested by deposition of nonmarine strata in rift basins, followed by Pennyslvanian marine transgression, which began with evaporites and progressed to Permian carbonate and clastic deposition at basin fringes and organic-rich marine strata in the basin center. Sediment transport was both northward from North America and southward from a now-subsided or rifted-away landmass to the north. Mesozoic strata indicate continued marine deposition, including both organic-rich, fine-grained rocks deposited during highstands and progradational deltaic sequences. A new episode of rifting began in Middle Jurassic time and culminated in the opening of the Canada Basin by Early Cretaceous seafloor spreading. The Sverdrup Rim formed as the rift shoulder between North America and the thinned, subsided crust to the north. Widespread Upper Cretaceous organic-rich shales were deposited during the major transgression induced by Canada Basin opening, followed by an influx of coarser east-derived detritus. In Paleogene time, incipient North Atlantic seafloor spreading caused deformation in northeasternmost North America, producing uplifts that shed detritus westward across the Sverdrup Basin. Tight folding and thrusting resulting from the Eurekan orogeny took place in the eastern part of the basin during the Eocene, with decreasing intensity of deformation westward. Since deformation ended in late Eocene time, little significant tectonism or deposition has taken place. Two petroleum systems were defined in the Sverdrup Basin Province. Upper Paleozoic marine shale generated petroleum beginning in the Early Triassic, but this petroleum system was not quantitatively assessed because reservoir quality in adjacent strata is poor, the rocks are mostly overmature, and subsequent deformation likely affected trap integrity. The second petroleum system was sourced by Lower Triassic strata rich in oil-prone organic matter. Oil was generated during Paleogene burial synchronous with Eurekan deformation, and the oil migrated into Triassic and Jurassic deltaic, shallow marine and nonmarine strata. However, most of the oil may have escaped during deformation and subsequent uplift and erosion, which probably caused oil to be displaced from traps by gas expansion. The population of undiscovered accumulations was characterized as likely to include stratigraphically trapped and small, structurally trapped accumulations, with a median size of 80 million barrels of oil (MMBO); the number of undiscovered accumulations was estimated to be between 1 and 50, with the most likely number being 10. The resulting estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional oil resources is 61 to 1,255 MMBO, with a mean of 427  MMBO. Undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional gas resources are estimated at 4.95  trillion cubic feet (TCF), with slightly more than half of that in nonassociated gas accumulations. A third petroleum system in the adjacent Amerasia Basin Province to the north was considered somewhat likely to contain accumulations on the Sverdrup Rim. Deeply buried Upper Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous, and Eocene organic-rich strata probably generated oil that may have migrated up the continental slope into Triassic to Paleogene sandstones on the Sverdrup Rim. Based on analogy with the Barrow Arch in Alaska, a median of 20 accumulations was estimated, with accumulation volumes as much as 2,500 MMBO and a median of 100 MMBO. The probability of at least one accumulation of the minimum size assessed (50 MMBO) was estimated at 0.22. The resulting estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional oil resources is 0 to 2,679 MMBO, with a mean of 424 MMBO. Mean estimates for associated and nonassociated gas are 1.3 and 2.3 TCF, respectively.

2    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Figure 1.  Map of Sverdrup Basin Province, showing province boundary (heavy solid black line) and included assessment unit (AU) boundaries (dashed lines). The Sverdrup Mesozoic AU lies directly above the Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU, except for northern Ellesmere Island, where Mesozoic strata are absent. Line of north-south cross section in figure 3 is shown. Discovered oil and gas accumulations indicated by green and red circles, respectively. Wells used for petroleum generation models are D-68, Drake Point D-68; H-49, North Sabine H-49. CANADA BASIN GREENLAND ALASKA Ellef Ringnes Island Ellesmere Island Bathurst Island Axel Heiberg Island S V E R D R U P

R I M S VERDRUP BASIN Victoria Island Prince of Wales Island Prince Patrick Island Banks Island ARCTIC PLATFORM Lincoln Sea Mackenzie Delta Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula M e e s a n d D evon I sland C A N A D A PA S S E M A R G I N ARCT OCE AN Line of section in figure 3 D-68 H-49 130°W 150°W 160°W 170°W 70°W 60°W 75°N 40°W 50°W 70°N 65°N 70°N 120°W 110°W 80°W 90°W 100°W 290 KILOMETERS 145 MILES Base map from Esri, 2007, used herein under license. Clarke 1866 Stereographic North Pole Introduction In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an appraisal of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle. Results of that assessment, the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA), included aggregate, probabilistic resource estimates for the entire Arctic region (Gautier and others, 2009, 2011) based on geologic evaluation of all the basins located wholly or partially north of the Arctic Circle. Basins considered to have at least a 10 percent chance of hosting an oil accumulation larger than 50  million barrels of oil (MMBO) or a gas accumulation larger than 300 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG) were assessed using the methodology described in Charpentier and Gautier (2011) and Charpentier (this volume, chap. B). The location and extent of the basins evaluated are delimited in Grantz and others (2010). This report is a summary of the geologic information and evaluation that underlies the assessment of potential undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Sverdrup Basin Province. Province Description The Sverdrup Basin Province (fig. 1) consists of upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and lower Cenozoic strata within an elongate, gentle synclinorium that extends from Ellesmere Island southwest through the Canadian Arctic Islands to Prince Patrick Island. In addition, it includes the rift shoulder of the Canada Basin that trends southwest from northern Ellesmere Island and the adjacent continental shelf along the northwest flank of the Sverdrup Basin, where it is called the Sverdrup Rim, through western Banks Island to the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula adjacent to the Mackenzie Delta. The southern province boundary, the unconformity at the base of upper Carboniferous strata on Devonian or older rocks, trends south-southwest through western Ellesmere Island, then curves to a westerly trend through the central and western Canadian Arctic Islands, intersecting the Canadian polar margin in the vicinity of northeastern Prince Patrick Island. Its northern boundary is the edge of thinned, rifted continental

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    3 crust along the Canadian polar margin, mapped for this study by the location of a steep free-air gravity gradient (Saltus and others, 2011). The basin is about 1,300 kilometers (km) long and about 400 km wide at its widest point. The upper Paleozoic section within the basin is as much as 3 km thick, the Mesozoic as much as 9 km thick, and the Cenozoic as much as 3 km thick (Morrell and others, 1995). The area of the Sverdrup Basin is about 302,000 square kilometers (km2), and the area of the entire province including the Sverdrup RimBanks Island rift shoulder is about 515,000 km2. Mississippian and younger strata of the Sverdrup Basin (figs. 2, 3) were deposited unconformably on Devonian and older rocks involved in Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Ellesmerian deformation. A Mississippian to Pennsylvanian rift sequence at the base of the Sverdrup Basin fill indicates crustal extension and rapid subsidence, followed by Permian through Triassic marine deposition during subsidence presumably governed by thermal decay (Stephenson and others, 1987). A brief episode of extensional or transtensional deformation, the Melvillian disturbance, took place at the end of early Permian time, about 275 Ma (Harrison, 1994, 1995; Harrison and Brent, 2005). By Early to Middle Jurassic time, rifting began to affect the northern part of the basin, eventually culminating in an episode of Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Barremian) seafloor spreading that opened the Canada Basin by separating Arctic Alaska from northern Canada (Grantz and May, 1982; Embry, 1990; Jackson, 1990; Grantz and others, 1998, 2007). Strata formerly contiguous with the Sverdrup Basin are thought to lie in the area of Hanna Trough in offshore Alaska and on Northwind Ridge in the Chukchi Sea (Embry and others, 1992; Grantz and others, 1998). During and after Canada Basin opening, Cretaceous marine strata were deposited across the rifted margin and throughout the Sverdrup Basin. An early Cenozoic deformational event, the Eurekan orogeny, was associated with relative motion between Greenland and North America. The orogeny caused folding and thrusting in the eastern part of the basin (Miall, 1991; Harrison and others, 1999; Tessensohn and Piepjohn, 2000), along with gentle folding in the central part of the basin. The southwesternmost part of the basin was only mildly deformed. Nearly complete outcrop exposure on the Canadian Arctic Islands, about 160 exploration and delineation wells, several major gas discoveries and one major oil discovery (table 1), and a fairly extensive seismic dataset (65,000 km according to Trettin, 1989) collected during petroleum exploration in the 1970s and 1980s have resulted in a much higher level of geologic understanding than is typical in most parts of the Arctic. Despite this, there is significant uncertainty about the nature of upper Paleozoic strata in the central part of the basin where they are buried by thick Mesozoic strata and where Paleozoic strata have not been penetrated extensively by exploration wells. The Mesozoic part of the basin fill is more completely understood. Cenozoic strata, though well studied, are only locally preserved, and their unknown original extent results in uncertainty regarding burial and maturation history. Geologic History and Petroleum Geology Discontinuous sequences of Middle Mississippian lacustrine, organic-rich mudstone and associated sandstone, conglomerate, and coal (Emma Fiord Formation) are the oldest deposits in the Sverdrup Basin (fig. 2). On the margins of the basin, they are overlain by Pennsylvanian rift clastics (Canyon Fiord Formation) that grade basinward to subaqueously deposited evaporites of the Otto Fiord Formation (Davies and Nassichuk, 1975) and basinal mudstones of the Hare Fiord Formation. By Permian time, the basin had subsided sufficiently that carbonates on the flanks (Belcher Channel and Nansen Formations) rimmed basinal mudstones in the center of the basin (Van Hauen Formation) (Beauchamp and others, 1989a, 1989b; Beauchamp, 1992, 1995; Davies and Nassichuk, 1991a). A poorly understood episode of deformation in middle Permian time (~275 Ma), named the Melvillian disturbance, inverted older rifts by transtension and transpression (Harrison, 1994, 1995; Harrison and Brent, 2005). The upper part of the Permian sequence consists of nearshore to slope sandstones shed from uplifts produced by the Melvillian event, including the Sabine Bay, Trold Fiord, and Assistance Formations (Davies and Nassichuk, 1991a; Beauchamp and others, 1989b; Beauchamp and others, 2001; Harrison and Brent, 2005). Clastic deposition prevailed throughout the Mesozoic, punctuated by major sequence-bounding surfaces in earliest Triassic, latest Triassic, and Early Cretaceous time (Embry, 1991, 2007). Sediments were transported both northward from the North American shelf and southward from a now-absent landmass named "Crockerland" by Embry (1992), which foundered or was rifted away when the Canada Basin opened in Cretaceous time. Lowermost Triassic rocks were deposited by braided streams (Bjorne Formation) flowing northward into a shale-dominated marine basin (Blind Fiord Formation). A highstand in Middle Triassic time resulted in widespread deposition of organic-rich mudstones (Murray Harbour and Hoyle Bay Formations), while shelf and delta sands were deposited at the margins of the basin (Eldridge Bay and Pat Bay sandstones). During an Early Jurassic regression, deltaic deposition was prevalent, represented by thick sandstones of the Heiberg Formation (Embry, 1982, 1991), the principal reservoir sequence for discovered gas and oil. A major transgression during Middle and Late Jurassic time resulted in widespread deposition of basinal fine-grained strata (Jameson Bay, McConnell Island, Ringnes, Deer Bay, and Mackenzie King Formations), with coarser shelf deposits of the Upper Jurassic Awingak Formation prograding into the basin from the southeast (Embry, 1991). On the Sverdrup Rim along the northwest edge of the basin, Jurassic to Early Cretaceous extensional basins formed in association with Canada Basin rifting (fig. 3). In Early Cretaceous time, seafloor spreading began, and deposition of the last major sequence commenced with Valanginian to Albian deposition of thick fluvial-deltaic sands and shelf muds of the Isachsen, Christopher, and Hassel Formations, succeeded by transgressive organic-rich Upper Cretaceous shelf mudstones of the Kanguk Formation. Near the end of Cretaceous time,

4    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Figure 2.  Stratigraphic chart for Sverdrup Basin Province, modified from Dewing and others (2007). Fm, Formation; Mbr, Member. Eureka Sound Fm Kanguk Fm Hassel Fm Christopher Fm Walker Island Mbr Isachsen Fm Rondon Mbr Paterson Island Mbr Glacier Fiord Mbr Deer Bay Fm Slidre Mbr Awingak Fm McConnel Island Fm Sandy Point Fm Snowpatch Mbr Cape Canning Mbr Intrepid Inlet Mbr Jameson Bay Fm Hoyle Bay Fm Roche Point Fm Schei Point Group Blaa Mountain Group Mackenzie King Fm Stupart Mbr Drake Point Mbr King Christian Fm Remus Mbr Romulus Mbr Skybattle Fm Hoyle Bay Fm Murray Harbour Fm Pat Bay Fm Pat Bay Fm Bjorne Fm Barrow Fm Scallion Point Mbr Cape Richards Mbr Eden Bay Mbr Chads Point Mbr Cape Caledonia Mbr Eldridge Bay Mbr Cape O'Brian Mbr Svartfjeld Mbr Smith Creek Mbr Confederation Point Mbr Blind Fiord Fm Van Hauen Fm Trappers Cove Fm Hare Fiord Fm Otto Fiord Fm Borup Fiord Fm Emma Fiord Fm Emma Fiord Fm Canyon Fiord Fm 'lower clastic' mbr Canyon Fiord Fm 'middle limestone' mbr Canyon Fiord Fm 'upper clastic' mbr Volcanic Intrusions (Esayoo Volcanics) Ellesmere Island only "Televak" Sabine Bay Fm Assistance Fm Trold Fiord Fm Lindstrom Fm Degerbols Fm Great Bear Cape Fm Raanes Fm Antoinette Fm Nansen Fm Belcher Channel Fm Tanquary Fm Pell Point Mbr Cape Butler Mbr Skate Mbr Jenness Mbr Fosheim Mbr Heiberg Fm Jameson Bay Fm Grosvenor Island Fm Lougheed Island Fm Maclean Strait Fm Whitefish Mbr Rignes Fm Hot Weather Mbr Cape Lockwood Mbr Hiccles Cove Fm Macdougall Point Mbr Invincible Point Mbr NORTH SOUTH Mt Bayley Maastrichtian Campanian Santonian Coniancian Turonian Cenomanian Albian Aptian Barremian Hauterivian Valanginian Berriasian Tithonian Kimmeridgian Oxfordian Callovian Bathonian Bajocian Aalenian Toarcian Sinemurian Hettangian Rhaetian Norian Carnian Ladinian Anisian Spathian Smithian Dienerian Griesbachian Chanhsingian Wuchiapingian Capitanian Wordian Roadian Kungurian Artinskian Sakmarian Asselian Moscovian Bashkirian Serpukhovian Visean Tournasian Gzhelian Kasimovian Pliensbachian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Early Early Early Early Mississippian Pennysylvanian Late Late Late Late Middle Middle Middle Conglomerate, sandstone Sandstone Sandstone, siltstone, shale, redbeds Sandstone, siltstone, carbonate, shale, gypsum, minor conglomerate, locally with red beds Lacustrine shale and oil shale Chert Gypsum, halite, carbonate Carbonate, locally with gypsum and mudrock Carbonate, locally abundant clastics Oolitic grainstone Boundstone, rudstone, grainstone Bioturbated and locally fossiliferous carbonate Shale, chert, carbonate, distostromes Chert, carbonate Carbonate conglomerate Volcanic intrusions and flow (may intrude older units) Formation contact EXPLANATION Base map from Esri, 2007, used herein under license. Clarke 1866 Stereographic North Pole Baffin Island Baffin Bay GREENLAND Victoria Island Ellesmere Island Devon Island Approximate line of section

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    5 Table 1.  Discovered oil and gas accumulations in the Sverdrup Basin Province. [MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas] Field name Discovery year Commodity Gas in place

Recoverable gas at 85% recovery (BCFG) Recoverable oil

Recoverable gas

Drake Point Gas 5,982 4,786 5,369 King Christian Gas Hecla Gas 4,199 3,359 3,720 Thor Gas Kristoffer Bay Gas 1,309 1,047 1,107 Wallis Gas Jackson Bay Gas 1,309 1,047 1,074 Roche Point Gas Whitefish Gas 2,637 2,110 2,131 Maclean Gas Sculpin Gas Char Oil Balaena Oil

Cisco Oil Skate Oil Cape Macmillan Oil Cape Allison Oil 1Canadian Gas Potential Committee (2001) 2Drummond (2006)

6    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal 4,000 SL -4,000 -8,000 -12,000 -16,000 METERS Parry Islands Fold Belt redrawn from Harrison (1995a) Vesey A-27 N. Sabine H-49 Collingwood K-33 Drake Point D-68 Maryatt K-71 Sherard Bay F-34 Weatherall O-10 Sverdrup Basin Melville Island Barrow Dome Vesey-Hamilton salt wall SOUTH Blind Fiord Fm Bjorne Fm. Schei Point Gp. Degerbols Fm. van Hauen Fm. Hare Fiord Fm. van Hauen Fm. Otto Fiord Fm salt Canyon Fiord Fm. Belcher Channel Ringnes, Awingak, Deer Bay van Hauen Fm. Hare Fiord Fm. Schei Point Gp. Bjorne Fm. Eleanor River Raanes/Great Bear Cape Fm. Hecla Bay Weatherall Blue Fiord Bay Fiord Sabine Bay Fm. Trold Fiord Fm. Thumb Mt Ibbett Bay Cambrian-Ordovician Cambrian Jameson Bay/Sandy Point Ringnes, Deer Bay Christopher Fm. Hassel Kanguk Otto Fiord Fm salt Eureka Sound Group Bay Fiord evaporites Figure 3.  Regional structure cross section across Sverdrup Basin Province. Location of section is shown on figure 1. Southern flank of basin redrawn from Harrison (1995, Section E, sheet 7); vertically exaggerated about 4x. Depiction of the northern flank of the basin and Sverdrup Rim is schematic and hypothetical, based on figure 31 of Rayer and others (1981, extensively modified), on stratigraphy in wells on and near the Sverdrup Rim, and on regional stratigraphic and structural relations. m, meters; SL, sea level; Fm., Formation; Gp, Group, Lw., lower. sandstones (Expedition Formation of the Eureka Sound Group) began to prograde westward across the basin from uplifted areas in the east (Ricketts, 1994; Ricketts and Stephenson, 1994). Their original depositional extent and the nature of the uplifts from which they were derived are uncertain. One possibility is that the sediments were eroded from uplifts associated with rifting between Canada and Greenland that preceded opening of the Labrador Sea, inferred by Grist and Zentilli (2005, 2006) from fission-track studies. At about 60 Ma, seafloor spreading between Greenland and Canada began (Chalmers and Laursen, 1995), followed at about 55 Ma by spreading between Greenland and Europe (Mosar and others, 2002). As a result, Greenland rotated counterclockwise with respect to North America, giving rise to intense compressive deformation in northwest Greenland and northeastern Arctic Canada for most of Eocene time (Miall, 1991; Ricketts and Stephenson, 1994; Tessensohn and Piepjohn, 2000). The resulting Eurekan thrust belt on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands created uplifts that shed Paleogene detritus of the Eureka Sound Group westward across the Canadian Arctic Islands into numerous shifting depocenters (Miall, 1986, 1991; Ricketts, 1994). Eurekan compression ended near the end of Eocene time (Harrison and others, 1999), and since then erosion has prevailed. Estimates of erosion since maximum burial range from 1 to 4 km in the western Sverdrup Basin (Bustin, 1986; Brooks and others, 1992). Along the northwesternmost part of the province, Miocene to Pliocene nearshore and continental sediments of the Beaufort Formation overlie the wedge of middle Cretaceous to Eocene strata deposited across the Early Cretaceous rifted margin (Fyles, 1990; Fyles and others, 1994; Harrison and others, 1999). Most of the province is only mildly deformed, with the exception of the Eurekan compressive or transpressive deformation in the northeast end of the basin. Extensional faults are present in the lower part of the Paleozoic section. Folds and faults associated with Melvillian inversion are present at least locally in Permian and older strata, although their regional extent is uncertain. Extensional faults are also present in Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous strata along the northwestern rim of the basin. Structural features produced by deformation of upper Paleozoic Otto Fiord halite include diapirs that were active beginning in Triassic time (Embry, 1991) and intermittently through Mesozoic and Cenozoic time. Salt walls, minibasins, and an evaporite canopy have been described on Axel Heiberg Island, where Eurekan compression produced a variety of salt structures detached on Carboniferous Otto Fiord halite (Jackson and Harrison, 2006; Harrison and Jackson, 2013). The eastern

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    7 approx position of gravity gradient 4,000 SL -4,000 -8,000 -12,000 -16,000 50 KILOMETERS 30 MILES Mackenzie King Island Borden Island Cape Norem A-80 Wilkins E-60 Sverdrup Rim NORTH Tertiary sandstone Blind Fiord Fm. Isachsen Raanes/Great Bear Cape Fm. Silurian (Land Lokks Fm) Canyon Fiord Nansen Trappers Cove Degerbols/Assistance Upper Cretaceous Jurassic Jurassic Aptian-Albian Lw. Cretaceous Lw. Cretaceous Jurassic end of the basin, including Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands and the intervening channels, exhibits intense Eurekan fold-thrust deformation. Intensity of folding and associated faulting decreases westward across the basin, with mainly gentle folds and faults in the far western end (for example, Harrison and Brent, 2005). Petroleum Systems and Assessment Units A possible but unproven petroleum system may be present in the Carboniferous and Permian part of the Sverdrup Basin fill, referred to in this study as the Upper Paleozoic Composite Petroleum System (fig.4), with postulated source rocks in upper Carboniferous and Permian basinal cherty mudstones of the Hare Fiord, Trappers Cove, and Van Hauen Formations. These rocks, deposited as slope turbidites (Beauchamp and Henderson, 1994), locally have adequate levels of total organic carbon (TOC) to make them at least marginal source rocks; organic matter is mostly terrestrial (Powell, 1978). Organic-rich lacustrine rocks of the lower Carboniferous Emma Fiord Formation (Davies and Nassichuk, 1991b) that are locally present around the margins of the basin would also be good source rocks if they were widely present, but their distribution in the depths of the basin is unknown. Strata in the central part of the basin are overmature; only around the margins of the basin are upper Paleozoic rocks within the oil and gas window (Utting and others, 1989; fig. 4). Petroleum generation modeling for this study (fig. 5) suggests that lower Carboniferous source rocks would have begun to generate oil in Triassic time as a result of burial by thick Triassic strata, and generation would have continued until Cretaceous time in any source rocks present in the uppermost part of the upper Paleozoic section. Carbonates and shallow marine clastics on the margins of the basin are potential reservoir rocks, sealed by either interbedded mudstones or by overlying mudstone of the Blind Fiord Formation at the base of Triassic strata. Stratigraphic pinchouts, rift-associated normal faults and rollover anticlines, and faults and anticlines formed during middle Permian deformation are potential traps. A proven (table 1) and well-explored petroleum system is present in Mesozoic strata of the Sverdrup Basin, deposited during gradual subsidence of the postrift phase of basin evolution. Source rocks consist of Middle and Upper Triassic mudstones of the Murray Harbour and Hoyle Bay Formations. Rich in Type II organic matter, these rocks have attained adequate maturity for petroleum generation in the central part of the basin (fig. 6). Dominantly deltaic Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic strata of the Heiberg Formation contain most of the discovered oil and gas, although small amounts of petroleum have been discovered in younger Jurassic through middle Cretaceous sandstones. Generation from the Triassic source strata began in Late Cretaceous time, according to both Skibo and others (1990) and the results of petroleum generation modeling carried out for this study (fig. 7). Some workers have concluded that generation began earlier, either during rifting and seafloor spreading in Early Cretaceous time (Gentzis and others, 1996) or during burial by Aptian-Albian strata deposited after breakup (Goodarzi and others, 1992). It seems clear, however, that generation began later and continued until the time of maximum burial, probably in Paleogene time, because maturation levels at present depths of burial are too high to have been attained without deposition and erosion of substantial thicknesses of Upper Cretaceous and

8    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Figure 4.  Map of Upper Paleozoic Composite Petroleum System, showing locations and names of exploration wells that penetrated upper Paleozoic strata, indications of oil or gas in wells and surface outcrops, and boundary between Permian strata in oil and gas window and overmature Permian strata from Utting and others (1989). AU, Assessment Unit. Axel Heiberg Island Devon Island Prince Patrick Island Bathurst Island Mackenzie King Island Melville Island Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island Ellef Ringnes Island Amund Ringnes Island Brock Island Borden Island Meighen Island Banks Island Victoria Island Cornwall Island Prince of Wales Island Somerset Island Baffin Island Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula Overmature Oi l and g a s

w in dow ARC TIC OC EAN Maryatt K-71 Robert Harbour K-07 Cape Fleetwood M-21 Weatherall O-10 Eldridge Bay E-79 Drake Pt. L-67 Drake Pt. D-68 Kitson River C-71 Depot Island C-44 Marie Bay D-02 Sandy Point Emerald K-33 Jameson Bay C-31 Satellite F-68 Andreasen l-32 Intrepid Inlet H-49 Wilkins E-60 Brock I-20 Brock C-50 Cornwall O-30 Pollux G-60 Neil O-15 Fosheim N-27 Depot Point L-24 Graham North Buckingham L-71 Buckingham O-68 Isachsen J-37 Chads Creek B-64 Hecla J-60 Bent Horn Oil staining; gas on mud log in Trold Fiord Formation Oil staining in Trold Fiord Formation Oil seep in Canyon Fiord Formation Gas shows in Permian dolomite Oil indications in Carboniferous limestone and gypsum in wells drilled into salt domes 100 KILOMETERS 50 MILES 140° 90° 75° 80° N 100° 160° 110° 160° 120° 150° 130° 130° 140° 120° 110° 70° 100° 150° 90° 70° W 80° 80° 70° Base map from Esri, 2007, used herein under license. Clarke 1866 Stereographic North Pole Exploration well penetrating upper Paleozoic strata Oil or gas show or seep Limit of overmaturity in Permian strata Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU Sverdrup Mesozoic AU Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU EXPLANATION

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    9 Figure 5.  Petroleum generation model for Drake Point D-68 well, indicating that source rocks in the Van Hauen Formation probably generated oil in Early Triassic time and source rocks in the Blind Fiord Formation generated oil in Late Cretaceous to Paleogene time. TR, transformation ratio; Carb., Carboniferous; Perm., Permian; Tri., Triassic; Jur., Jurassic; Crt., Cretaceous; Pg., Paleogene; Neog., Neogene. A, Depth of zone of oil generation over time. B, Distribution of modeled vitrinite reflectance values over time. C, Modeled present-day temperature profile. D, Modeled values of vitrinite reflectance (solid blue line) and measured values (blue dots). Start Oil Generation End Oil Generation TR=0.99% TR=0.5% Burial depth, in meters Age (Ma) 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,024 Paleozoic Carb. Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene Mesozoic Cenozoic Christopher Awingak Bjorne Blind Fiord Trold Fiord Belcher Channel Canyon Fiord Van Hauen Burial depth, in meters Depth, in meters Depth, in meters Age (Ma) 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,024 Palezoic Carb. Permian Triassic Jurrasic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene Mesozoic Cenozoic Christopher Awingak Bjorne Blind Fiord Trold Fiord Belcher Channel Canyon Fiord Van Hauen 0.25-0.35 0.35-0.45 0.45-0.55 0.55-0.65 0.65-0.75 0.75-0.85 0.85-0.95 0.95-1.05 1.05-1.15 1.15-1.25 1.25-1.35 1.35-1.45 1.45-1.55 1.55-1.65 1.65-1.75 1.75-1.85 1.85-1.95 1.95-2.05 2.05-2.15 2.15-2.25

Christopher Awingak Bjorne Blind Fiord Trold Fiord Belcher Channel Canyon Fiord Tvan Hauen 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,774 1,000 Temperature, in Celsius

120 140 160 180 200 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,774 Temperature- Drake Point_D68_Default Drake Point_D68_Default Drake Point_D68 A B D

10    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Figure 6.  Map of Mesozoic Composite Petroleum System, showing discovered oil and gas accumulations, locations of exploration wells that penetrated Mesozoic strata, location of tar sands in Bjorne Formation on northwestern Melville Island, and vitrinite reflectance contours from the Eden Bay Member of the Upper Triassic Hoyle Bay Formation from Stewart and others (1995). AU, Assessment Unit; Is., Island. Axel Heiberg Island Devon Island Prince Patrick Island Bathurst Island Mackenzie King Island Melville Island Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island Ellef Ringnes Island Amund Ringnes Island Brock Island Borden Island Meighen Island Banks Island Victoria Island Cornwall Island Prince of Wales Island Somerset Island Baffin Island Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula ARC TIC OC EAN bitumen in Bjorne Formation Sabine Peninsula Drake Point Hecla Cisco Whitefish Jackson Bay Roche Point Skate Char Balaena Cape Allison Cape Macmillan Sculpin Maclean Wallis Kristoffer Bay Thor King Christian 100 KILOMETERS 50 MILES 140° 90° 75° 80° N 100° 160° 110° 160° 120° 150° 130° 130° 140° 120° 110° 70° 100° 150° 90° 70° W 80° 80° 70° Base map from Esri, 2007, used herein under license. Clarke 1866 Stereographic North Pole Exploration well Vitrinite reflectance contours on Hoyle Bay Formation, % R0 Oil discovery Gas discovery Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU Sverdrup Mesozoic AU Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU EXPLANATION

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    11 Figure 7.  Petroleum generation model for North Sabine H-49 well, indicating that oil source rocks in the Triassic Roche Point and Hoyle Bay Formations probably entered the zone of oil generation near the end of Cretaceous time and reached peak generation in about late Eocene time. Modeling was unable to match high vitrinite reflectance values in the Roche Point and Hoyle Bay Formations near the bottom of the well, probably from recycled vitrinite (Utting and others, 2004; Dewing and Sanei, 2009; Dewing and Obermajer, 2011). TR, transformation ratio; Tri., Triassic; Jur., Jurassic; Crt., Cretaceous; Pg., Paleogene; Neog., Neogene. A, Depth of zone of oil generation over time. B, Distribution of modeled vitrinite reflectance values over time. C, Modeled presentday temperature profile. D, Modeled values of vitrinite reflectance (solid blue line) and measured values (blue dots). Start Oil Generation End Oil Generation TR=0.99% TR=0.5% Burial depth, in meters Age (Ma) 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 6,585 Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene Mesozoic Cenozoic Eureka Sound Kanguk Hassel Christopher Isachsen Deer Bay Awingak Jameson Bay Hoyle Bay Roche Point Bjorne Blind Fiord Burial depth, in meters Age (Ma) 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 6,585 Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene Mesozoic Cenozoic Eureka Sound Kanguk Hassel Christopher Isachsen Deer Bay Awingak Jameson Bay Hoyle Bay Roche Point Bjorne Blind Fiord 0.25-0.31 0.31-0.38 0.38-0.44 0.44-0.51 0.51-0.57 0.57-0.64 0.64-0.70 0.70-0.77 0.77-0.83 0.83-0.90 0.90-0.96 0.96-1.03 1.03-1.09 1.09-1.16 1.16-1.22 1.22-1.29 1.29-1.35 1.35-1.42 1.42-1.48 1.48-1.55

Temperature- Drake Point_D68_Default Drake Point_D68_Default Drake Point_D68 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,774 1,000 Temperature, in Celsius

120 140 160 180 200 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,384 Eureka Sound Kanguk Hassel Christopher Isachsen Deer Bay Awingak Jameson Bay Hoyle Bay Roche Point Bjorne Blind Fiord Depth, in meters Depth, in meters A B D

12    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Paleogene strata. This was first observed by Bustin (1986) on the basis of maturity levels in coal deposits within the Eureka Sound Group. Brooks and others (1992) estimated thicknesses of eroded strata in Sverdrup Basin wells, including one (Brock C-50) on the Sverdrup Rim in which more than 3 km of erosion was estimated; they concluded that the central part of the basin had been uplifted 650 to 1,900 meters (m). Petroleum generation modeling for this study (fig. 7) similarly indicates about 2 km of erosion, based on vitrinite reflectance levels in strata near the surface. Timing of deformation and trap formation provides corroborative evidence for Late Cretaceous to Paleogene generation and migration. Lowrelief anticlines, faults, and salt diapirs that deform Paleogene strata are part of the trapping system. The presence of oil and gas in these traps thus requires that migration took place in Late Cretaceous to Paleogene time, unless the oil and gas were remigrated. A third petroleum system is almost certainly present in Cretaceous and Paleogene rocks of the Canada Passive Margin outboard of the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim rift shoulder. Petroleum generated from this system would have migrated updip to the southeast into traps on the rift shoulder beginning in Paleogene time, assuming that migration pathways were present. This petroleum system is described by Houseknecht and Bird (2011). Assessment Units The Sverdrup Basin Province was subdivided into three geologically distinctive entities for the purposes of assessment. These three USGS assessment units (AUs) are the Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU, the Sverdrup Mesozoic AU, and the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU. In the following descriptions, decimal fractions refer to the estimated probability that source rock richness and maturity ("charge"), reservoir character and volume ("rocks"), and timing of trap formation relative to petroleum generation and likelihood of trap preservation ("timing and preservation") are adequate for an accumulation of the minimum size, 50 MMBO or 300 BCFG. Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic Assessment Unit Exploration maturity.—Seismic reflection surveys were conducted during a petroleum exploration campaign that spanned the late 1960s through the mid-1980s; no modern or three-dimensional (3D) seismic data had been collected as of the time of this assessment. Twenty-nine wells were drilled, testing many of the more obvious structural and stratigraphic traps, but no accumulations of minimum size were discovered. Description The Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU encompasses Upper Mississippian through Permian strata deposited as the Sverdrup Basin formed by rifting of the deformed Franklinian passive margin and its cover of Devonian clastic wedge strata. In map view, it is outlined by the unconformity at the base of Upper Mississippian lacustrine or Pennsylvanian rift strata deposited on older rocks deformed in the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian Ellesmerian orogeny. The rift sequence grades basinward to subaqueously deposited evaporites and upward to carbonates on the margins of the basin and deepwater mudstones in the center; the latter are potential source rocks. At the top of the sequence are shallow water sandstones. Overlying Mesozoic strata are excluded from this assessment unit. Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability Charge.—(0.4) Oil shows are reported from the Canyon Fiord Formation on the southeastern margin of the basin, from carbonate in the Belcher Channel Formation on Melville Island, and from bitumen-impregnated sandstone in the Canyon Fiord Formation strata on Melville Island (Embry and others, 1991). Gas shows were noted in carbonates of the Belcher Channel Formation and turbiditic sandstones of the Van Hauen Formation on Melville Island (Embry and others, 1991), as well as in Trold Fiord sandstones on Prince Patrick Island (Harrison and Brent, 2005). These occurrences suggest the presence of a petroleum system, but not necessarily an active one. Potential source rocks include Mississippian lacustrine oil shale with as much as 50 percent TOC (by weight percent), marine shale in Pennsylvanian Hare Fiord and Permian Van Hauen Formations, with typical TOC values of 1 to 2 weight percent, but locally more than 2 weight percent, and organic-rich shale interbeds in the Permian Trold Fiord Formation. Rocks.—(0.6) Potential reservoir strata of Late Mississippian to early Permian age that could have been sourced by the Hare Fiord Formation include the Belcher Channel and Nansen Formations, shallow water carbonates that include oolitic grainstones and shelf-edge reefs. Dolomitized reef mounds associated with evaporites or built on the edges of normal fault blocks are another potential trap type, although migration pathways to introduce petroleum are problematic. In addition, permeability and porosity are typically limited in the carbonate units, making it likely that only zones with histories of subaerial exposure, during which porosity and permeability might have been enhanced, would have adequate reservoir properties. Potential reservoir sandstones laterally equivalent to and updip from the Van Hauen Formation include the Sabine Bay, Assistance, and Trold Fiord Formations. The Degerböls limestone at the top of the Permian section is another potential reservoir that could have been charged by petroleum generated in the Van Hauen Formation. Potential traps include normal faults and rollover anticlines in the lower part of the basin fill (for examples, see Beauchamp and others, 2001), various types of carbonate buildups, stratigraphic traps in sands at the top of the Permian section, diapirs and other types of salt structures, and Melvillian folds and faults. Seals would include overlying Triassic basinal mudstones for traps in the Degerböls, Assistance, Sabine Bay, or Trold Fiord Formations, and Hare Fiord and Van Hauen Formation mudstones for traps in the older carbonate units. Paleogene Eurekan folds and faults are mostly too young to have trapped migrating petroleum.

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    13 Timing and preservation.—(0.3) Regional source rock studies have shown that potential source rocks are mature around the margins of the basin but overmature in the central part (Powell, 1978; Utting and others, 1989; Dewing and others, 2007). The Van Hauen Formation on northern Cameron Island (Robert Harbour K-07 well), at a depth of 1.8 km, is near the top of the oil window (Utting and others, 1989), but at Hecla Field (northern Melville Island), where it lies at depths of more than 3 km, it is mature to overmature (Gentzis and Goodarzi, 1991). At Brock Island in the northwestern part of the basin, vitrinite reflectance (Ro) values in the Van Hauen Formation are 1.71 to 1.88 percent (Utting and others, 1989). Wells in the deeper parts of the basin were not deep enough to sample potential upper Paleozoic source rocks, but it is probably safe to assume that they are overmature. Modeling the generation history of the strata penetrated in the Drake Point D-68 well (fig. 5) on northern Melville Island suggests that source rocks in the Emma Fiord Formation, if present, would have begun to generate oil and gas by late Permian time, during burial by the Van Hauen and Trold Fiord Formations. Generated petroleum could have been trapped in normal fault traps and rollover anticlines dating from basin inception, as well as in structural traps formed during middle Permian Melvillian deformation. Pennsylvanian Otto Fiord Formation halite would be a potential seal for traps in the Canyon Fiord Formation. The most likely source rock, the Permian Van Hauen Formation, would have matured and begun to generate petroleum during Early Jurassic time as a consequence of burial by 2 km of Lower Triassic strata. Generated petroleum could have migrated into Permian sandstone reservoirs, as well as into laterally equivalent carbonate reservoirs. Lower Triassic mudstone of the Blind Fiord Formation would be a potential seal. Potential source rocks in the Trold Fiord Formation would have entered the oil window in Late Jurassic time and continued to mature gradually until middle Cretaceous time, when they were buried to the lower part of the oil generation window by thick strata of the Christopher Formation. Oil and gas could have migrated into laterally equivalent sandstone reservoirs and been trapped in Melvillian structures and sealed by the Triassic Blind Fiord Formation. Despite apparently favorable timing for generation, migration, and trapping, preservation risk is considered quite high. In the deeper parts of the basin, maturity values indicate severe overmaturity. Extreme maturity in the northeastern part of the basin, for example, Ro values of 1.5 to 3.46 percent in the Van Hauen Formation in wells on northwestern Ellesmere Island, may also be associated with igneous intrusions and presumed higher heat flow in Cretaceous time (Utting and others, 1989). In addition, and perhaps most importantly, early Cenozoic Eurekan deformation and uplift is likely to have destroyed traps and perhaps spilled oil as gas displaced oil when pressure decreased owing to uplift. The assigned probabilities result in an overall assessment unit probability of 0.072, less than the minimum probability (0.1) required for quantitative assessment. Sverdrup Mesozoic Assessment Unit Exploration maturity.— Seismic reflection data were collected during a petroleum exploration campaign that spanned the late 1960s through the mid-1980s; no modern or 3D seismic data had been collected as of the time of this assessment. More than 160 exploration wells were drilled based on the seismic data or on surface mapping testing most of the major potential traps. Oil and gas shows were widespread, and 13 gas accumulations were discovered, 7 of which are estimated to contain more than 300 billion cubic feet (BCF) of recoverable gas. Six oil accumulations were also discovered, only 1 of which exceeds 50 MMBO of known recoverable oil. No commercial production, which would require installation of extensive infrastructure, has taken place. Description The Sverdrup Mesozoic Assessment Unit includes all lowermost Triassic through Paleogene strata within the Sverdrup Basin proper. Its eastern boundary follows the basal disconformity of Triassic strata on Carboniferous rocks through northern Ellesmere Island. The boundary trends south through western Ellesmere Island, turns west into the offshore to parallel the northern coasts of Devon and Bathurst Islands, and emerges westward on Cameron Island and northern Melville Island. It curves northeast on Prince Patrick Island and runs northeast along the southeast flank of the Sverdrup Rim, excluding the Jurassic to Cretaceous extensional basins that transect the crest of the Sverdrup Rim. Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability The likelihood that the Sverdrup Mesozoic AU contains at least one undiscovered accumulation greater than the minimum field size of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) is estimated to be approximately 100 percent, based on the following interpretation of petroleum system elements: Charge.—(1.0) Proven source rocks are present in the Murray Harbour and Hoyle Bay Formations of the Schei Point Group. Organic matter in these formations is dominantly Type  II, with TOC values typically 1 to 6 weight percent and locally approaching 10 weight percent. They are mature (Ro 1.29 percent) where they have been most deeply penetrated (North Sabine H-49 well; Gentzis and Goodarzi, 1991; Goodarzi and others, 1989) and are presumed to be widely mature in the basin center and near salt bodies. Modeling suggests that they entered the oil window near the end of Cretaceous time (fig 7). Rocks.—(1.0) Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic deltaic sandstone reservoirs of the Heiberg Group contain most of the discovered accumulations. Other proven reservoirs include shallow marine sandstones of the Upper Jurassic Awingak Formation and sandstones of the Isachsen Formation. Braided stream deposits of the Lower Triassic Bjorne Formation exposed on northwest Melville Island contain tar sands characterized

14    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal as an originally stratigraphically trapped "exhumed oil field" in a 50-100-foot-thick sand, estimated to contain 100 to 250 million barrels of original oil in place (Rayer, 1981); the Bjorne Formation also had shows of gas in the Drake Point field. The largest discovered fields are sealed by Lower Jurassic shales of the Savik or Jameson Bay Formations. Traps for discovered fields are mostly structural and many include a component of recurrent salt movement. Undiscovered accumulations greater than 50 MMBOE will probably be dominantly stratigraphic pinchouts on the basin flanks because almost all of the larger mapped structural and combination traps imaged on seismic sections have been drilled. The largest discovered accumulations are in combination traps. Additional discoveries may be made in salt-influenced structural traps such as those described by Jackson and Harrison (2006). Timing and preservation.—(1.0) Modeling for this assessment (fig. 7), in agreement with that reported by Skibo and others (1990), suggests that oil generation from Triassic source rocks took place in Late Cretaceous time when the source rocks reached burial depths of about 3.5 to 4.0 km, and that some 2 km of Paleogene strata were deposited and eroded. Brooks and others (1992) concluded that generation required burial depths of about 3.1 to 3.4 km, and that present day burial depths were less than those required, indicating that many of the existing traps have had 0.65 to 1.9 km of strata eroded. The depositional thickness of Eureka Sound Group strata in the western Sverdrup Basin may have been as much as 3-4 km (Bustin, 1986), but present-day thickness is only a few hundred meters. Maximum burial and peak generation, therefore, was probably Paleogene, followed by substantial erosion. These inferences differ from those of Goodarzi and others (1992), who concluded that rapid burial by Aptian to Albian strata caused oil generation and that about 1 km of strata was eroded in the western Sverdrup Basin during the Eurekan orogeny. They also conflict with the conclusions of Gentzis and others (1996), who inferred Early Cretaceous generation triggered by rifting. Trapping anticlines formed or experienced renewed deformation during Paleogene Eurekan tectonism. The more easterly of the discovered accumulations, in the area of Ellef Ringnes Island, only partly fill their traps, suggesting that oil has been lost along faults and fractures (Waylett and Embry, 1992) and that seals and traps were ruptured during Eurekan deformation. These fields lie in a part of the basin where effects of Eurekan deformation were more severe than farther west. Erosion that presumably accompanied deformation may also have removed sufficient overburden to cause dissolved gas to come out of solution, expand, and displace oil from traps. Although it is evident that preservation is at least locally only partial, the discovery of numerous accumulations indicates that preservation is adequate for existence of fields of the minimum size. Analogs used in this assessment Numbers of fields.—The Mesozoic Sverdrup Basin has classic rift-sag architecture. Median field density for fields larger than 50 MMBOE in AUs in rift-sag basins in the analog database is about 0.2 fields per 1,000 km2; if three outlier AUs with significantly greater densities are omitted, the median density is about 0.16 accumulations per 1,000 km2. Applying this density to about 139,000 km2 in the western half of this assessment unit (the eastern half has not proved prospective) yields about 22 fields larger than 50 MMBOE. As 10 accumulations larger than 50 MMBOE have already been discovered, the most likely number of accumulations remaining to be discovered is considered to be about 10 additional accumulations, many of which will probably be stratigraphically trapped because most mapped large structural traps have been tested. The greatest possible number of undiscovered accumulations that might be discovered was considered to be 50, equivalent to a density of about 0.18 accumulations per 1,000 km2 for the entire area of the AU and about 0.36 for just the western half. The choice of the maximum of 50 undiscovered accumulations larger than 50 MMBOE was influenced by the discovery history. All of the most promising prospects have been drilled, but only 10 accumulations greater than 50 MMBOE have been found, so it was considered highly unlikely that field density of undiscovered fields could approach the maximum density in the analog dataset. The proportion of gas fields was estimated to be between 20 and 90 percent of the total number of accumulations, with the most likely value being 80 percent, based on the discovered population. Field size distribution.—The minimum field size is the CARA-defined 50 MMBOE. Because this AU has a discovered population that has shown a typical discovery history, analogs were not used heavily to guide estimation of sizes of undiscovered accumulations. The median undiscovered field size was estimated to be 80 MMBO for oil fields, somewhat less than the median, 111 MMBO, of the median sizes of oil fields in rift-sag AUs, because the exploration history suggests that undiscovered oil fields will be relatively small. The stratigraphically trapped oil fields that probably predominate in the undiscovered population might be slightly larger than the discovered anticlinal oil field population because they are less likely to have experienced oil loss by trap rupture. The largest possible undiscovered oil field, although highly unlikely to exist, was estimated to contain 800 MMBO, which is more than twice the volume of the largest discovered oil field but much less than the median size of 1,200 MMBO in rift-sag AUs. The median undiscovered gas accumulation size was estimated to be 350 BCFG, close to the minimum size, and the largest possible (but very unlikely) undiscovered gas field was estimated to be 1,500 BCFG, similar in size to some of the larger fields that have been discovered but not the largest. Province geologist's estimated maximum field size.—The province geologist estimated that the most likely maximum undiscovered field size is about 150 to 200 MMBOE, based more on discovery history (fig. 8) than on analogs, because the sizes of discovered accumulations are a better indicator of potential discoveries than analogs. Larger accumulations are typically discovered early, because they are more readily discerned with exploration technology and because they have larger areas in plan view. The fact that later-discovered accumulations in the Sverdrup Mesozoic AU are generally small indicates that the largest accumulations are likely to have already been discovered.

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    15 Figure 8.  Plots showing history of gas discoveries in Sverdrup Basin Province. A, Plot of cumulative known recoverable gas versus year of discovery (known as the creaming curve). Larger accumulations were discovered early in the exploration process and account for the bulk of discovered gas; only relatively small accumulations were discovered as exploration continued. B, Plot of gas accumulation size versus year of discovery, showing tendency for sizes of gas discoveries to decrease with time. The gas volume of each field, from a commercial database (IHS), was increased slightly, or "grown," to account for anticipated increase in expected recovery over time, thus volumes are shown as "grown." Sverdrup Basin Province 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 20,000 Cum. Grown Gas Volume (BCFG) 1,000 10,000 Accumulation-Discovery Year Grown Gas-Accumulation Size (BCFG) A B

16    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal Ancillary properties and coproduct ratios.—The analog database was not used for ancillary properties and coproduct ratios because they were available from discovered fields and presumably similar fields in northern Alaska. Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim Assessment Unit Exploration maturity.—Seismic reflection data were collected between the late 1960s and mid-1980s; 21 wells were drilled, but no accumulations of minimum size were discovered. Description The Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU includes the structurally elevated rift shoulder landward (southeast) of an inferred boundary between continental and transitional crust that formed during Jurassic rifting and Early Cretaceous opening of the Canada Basin. This boundary, the northwestern limit of the AU, is probably a zone of buried, high-displacement, north-facing normal faults and is presumed to coincide with a steep free-air gravity gradient observed beneath the Arctic continental shelf. Tectonically analogous to the Barrow Arch on the Alaskan North Slope for the pre-Cenozoic part of its history, the Sverdrup Rim of Balkwill (1978) (and its southwest continuation through western Banks Island) consists of an eroded structural high exposing Lower Jurassic to Devonian strata, transected by Jurassic to Cretaceous extensional basins on its crest and overlain on its flanks by Upper Cretaceous to Cenozoic strata. The southeast boundary is drawn to include all known extensional basins along the Sverdrup Rim; in the northeastern part of the province where subsurface geology is poorly known, the southeast boundary follows the landward edge of Miocene to Pliocene strata of the Beaufort Formation or correlative units. Potential source rocks for petroleum in this assessment unit include prerift, synrift, and postrift mudstones. Reservoir rocks include nonmarine and shallow marine sandstones interbedded with the source strata. Inferred generation and migration of petroleum in latest Cretaceous to Paleogene time resulted from initial burial by strata deposited across the rifted margin after Early Cretaceous seafloor spreading created the Canada Basin, then by sediments eroded from highlands created during Paleogene Eurekan compressive deformation. Although the geology of this AU is similar to that of the Barrow Arch in Alaska, it is more deeply eroded; potential reservoirs are buried by much thinner overburden. Over extensive areas, much of the Mesozoic sequence that was originally present has been eroded from the crest of the rift shoulder or lies at shallow depths immediately below Neogene strata where retention of petroleum is unlikely. The main Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic reservoir intervals in the adjacent Sverdrup Basin are at the surface of or absent from much of the crest of the Sverdrup Rim. Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous strata are preserved mainly in rift basins. Geologic Analysis of Assessment Unit Probability Charge.—(0.6) Proven source rocks for discovered oil and gas within the Sverdrup Basin are Triassic shales of the Schei Point Group, but these rocks are absent from large areas on the crest of the Sverdrup Rim and probably from the northwest flank as well (Okulitch, 1991; Embry, 1992). Migration pathways from sources on the flanks of the Sverdrup Rim to reservoirs on the crest were probably also mostly eroded, along with the best reservoir rocks. The Upper Jurassic Ringnes Formation (Balkwill and others, 1977; Stewart and others, 1992) contains shales that could be good source rocks for gas, but they are too immature to have generated gas southeast of the Sverdrup Rim. Downdip on the northwest flank, in contrast, not only Ringnes Formation shales but also organic-rich shales of the Upper Cretaceous Kanguk Formation (Nunez-Betelu and others, 1994) should be present at sufficient burial depths to have generated petroleum. In addition, unusual Azolla-bearing Eocene source rocks that may have been deposited across the entire Arctic Basin could be present seaward of the Sverdrup Rim and may have generated oil and gas that migrated updip on its northwest flank (see Houseknecht and Bird, 2011, for a discussion of potential source rocks on the continental slope). On the crest of the rim, potential source rocks are present within Jurassic to Cretaceous rift basins. However, where the geology of these basins is known from surface geology or subsurface information (Miall, 1975, 1979; Harrison and Brent, 2005), they are not deep enough (maximum about 2 km) or volumetrically adequate to have charged significant petroleum accumulations. On the northwest flank of the rim beneath Cenozoic cover, however, similar rift basins might be buried sufficiently, especially if they are larger than those on the crest. Evidence from seismic data and from a well in the northeastern part of the assessment unit indicates that the thickness of sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age increases rapidly northwestward on the seaward flank of the Sverdrup Rim to thicknesses of as much as 10 km (Brent and Embry, 1995; Forsyth and others, 1998). Generation of significant volumes of petroleum during burial of such a thick sequence is probable. Rocks.—(0.6) The northeastern part of this assessment unit lay along the northern flank of the Sverdrup Basin from late Paleozoic time until the opening of the Canada Basin in Early Cretaceous time and was thus the site of repeated transgressions and regressions that deposited interbedded shallow marine sandstones and offshore shales, shed from a land area (named "Crockerland") to the north (Embry, 1991, 1992). Although much of the Triassic and Lower Jurassic part of the sequence was thin and subject to erosion during uplift of the Sverdrup Rim in Early Cretaceous time, potential reservoir strata that may be at least locally present include (1) Upper Triassic Pat Bay Formation shelf sandstones; (2) Middle Jurassic nearshore shelf sandstones of the Sandy Point Formation; (3) beach, nearshore, and fluvial-deltaic sandstones of the Hiccles Cove Formation; and (4) Upper Jurassic progradational shelf sandstones of the Awingak Formation in the Prince Patrick Island area. From Prince Patrick Island

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008    17 southwestward along Banks Island, Triassic strata are absent, and Jurassic or younger strata rest directly on the Devonian strata; in this part of the AU, the most likely reservoir strata are probably Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sequences deposited across the rifted margin. Potential traps include normal faults and rollover anticlines from Mesozoic rifting, faults and anticlines overprinted on the extensional basins by Eurekan deformation during Paleogene time, and stratigraphic traps throughout the prospective section. Timing and preservation.—(0.6) Timing of maturation is most likely to be Late Cretaceous to Tertiary because the best chance for adequate burial is associated with deposition of Canada Basin passive margin strata and strata shed from Eurekan uplifts. Traps formed during extensional faulting in the Mesozoic would have been in place during generation. Traps formed by Eurekan deformation are less certain to have been available at the time of generation, depending on whether they are syndepositional or postdepositional. Eurekan deformation also presents risk to preservation of accumulations trapped before deformation. Analogs Used in this Assessment Numbers of fields.—The architecture of the Sverdrup Rim-Banks Island area is that of a passive margin, and the trap system is expected to be typical of those associated with extensional grabens. Those analog datasets (median field densities of 0.274 and 0.3 fields per 1,000 km2) suggest 58 and 70 accumulations, respectively, at the median and 1,200 and 587 fields, respectively, at the maximum (5.64 and 2.76 fields per 1,000 km2). However, comparison with the Barrow Arch in northern Alaska, which is a direct analog except for the dissimilarity in thickness of overburden above the prospective strata, suggests significantly fewer accumulations than the analog datasets. Because there are about 20 fields along the Barrow Arch, 20 was chosen as a more likely median. The maximum number of accumulations was considered likely to be significantly smaller than the maximum number, 150 fields, estimated for the adjacent and probably more prospective Canada Passive Margin AU; accordingly, 100 was chosen as the maximum possible number of accumulations for this assessment unit. Field size distribution.—The median of the median field size (greater than 50 MMBOE) in rifted passive margin AUs in the analog database is 112 MMBOE, and the median of the median size for extensional graben trap systems is 107 MMBOE. The median size for undiscovered accumulations in this AU, accordingly, was chosen as 100 MMBOE. The largest possible (but very unlikely) accumulation that might exist within the AU was chosen as 2,500 MMBOE, the approximate recoverable volume of oil at Kuparuk River field on the Barrow Arch. The largest accumulations in the analog datasets, 9,280 and 140,000 MMBOE for extensional graben trap systems and passive margin architecture, respectively, were considered much too large. Province geologist's estimated maximum field size.— The province geologist estimated that the most likely size of the largest accumulation in this AU is about 500 MMBOE, similar in size to the Alpine field (Gingrich and others, 2001) on the Barrow Arch, a stratigraphically trapped accumulation in a reservoir deposited within an incised valley flooded by a subsequent transgression. Oil versus gas fields, ancillary properties, and coproduct ratios.—In the absence of direct information on the nature of the petroleum system inferred within the Mesozoic and Paleogene strata to the northwest in the Canadian passive margin, the ratio of oil fields to the total number of oil and gas fields was estimated to be between 10 and 90 percent to reflect wide uncertainty. The mode of the distribution was set at 60 percent on the presumption that source rocks in the passive margin stratigraphic sequence are somewhat more likely to contain mostly Type I and II than Type III organic matter, if they are like presumed equivalents on the Sverdrup Rim such as the Kanguk Formation. Because petroleum that might eventually be discovered in this AU is likely to have been sourced by the same rocks as in the adjacent Canada Passive Margin AU to the north, the same values for coproducts and ancillary data were used for both AUs; these values, in turn, are the same as those assigned for the Alaska Passive Margin and Canning-Mackenzie Deformed Margin AUs, which contain discovered fields on which the values are based. Assessment Results Results are shown in table 2. The mean total undiscov­ ered resource estimate for the Sverdrup Basin Province is 851 million barrels of oil and 8,596 billion cubic feet of gas, as determined from the two assessment units that were quantitatively assessed—the Sverdrup Mesozoic AU and the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU. In the Sverdrup Mesozoic AU, an assessment unit probability of 1.0 indicates certainty that at least one more accumulation of the minimum size will be found; total undiscovered oil resources are expected to range from 61 to 1,255 MMBO, with a mean of 427 MMBO of undiscovered, recoverable oil. Gas associated with oil in oil accumulations is expected to range from 232 to 6,478  BCF, with a mean of 2,154 BCF, and nonassociated gas in gas accu­ mulations is expected to range from 976 to 6,407 BCF, with a mean of 2,798 BCF. In the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim AU, probability of at least one accumulation of the minimum size was considered to be only 0.22. Undiscovered oil resources were estimated at 0 to 2,679 MMBO, with a mean of 424 MMBO. Gas associated with oil in oil accumulations was esti­ mated at 0 to 8,269 MMBO, with a mean of 1,319 BCF, and nonassociated gas is estimated to be 0 to 14,666 BCF, with a mean of 2,325 BCF. The wide ranges in the estimates reflect substantial uncertainty regarding resource potential, despite the relatively high level of exploration in this province.

18    The 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal References Cited Balkwill, H.R., 1978, Evolution of Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 62, no. 6, p. 1004-1028. Balkwill, H.R., Wilson, D.G., and Wall, J.H., 1977, Ringnes Formation (Upper Jurassic), Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 25, no. 6, p. 1115-1144. Beauchamp, B., 1992, Carboniferous and Permian reefs of Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic; an aid to Barents Sea exploration, in Vorren, T., ed., Arctic geology and petroleum potential: Norwegian Petroleum Society Special Publication 2, p. 217-241. Beauchamp, B., 1995, Permian history of Arctic North America, in Scholle, P.A., Peryt, T.M., and Ulmer-Scholle, D.S., eds., The Permian of northern Pangea, v. 2, Sedimentary basins and economic resources: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 3-22. Beauchamp, B., Harrison, J.C., and Henderson, C.M., 1989a, Upper Paleozoic stratigraphy and basin analysis of the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Part 1, time frame and tectonic evolution, in Current research part G, Frontier Geoscience Program, Arctic Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 89-1G, p. 105-113. Beauchamp, B., Harrison, J.C., and Henderson, C.M., 1989b, Upper Paleozoic stratigraphy and basin analysis of the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Part 2, transgressiveregressive sequences, in Current research part G, Frontier Geoscience Program, Arctic Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 89-1G, p. 115-124. Table 2.  Assessment results for the Sverdrup Basin Province. [Results shown are fully risked estimates. For gas accumulations, all liquids are included as NGL (natural gas liquids). Undiscovered gas resources are the sum of nonassociated and associated gas. The fractile F95 represents a 95 percent chance of at least the amount tabulated; other fractiles are defined similarly. AU probability is the chance of at least one accumulation of minimum size (50 MMBOE) within the AU. Gray shading indicates not applicable. MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids; TPS, total petroleum system; AU, assessment unit] Total petroleum systems and assessment units AU probability Field type Largest expected field size Total undiscovered resources Oil (MMBO) Gas (BCFG) NGL (MMBNGL) F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean Upper Paleozoic-Mesozoic Composite TPS Sverdrup Mesozoic AU Oil 292 1,255 1,443 6,478 2,154 Gas 2,295 6,407 2,798 Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic AU Oil Gas Banks Island- Sverdrup Rim AU Oil 0 2,679 8,269 1,319 Gas 2,919 14,666 2,325 Total conventional resources 8,596 Beauchamp, B., Harrison, J.C., Utting, J., Brent, T.A., and Pinard, S., 2001, Carboniferous and Permian subsurface stratigraphy, Prince Patrick Island, Northwest Territories, Canadian Arctic: Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 565, 100 p. Beauchamp, B., and Henderson, C.M., 1994, The Lower Permian Raanes, Great Bear Cape and Trappers Cove formations, Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic; stratigraphy and conodont zonation: Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 42, no. 4, p. 562-597. Brent, T.A., and Embry, A.F., 1995, Stratigraphy and structure of Meighen Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in Bell, J.S., Bird, T.D., Hillier, T.L., and Greener, P.L., eds., Proceedings of the Oil and Gas Forum '95, Energy from sediments: Geological Survey of Canada Open File 3058, p. 163-168. Brooks, P.W., Embry, A.F., Goodarzi, F., and Stewart, R., 1992, Organic geochemistry and biological marker geochemistry of Schei Point Group (Triassic) and recovered oils from the Sverdrup Basin (Arctic Islands, Canada): Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, v. 40, no. 3, p. 173-187. Bustin, R.M., 1986, Organic maturity of Late Cretaceous and Tertiary coal measures, Canadian Arctic Archipelago: International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 6, p. 71-106. Canadian Gas Potential Committee, 2001, Natural gas potential in Canada; 2001: A report by the Canadian Gas Potential Committee, University of Calgary, 570 p. Chalmers, J.A., and Laursen, K.H., 1995, Labrador Sea; the extent of continental and oceanic crust and the timing of the onset of seafloor spreading: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 12, no. 2, p. 205-217.

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Appendixes

Appendix files are available online only, and may be accessed at ://doi.org/10.3133/pp1824I. 1.  Input data for the Sverdrup Upper Paleozoic Assessment Unit. 2.  Input data the Sverdrup Mesozoic Assessment Unit. 3.  Input data for the Banks Island-Sverdrup Rim Assessment Unit.

Menlo Park Publishing Service Center, California Manuscript approved for publication August 27, 2019 Edited by Jessica Dyke and Regan Austin Layout and design by Cory Hurd and Katie Sullivan

Tennyson and Pitman—Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Sverdrup Basin Province, 2008—Professional Paper 1824 Chapter I ISSN 2330-7102 (online) ://doi.org/10.3133/pp1824I

Plates & figures from the original