Geology of Groningen gas field, Netherlands
The Slochteren No. 1 well discovered in 1959 now is known as the Groningen gas field in the N. Netherlands. The field is on a culmination of the large, regional N. Netherlands high which was formed during the late Kimmerian tectonic phase (Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous). However, there is some evidence that the structure was a positive element during earlier periods, i.e., during Triassic and possibly even late Carboniferous times. The reservoir overlies unconformably the truncated and strongly faulted coal-bearing Pennsylvanian strata which are considered to be the main source of the Groningen gas. The reservoir, 300 to 700 ft thick, consists of fluviatile and eolian sandstone and conglomerate of the Rotliegendes Formation (lower Permian). These coarse clastic beds are overlain by a few thousand feet of Permian Zechstein evaporites, notably rock salt and to a lesser extent anhydrite and dolomite, which constitute the very effective reservoir seal. Because of intensive salt movements, the thickness of the overlying Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata ranges from 3,000 ft to more than 6,500 ft. The field covers 180,000 acres, and the reserves now are estimated at 59 trillion cu ft. (12 refs.)
- Research Organization:
- Bataafse Int Petr Mij NV
- OSTI ID:
- 5987728
- Journal Information:
- Mem. - Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.; (United States), Vol. 14
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Deep burial diagenesis in Rotliegende reservoirs of the NW German Basin
Permian-triassic paleogeography and stratigraphy of the west Netherlands basin
Related Subjects
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
NETHERLANDS
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
CONGLOMERATES
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
JURASSIC PERIOD
PENNSYLVANIAN PERIOD
RESERVES
SANDSTONES
STRATIGRAPHY
TECTONICS
THICKNESS
DIMENSIONS
EUROPE
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
WESTERN EUROPE
030200* - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration