Ranking "White space" Frontier Regions - An Arctic Example Illustrating the Power of Integrating Plate Tectonic Reconstructions into Regional Evaluations

Abstract The incorporation of robust plate tectonic reconstructions into regional evaluations has the power to identify potential ‘white-space’ basins where significant prospectivity is possible but where there is relatively limited current knowledge and or available data. This enables decision-makers to make judicious decisions when entering new frontier regions with minimal exposure and can also influence data acquisition strategy. This paper documents a basin ranking workflow applied to the vast Circum-Arctic region. Integration of regional geological mapping along with seismic and potential fields data in a digital format provides a consistent framework upon which to reconstruct the geological history of the region through time and to extrapolate key petroleum system elements from known calibrated areas into relatively poorly known regions. Using a set of criteria based on the elements required for a working petroleum system, a schematic basin ranking of ~140 Arctic basins was completed highlighting opportunities in ‘white-space’ basins and also areas that may be high-graded pending further evaluation. Introduction The Circum-Arctic (north of ~60º latitude) is an immense region spanning approximately 1/6th of the Earth's surface area beneath which significant petroleum and mineral resources have already been discovered or are awaiting discovery. Due to its remote location and extreme climate, the region remains relatively lightly explored by both industry and academia, and then only along selected margins. Hence, many of the sedimentary basins (~140) and physiographic features within the region are poorly understood (Figure 1). This situation is rapidly changing due to:renewed awareness of the resource potential of the region;increased activity in the delineation of UN Law of the Sea international boundaries;recent improved maritime access to large parts of the Circum-Arctic that were previously ice-bound for significant parts of the year; andavailability of new geological and geophysical datasets in selected regions. In such a challenging physical, operational and political environment for exploration, a robust model for the plate tectonic evolution of the region provides a solid basis from which explorers can make rapid decisions about what areas have the highest potential. This applies to both placing existing proven regions into a wider context and also for providing the basis upon which to rank those ‘white-space’ areas where significant new opportunities may reside. This paper documents one approach to the identification of such regions in the Arctic and provides an example that can be replicated and applied elsewhere.