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After the first phase of exploration in the 1970s, there was a general opinion that the West Greenland basins contained at best only gas-prone source rocks. The discovery of numerous oil seeps in the onshore Nuussuaq Basin in the 1990s changed that view (see Ghexis vols 16, 15, 14 and 12). Five different types of oil have been recognised, which come from a Paleocene delta-front source rock that has been sampled, a Mesozoic marine source rock (that has not yet been found), and other non-marine and marine source rocks of presumed local importance only (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999). A clue to the identity of the Mesozoic marine source rock may be the presence of high-quality, organic-rich mudstones of Cenomanian–Turonian age in the Sverdrup Basin (Fig. 4.1) in the Canadian arctic (Núñez-Betelu et al. 1995). Biomarker characteristics of the Sverdrup basin mudstones have notable similarities with the oil derived from the Mesozoic marine source rock of West Greenland.
Modelling of the maturity of this potential source rock has shown that the Cenomanian–Turonian interval, where present, would lie in the early–main–late-mature zone in all the basins throughout all the basins of southern West Greenland (Figs 4.2.1 and 4.2.2).
An in-depth bibliography on source rocks in the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay region can be found in the data section on source rocks where some frequently asked questions on West Greenland source rocks are also addressed.
Further information on Paleocene source rocks capable of generating hydrocarbons in the region may be obtained from the Hekja well south of Baffin Island (Balkwill et al. 1990, Klose et al. 1982).
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