• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Ellesmere Island; Greenland; Itilli; Nunavut; Nuussuaq
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.505.1177; http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull/nr4/nr4_p49-52.pdf

For many years the existence of an oil-prone source rock off West Greenland was challenged by industry. But since 1992 when active oil seeps were found onshore West Greenland on the Nuussuaq peninsula (Fig. 1; Christiansen et al. 1996; Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999), the question has changed focus to the age, distribution and potential of the source rock. Five different oils – each with their own characteristics – have been reported by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). One of these, a typical marine shale-derived oil with a possible regional distribution, is known as the Itilli oil. Geochemical analysis suggests that it may have been generated from Cenomanian–Turonian age marine shales, equivalent to prolific source rocks known from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Three of the other oils were generated from deltaic source rocks of Albian