Mineral liberation analyzer as a tool for reservoir characterization of Mesozoic succession of the Barents Sea (Norway).

• Main Author: Berg-Larsen, Kamilla
• Other Authors: Supervisor: Zimmermann, Udo, External supervisor: Minde, Mona W.
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: uis 2021
• Subjects: Barents Sea; Norway; Stø
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2830164

Heavy mineral studies have been applied to a selection of samples from the Kolmule Formation from the Cretaceous age and from the Stø Formation of Jurassic age to understand the rock composition of the samples and develop further interpretations. The employed methods give the opportunity to study the single-grain analyses, which gives a more complete insights into the formation and history of the sediment and its detrital composition. It enables the opportunity to study the grain size, shape, sorting and distribution of both particle size and density. Based on results from different analytical methods, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Mineral Liberation Analyzer (MLA) the heavy minerals are identified. The heavy minerals that are identified and present in all the samples are tourmaline, biotite, apatite, zircon, garnet, barite, ilmenite, sphalerite, rutile, galena pyrite and chromite. Within the samples it was possible to see a wide variation of grain sizes for both formations. Both formations was also moderately to poorly sorted, indicating that either the source have been rather close and/or sediment transport was relatively quick without major processes to sort the detritus, which can indicate fluvial deposits or those related to very steep slope gradients and short transport distances. The Kolmule Formation have larger amounts of tourmaline, rutile and garnet present in the samples, indicating dominantly metamorphic sources. The sorting combined with the most abundant heavy minerals, points to a direct recycled source dominated by mainly felsic and mafic metamorphic debris. The Stø Formation have large amounts of zircon, pyrite, rutile, tourmaline and garnet present in the samples, indicating a rather felsic sources, with felsic fingerprints, recycled and mainly of metamorphic origin. Stø Formation has larger grains, indicating that this formation has been transported over a smaller distance than the Kolmule Formation and with a higher energy. ZTR-index for Stø ...