The Hibernia field is located 315 km (195 mi) offshore and east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland. The field was discovered in 1979 and contains an estimated 83 million m³ (525 million bbl) of recoverable oil. Preproduction investment, which includes the construction of a concrete gravity base structure, is approximately $5 billion (Canadian). Production is scheduled to commence in 1996; the expected plateau production rate is 17,480 m³ per day (110,000 BOPD). To date, there is no hydrocarbon production from offshore eastern Canada.

Hibernia is located in the northwestern sector of the Jeanne d'Arc rift basin. The trap is a complexly faulted anticline created by rollover into the basin-bounding Murre fault. The integrated geological and geophysical interpretation of the field is based on the results of ten wells and 465 km² (180 mi²) of three-dimensional seismic data.

Berriasian- to Valanginian-aged Hibernia sandstones are the primary reservoirs occurring at an average drill depth of 3720 m (12,200 ft). Sedimentological interpretation of core indicates that the principal reservoirs were deposited as high-bed load distributary channels in a fluvially dominated deltaic complex. Average porosity is 16%; permeability ranges up to 10 darcys. Reservoir sands are interpreted as being elongated and relatively continuous in a southwest-northeast direction. Downdip water injection will be implemented to maximize recovery.

Barremian- to Albian-aged Ben Nevis/Avalon sandstones are the secondary reservoirs and occur at an average drill depth of 2345 m (7700 ft). Core studies indicate deposition within strand plain, transgressive shoreface, and offshore shallow marine environments.

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The extent of lateral continuity is uncertain due to a combination of thin bed stratigraphy, structural complexity, zones of bioturbation, and calcite cementation.