ABSTRACT

To the end of 1976 six large and two small gas fields had been discovered in the Sverdrup Basin, with hydrocarbons contained in sands of six different formations. These are: 1) Middle Mould Bay and its equivalent the Awingak sands of Late Jurassic age; the former gas-bearing at Hecla, the latter oil-bearing in the Romulus well; 2) Lower Wilkie Point of Pliensbachian to early Toarcian age, gas-bearing in the Drake Point and Hecla fields; 3) King Christian sand of late Liassic age, gas-bearing in the King Christian, Jackson Bay, Kristoffer, Wallis and Thor fields, and also oil-bearing in the last; 4) Borden Island, mainly of Sinemurian age, the main reservoir in the Drake Point and Hecla gas fields; 5) Sands of Karnian age in the lower part of the Schei Point Formation, containing the main gas reserves in the deeper pool of the Hecla field; 6) Sands of Middle to Late Triassic age in the upper part of the Bjorne Formation, gas- and oil-bearing in the deeper pool of the Hecla field. The correlation of these units with others in the basin is shown on . These correlations are based on stratigraphic, structural and paleontological data derived from subsurface information, and adhere closely to the standard nomenclature established by the Geological Survey of Canada. However, in some cases it is necessary to propose a redefinition of some names, such as the original Heiberg Formation of the standard nomenclature, and to introduce informal names for units, such as the King Christian sand, that are known only in the subsurface.