The Geological Structure of the Netherlands Continental Shelf - Results of a Detailed Mapping Project

In 2011, TNO-GDN concluded a 5 year geological mapping of the Netherlands Continental Shelf. In this project all public data from hydrocarbon exploration were used resulting in a major update of the dataset and a variety of deliverables available at www.NLOG.NL. The stratigraphy of more than 400 wells has been re-examined and amended where necessary. 2D and 3D seismic surveys were re-interpreted and new velocity models were used for time-depth conversion of the interpretations. This resulted in a structural model from base Zechstein to base Neogene. Also 30 reservoir intervals were added to the model. For the offshore area around 3800 faults were interpreted. The offshore faults where the first to be stored in a spatial fault database. Apart from detailed spatial information, all faults are also labelled with fault-kinematic-, geomechanic- and dimensional properties. This database will soon become publicly available. The uncertainty related to interpretation and data-processing has been evaluated. This resulted in maps showing the standard deviation for the depth of the main stratigraphic intervals. Based on these new subsurface mapping results a new unambiguous- and data-driven classification of structural elements is proposed that reflects the coupling between the different stratigraphic superpositions encountered and the complex tectonic evolution.