Møre–Vøring Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element, Norwegian rifted margin, Norwegian Sea

Abstract

The Møre and Vøring basins at the mid-Norwegian margin was affected by a series of rift phases separated by periods of tectonic quiescence from Caledonian collapse in the Devonian to final continental breakup in the earliest Eocene. The tectonic phases were mostly extensional in nature, and the pre-drift extension across the Møre-Vøring basins since mid-Permian time has been estimated to be in the order of 200-250 km. The pre-Cretaceous basin configuration is poorly constrained due to limited seismic resolution at large depths and lack of borehole control. A fundamental change in crustal deformation regime occurred from Late Jurassic distributed stretching of the upper crust to Early Cretaceous thinning at lower crustal levels located along the axis of the Møre and Vøring basins. A westward migration of the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene depocentres in the Vøring Basin reflect focussing of deformation towards the time and line of breakup. The basin architecture and evolution are summarised in relation to tectono-sedimentary elements corresponding to the main tectonic and depositional phases and representing characteristic megasequences in the seismic data. Finally, the exploration history and main petroleum systems of the Møre and Vøring basins are presented.