Comparative studies of salt pillows in proximity to the Ringkøbing-Fyn High, Denmark

Abstract

The salt structures in Denmark have become of increased interest for the current Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) investigations, with most of the prospecting areas being in close relation to the structures. In this study we have investigated three salt pillows located on both sides of the Ringkøbing-Fyn High (RFH), Denmark, with focus on the timing and direction of salt movement. With the use of interpretation and restoration software, we have interpreted multiple 2D seismic lines and made a structural restoration of a defining line for each structure to determine the evolution of the salt movement. Our results show that the structures closest to the RFH have been created by Triassic gravitational gliding of the salt away from the high, while the salt further north most likely initiated by a combination of differential loading and local tectonics during the same period. Salt reactivation is more pronounced for the structures located north of the RFH, especially showing salt reactivation after the deposition of the late Cretaceous Chalk Group indicating a Cenozoic process only affecting the salt structures north of the high. However, the overall deformation of the three structures shows similar patterns, indicating that they all might represent structures located at the border zone of the Permian Zechstein salt basins, thus pushing the influence of the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone in the Norwegian-Danish Basin much further west in the Norwegian-Danish basin than formerly understood.