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The origin of authigenic ankerite from the Ninian Field, UK North Sea

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Abstract

The carbonate minerals ankerite and ferroan dolomite are widely reported in studies of concretions1,2 and of sandstone hydrocarbon reservoirs3–8. These minerals are often thought to have formed relatively late in the sandstones' diagenetic history and in the Gulf Coast their occurrence has been linked to clay mineral diagenesis in the surrounding shales9. I describe here authigenic ankerite from the Ninian Field10. Ankerite formation was probably synchronous with hydrocarbon emplacement and is related to clay mineral diagenesis in the hydrocarbon source rocks of the Viking Graben. It occurs throughout the reservoir sandstones but is particularly abundant below the oil–water contact. This distribution reflects hydrocarbon emplacement arresting diagenesis at progressively deeper levels of the reservoir. The resulting preferential cementation may adversely affect transmissibility between the aquifer and the oil column and consequently could reduce hydrocarbon recovery.

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  1. J. D. Kantorowicz

    Present address: Koninklijke/Shell Exploratie en Produktie Laboratorium, Volmerlaan 6, Rijswijk, The Netherlands

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  1. Department of Geology, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    J. D. Kantorowicz

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Kantorowicz, J. The origin of authigenic ankerite from the Ninian Field, UK North Sea. Nature 315, 214–216 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/315214a0

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