Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin
Nr. 9, Scientific results from the deepened Lopra-1 borehole, Faroe Islands

Editors:
James A. Chalmers and Regin Waagstein

The Faroe Islands in the northern North Altantic consist primarily of Palaeogene eruptive volcanic rocks. Two research boreholes were drilled in 1980 and 1981 on the islands, the deeper of which, Lopra-1, extended 2 km into the unexposed part of the volcanic succession.
Exploration for hydrocarbons in the area to the south-east of the Faroe Islands and leakage of gas from the still-open Lopra-1 borehole suggested the presence of a sedimentary section below the volcanics that might contain hydrocarbons. VSP (Vertical Seismic Profiling) studies from the Lopra-1 borehole indicated the presence of seismic reflections from below its final depth that might indicate the base of the volcanic series underlain by sediments.
These observations motivated an industry consortium to drill an extension to the Lopra-1 borehole in 1996 that, including a side-track, reached a final depth of 3565 m. The extension penetrated a thick sequence of previously unknown volcanic rocks, but not pre-volcanic siliciclastic sediments as hoped.
This bulletin presents many new scientific studies of both the extended and original Lopra-1/1A boreholes, in some cases combined with regional studies from elsewhere in the Faroe Islands.

Contents

• Introduction
  Martin V. Heinesen, Arne Rosenkrands Larsen og Kai Sørensen
• Wire-line log-based stratigraphy of flood basalts from the Lopra-1/1A well, Faroe Islands
  L.O. Boldreel
• Borehole seismic studies of a volcanic succession from the Lopra-1/1A borehole in the Faroe Islands, northern North Atlantic
  P. Christie, I. Gollifer and D. Cowper
• Magnetic logs from the Lopra-1/1A and Vestmanna-1 wells, Faroe Islands
  N. Abrahamsen and R. Waagstein
• Paleomagnetic results from the Lopra-1/1A well, Faroe Islands
  N. Abrahamsen
• Petroleum geochemistry of the deepened Lopra-1/1A re-entry well, Faroe Islands
  J.A. Bojesen-Koefoed and H.P. Nytoft
• Hydrocarbon gases in Palaeogene volcanic rocks from the Lopra-1/1A well, Faroe Islands
  N. Balling, N. Breiner and R. Waagstein
• Mineralogical and thermodynamic constraints on Palaeogene palaeotemperature conditions during low-grade metamorphism of basaltic lavas recovered from the Lopra-1/1A deep hole, Faroe Islands
  W.E. Glassley
• A reconnaissance study of fluid inclusions in fracture-filling quartz and calcite from the Lopra-1/1A well, Faroe Islands
  J. Kornerup-Madsen
• The regional distribution of zeolites in the basalts of the Faroe Islands and the significance of zeolites as palaeotemperature indicators
  O. Jørgensen

Danmarks og Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse (GEUS),
Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 København K
Telefon: 38 14 20 00, fax: 38 14 20 50, e-post: geus@geus.dk
eller
Geografforlaget Aps
Rugårdsvej 55, 5000 Odense C
Telefon: 63 44 16 83, fax: 63 44 16 97
E-post: go@geografforlaget.dk

Pris kr. 180 (ekskl. moms)