Geological structure of Cenozoic sedimentary basin in the Northwestern margin of the Barents Sea shelf

There are two stages in Cenozoic development of the West Barents continental margin: rifting and passive margins. The main thickness of the Pliocene-Eocene complex is typical of the Serverstsnaget Basin, Vestbakken Volcanic Province, and Hornsund fault zone formed under conditions of strike-slip tectonics (“pull-apart” conditions). However, the thickness of the Oligocene-Pliocene sediments reaches its maximum on the eastern slope of the North Atlantic ocean basin. Paleogene and Neogene sediments consist mostly of claystones and siltstones but there are also sandy intervals formed because of gravity flows. The sandy layers can form lithological hydrocarbon traps.