DEPOSITIONAL EVOLUTION OF THE FINNMARK CARBONATE PLATFORM, BARENTS SEA - RESULTS FROM WELL-7128 6-1 AND WELL-7128/4-1/

Due to its extensive core coverage (444 m of the 527-m thick successio n), well 7125/6-1 provides a unique opportunity for detailed sedimento logic study of the entire sub-surface Late Carboniferous-Permian Finnm ark carbonate platform. This 'reference section' is augmented by 51 m of core in well 7128/4-1, 25 km to the west. Based on a combination of core description and a standard set of petrologic analyses performed at fixed 1 to 2 m spacing, the approximately 500-m thick carbonate suc cession is divided into nine lithostratigraphic units, each comprising a distinct depositional facies association. Trends in microfacies, in ferred water depth, cycle thickness, and gamma ray (GR) profile are us ed to differentiate a hierarchy of stratigraphic sequences, reflecting probable 5th- through 2nd-order fluctuations in relative sea level. S even main sequences are recognized (3rd- or possibly lower-order), who se varying facies composition and cyclicity record the changing interp lay of eustacy, climate, tectonics, and siliciclastic influx during th e 50-60 m.y. history of platform evolution.