From 1982 to 1993, IKU (Continental Shelf Institute, now SINTEF Petroleum Research) mapped parts of the Norwegian continental shelf using a combination of shallow, high-resolution seismics and "shallow" (max. 580 m) stratigraphic drilling (diamond coring). Heat flow in the overburden was also determined at selected locations.

This industry-sponsored work resulted in 6600 m high-quality drill cores of Late Ordovician to Late Tertiary age and a considerable number of project reports and publications that contain analytical results and interpretations in a regional geological context.