Table1. Strontium isotope data from investigated wells

The Molo Formation represents a characteristic depositional unit on the inner Mid-Norwegian continental shelf and extends along the coast for about 500 km from Møre to Lofoten. It was deposited by coastal progradation in a wave-dominated environment with extensive long-shore drift. The age and stratigraphic relationships have been heavily debated since it was discovered and first described nearly forty years ago. Based on new age information from exploration wells in the Draugen Field on the Trøndelag Platform, the Molo Formation is now determined to be of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene age. It is interpreted to be the proximal equivalent to the deeper marine Kai Formation in the Norwegian Sea and a lateral equivalent to the Utsira Formation in the North Sea. These formations were all deposited as a result of the compression and uplift of mainland Norway in mid Miocene time. In this paper we describe and document the datings and formally define the Molo Formation as a new stratigraphic unit.