UK: OGA releases new data set ahead of 30th offshore licensing round

UK’s offshore regulator, the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA), has made another set of data packages openly available in an effort to help revitalize exploration of oil and gas in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

This latest data release follows the publication of a suite of subsurface data packages in June related to undeveloped discoveries.

The OGA said on Wednesday that all the data was made openly available to help widen understanding of the basin’s subsurface and to build interest in advance of the 30th Offshore Licensing Round opening.

The round will focus on the more mature areas of the UKCS, some of which were last offered for licensing more than 40 years ago, and, according to the regulator, it is expected to be the most significant offshore round in recent decades.

The OGA added that the latest released data included the UKCS-wide multi-satellite gravity data from Getech, approximately 1,000 wells with joined digital well logs from both CGG and OGA, core analysis, formation pressure and geothermal databases from CGG.

The data also includes a report on the Upper Jurassic Sequence Stratigraphy and Sandstone Play Fairways of the Late Jurassic Humber Group of the UK Central Graben from Geostrat and the first of a set of regional geological maps from the OGA’s regional geological mapping project, carried out by Lloyd’s Register, covering the Central North Sea and Moray Firth areas.

Proprietary reports, courtesy of Shell and ExxonMobil, covering regional and subsurface aspects of the Central North Sea, including individual operators’ experiences in low cost well and completion design were also included in the data package.

Gunther Newcombe, OGA’s operations director, said: “We want to help make the UK as attractive as possible to explore for oil and gas. Part of this is about making as much data as possible openly available so people can understand more about our subsurface and make well-informed decisions in advance of the 30th Offshore Licensing Round opening later.

“The delivery of the first set of regional geological maps is a key milestone in what is a three-year project to deliver a consistent set of geological maps for the whole of the UKCS.”