Industry News

The search for UK offshore carbon storage and wind farm sites has been boosted with the transfer of files from the UK National Hydrocarbons Data Archive (NHDA) to the National Data Repository (NDR).

More than 4000 files, some dating back to 1978, but most from the 1980s and 1990s, and containing information about wellbores and seismic surveys, have been uploaded to the NDR and are now available for users including those from industry and academia.

The data was moved from the NHDA, held at the British Geological Survey, to the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) NDR –- a freely-available archive which already contains one petabyte of North Sea data, including seismic surveys and wellbore information – in order to consolidate legacy information in one place and help users.

The information, which includes offshore surveys and well data, now more easily supports various potential energy transition projects, such as carbon storage and offshore wind.

There is some seismic survey information covering areas in and around carbon storage licence and wind farm developments in the East Irish Sea, as well as carbon storage areas of the Central North Sea, said NSTA. This includes original ‘raw’ data that can be reprocessed using modern techniques to potentially shed new light on the subsurface, it added.

NHDA’s contents were reviewed to determine which had ‘reportable information’ and which overlapped with the existing NDR collection. The remaining files – 2437 related to wellbores and 1892 related to surveys – were migrated with the assistance of Moveout Data, an NDR service subcontractor.

The NSTA/BGS collaboration will enable the NHDA’s decommissioning after nearly two decades of operation. ‘The integration of data previously reported to the NHDA into the NDR marks a significant step in streamlining petroleum licence information management,’ said the NSTA. ‘This consolidation ensures consistent management and enhanced accessibility for stakeholders requiring this data.’

Emma Bee, head of National Geoscience Data Centresaid: ‘By working collaboratively with the NSTA, we have enhanced access to this nationally important data archive to support the UK’s energy transition.’

Volume 42 | Issue 9 | September 2024

Industry News

The search for UK offshore carbon storage and wind farm sites has been boosted with the transfer of files from the UK National Hydrocarbons Data Archive (NHDA) to the National Data Repository (NDR).

More than 4000 files, some dating back to 1978, but most from the 1980s and 1990s, and containing information about wellbores and seismic surveys, have been uploaded to the NDR and are now available for users including those from industry and academia.

The data was moved from the NHDA, held at the British Geological Survey, to the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) NDR –- a freely-available archive which already contains one petabyte of North Sea data, including seismic surveys and wellbore information – in order to consolidate legacy information in one place and help users.

The information, which includes offshore surveys and well data, now more easily supports various potential energy transition projects, such as carbon storage and offshore wind.

There is some seismic survey information covering areas in and around carbon storage licence and wind farm developments in the East Irish Sea, as well as carbon storage areas of the Central North Sea, said NSTA. This includes original ‘raw’ data that can be reprocessed using modern techniques to potentially shed new light on the subsurface, it added.

NHDA’s contents were reviewed to determine which had ‘reportable information’ and which overlapped with the existing NDR collection. The remaining files – 2437 related to wellbores and 1892 related to surveys – were migrated with the assistance of Moveout Data, an NDR service subcontractor.

The NSTA/BGS collaboration will enable the NHDA’s decommissioning after nearly two decades of operation. ‘The integration of data previously reported to the NHDA into the NDR marks a significant step in streamlining petroleum licence information management,’ said the NSTA. ‘This consolidation ensures consistent management and enhanced accessibility for stakeholders requiring this data.’

Emma Bee, head of National Geoscience Data Centresaid: ‘By working collaboratively with the NSTA, we have enhanced access to this nationally important data archive to support the UK’s energy transition.’

Volume 42 | Issue 9 | September 2024