Massive data dump will help North Sea explorers squeeze the last of Britain’s oil from the basin
The UK’S Oil and Gas Authority has released one of the largest open data sets in history as it tries to encourage explorers to squeeze the last barrels out of the North Sea.
The 130 terabyte release, equivalent to around eight years of video, includes information on wells, oil fields, and infrastructure, as well as geophysical data.
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The National Data Repository covers more than 12,500 wellbores, 5,000 seismic surveys and 3,000 pipelines, the OGA said.
Nic Granger, director of corporate at the OGA said: “The world is arguably entering a ‘fourth industrial revolution’, with data at its heart. The National Data Repository is a UK first and is an important milestone in our vision to enable open, transparent data.
“The platform makes data available for machine learning and artificial intelligence and offers the opportunity to uncover new prospects and previously overlooked plays.”
It is part of a plan to encourage companies to recover as much as possible of the 20bn barrels of oil and gas estimated to be locked in under the basin.
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Claire Perry, minister for energy and clean growth said: “The UK’s oil and gas industry is an integral part of the economy, contributing over £334 billion in taxes while meeting around half of our energy needs.
“The National Data Repository will help position the sector at the front of the data revolution and enable industry to unlock the full potential of the UK continental shelf, delivering further energy security, tax revenues and the high paid jobs that are at the centre of our modern industrial strategy.”