Regulator offers up North Sea data package

Comprehensive regional geological maps detailing parts of the UK Continental Shelf have been released ahead of the 30th oil and gas offshore licensing round late this year.

The move by the Oil and Gas Authority OGA is designed to spur interest in the North Sea and help revitalise exploration in the lower oil price environment.

The data dump includes basin-wide gravity data, core analysis and digital well logs as well as OGA’s first set of geological maps covering the Central North Sea and Moray Firth.

“We want to help make the UK as attractive as possible to explore for oil and gas,” Gunther Newcombe, OGA’s Operations Director, said.

“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.”

The move comes as London-listed Independent Oil and Gas submitted a field development plan for the Blythe hub in the southern North Sea.

The group’s stock price took a double digit jump in early trading on the announcement.

Oil and Gas Authority operations director Gunther Newcombe.