Oil and gas: access to data
Access to data and digital data exchange formats
Access to data
The OGA aims to make as much information and data publicly available as soon as possible. Under current regulation data is usually available for release once a period of confidentiality has passed. All data release contracts are non-exclusive, and all data collected under the PON9b requirements will be considered for release
The OGA will always discuss any proposal to extend its current range of products:
contact Phil Harrison, Geoscience Data Manager, phil.harrison@oga.gsi.gov.uk
Release dates
For the purpose of data release, a confidentiality period begins on the well completion date for well data, and the end of the calendar year when data acquisition was completed for seismic data. The relevant confidentiality periods are:
- data acquired under offshore licences awarded up to and including the 19th round – four years
- data acquired under offshore licences awarded in the 20th and subsequent rounds – three years (or full licence relinquishment)
- data acquired under onshore licences awarded up to and including the 11th round – five years
- data acquired under onshore licences awarded in the 12th and subsequent rounds – four years
- spec seismic data acquired under offshore exploration licences – guidelines are in place (subject to annual review) for a 10-year confidentiality period
Contacts for data viewing
The contacts below must only be used to make appointments to view data. Direct other queries regarding the data to David Roberts or on (+44) (0)300 068 6058
Data available for public access
Information about the release of offshore and onshore wells is available on microfiche/CDROM. For an appointment to view, please contact:
In London
David Roberts
Oil and Gas Authority
2nd Floor
Kings Building
16 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3HQ
Email: david.roberts@oga.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: (+44) (0) 300 068 6058
N.B. please note that due to building works, visits to view data in our London office are not currently possible. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause
In Aberdeen
Malcolm Pye
Oil & Gas Authority
AB1 Building
48 Huntly Street
ABERDEEN
AB10 1SH
Email: Malcolm.Pye@oga.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: (+44) (0) 300 020 1030
At BGS (Nottingham)
Scott Renshaw
British Geological Survey
Kingsley Dunham Centre
Keyworth
Nottingham NG12 5GG
Tel. +44 (0)115 9363228
Email: kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk
Please note the contacts above must only be used to make appointments to view data. Direct other queries regarding the data and data purchase to Phil Harrison
Core and samples for offshore wells
Scott Renshaw
British Geological Survey
Kingsley Dunham Centre
Keyworth
Nottingham NG12 5GG
Tel. +44 (0)115 9363228
Email: kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk
Directions can be found at the BGS Website
Core and samples for onshore wells
Scott Renshaw
British Geological Survey
Kingsley Dunham Centre
Keyworth
Nottingham NG12 5GG
Tel. +44 (0)115 9363228
Email: kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk
- Released onshore cores (drilled under the OGA licenses) form part of the National Core and Sample Collection of the BGS at Keyworth, Nottingham.
- Other onshore well data for wells not drilled under the OGA licences is also available from the British Geological Society.
Data purchase - wells
Below is a list of data release agents from whom you can purchase information about wells.
| Agent | Data type | Website and telephone contact |
| TGS-NOPEC |
(A2D) Well logs and reports UKNS Facies Map Browser |
www.tgsnopec.com
|
| Data by Design | UK Petroleum Data CD |
www.databydesign.co.uk
|
| Exploration Geosciences | United Kingdom Discovery Digest |
www.expgeo.co.uk
|
| CGG Services (UK) Ltd | Logs and reports, Merged wireline logs, Workstation-ready well logs, Well attributes, Core Analysis database, Geothermal database, Rw database |
www.data.cgg.com
|
| IHS | Well logs and reports, merged wireline logs, merged well logs, workstation-ready well logs, well attributes, re-interpretted pressure data |
https://www.ihs.com/products/international-subsurface-data.html
|
Data purchase - seismic
Offshore data
- The , as agreed between DECC and Oil and Gas UK in 2011 were amended in 2012.
- A selection of pre-1992 2D seismic data is available through CGG Data Management Services.
- Guidelines are also available for the .
- Fugro Robertson Ltd and Lynx Information Systems have also released a selection of offshore surveys.
- Offshore gravity and magnetic data is available through ARKeX Ltd.
- CDA launched a Seismic DataStore in 2009. DEAL and the CDA DataStores were unified into a single system, UKOilandGasData, in 2013.
Onshore data
The UK Onshore Geophysical Library, managed by Lynx Information Systems, releases onshore seismic data. Contact Neil Anderton on (+44) (0) 20 8780 2634 for further details.
Digital data exchange formats
Introduction
This specification will also place data delivery within the context of overall UK government and EU data initiatives.
Legislative background
Under the terms of licence agreements for the UKCS and other legislation such as the Petroleum Act 1998, licensees are obliged to keep all data for all time and deliver this, from time to time, to the Secretary of State of DECC in any format specified.
The Electronic Communications Act 2000 provides a basis for the OGA to dictate digital delivery of data.
The UK Government, through the Cabinet Office, has issued a number of directives associated with data delivery that have become mandatory through time. These directives relate to issues such as XML, INSPIRE, linked data and the UK Location Strategy. This landscape is ever-changing and no guarantee is made that all external requirements have been specified.
Information strategy
DECC reviewed its data requirements in line with governmental information guidelines, changing business requirements, changing technology, the advent of Common Data Access (CDA), the National Hydrocarbons Data Archive (NHDA) and other collaborative data collection systems such as the Environmental Emissions Monitoring System (EEMS).
The OGA information strategy is that the OGA should only receive and store information used on a regular basis in necessary business functions. All other information should be stored and retained by licensees or third parties on their behalf.
Standards
Legacy data
The OGA recognises delivery of legacy data sets using new format standards may be difficult. It is prepared to discuss these issues on a case-by-case basis.
Exchange standards (XML)
This specification complies with the mandatory requirements, available on the Govtalk website, for all UK public sector information systems:
- alignment with the internet – universal adoption of common specifications used on the internet for all public sector information systems.
- adoption of XML as the primary standard for data integration – all public sector information systems are to be accessible through browser-based technology; other interfaces are permitted but only in addition to browser-based interfaces.
The OGA intends to satisfy these requirements in consultation with the oil industry. This specification defines the target standards for each defined data set. The OGA works closely with the following bodies on a number of standards initiatives:
- Energistics (the global oil and gas IT standards body)
- Oil and Gas UK
- CDA
- API (American Petroleum Institute)
- NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate)
- other regulatory bodies
The OGA intends to specify these standards and move to others as they emerge. It believes E&P and production data exchange standards will emerge based on Energistics’ WITSML and PRODML standards, and reference will be made to these. These generic references are only indicative. The OGA will progressively publish example XML files as the standards are endorsed.
INSPIRE, spatial data formats and UK location strategy
INSPIRE is an EU directive (now mandatory in UK government and signed up to by DECC) that establishes an infrastructure for spatial information. Although primarily intended for use with environmental data, the definition of environment is very wide. EDU intends to comply with INSPIRE standards at the earliest opportunity and are party to inter-departmental initiative MEDIN, which is specifying the standards.
The format for spatial data sent to EDU should be either ArcInfo coverage, an ArcView shapefile or a file compatible with one of these. Compatibility must be agreed with the OGA in advance.
Data should be in the following co-ordinate/projection system:
Offshore
| east of 6°W | geographic co-ordinates/decimal degrees as defined in datum ED50 |
| west of 6°W | geographic co-ordinates/decimal degrees as defined in datum WGS84 or ETRF89 |
| data that spans 6°W | should be merged into either ED50, WGS84 or ETRF89 and clearly defined |
Onshore
National Grid co-ordinates are defined in datum OSGB36.
The OGA supports the UK Location Strategy and will use this wherever appropriate.
Projection
In conjunction with the oil industry, DECC developed Guidance notes on the use of co-ordinate systems in data management on the UKCS for assistance with projection.
Cataloguing standards and linked data
Dublin Core is the mandatory cataloguing standard for the UK public sector. The emerging Energistics cataloguing standards for the oil industry are based on Dublin Core. The OGA intends to maintain an interest in these emerging standards and will mandate them when they become generally accepted.
Linked data is data in which real-world things are given web addresses (urls) and data is published about them in machine-readable formats at those locations. Other datasets can then point to those things using their urls, which means people using the data can find out more about something without that information being copied into the original dataset. The OGA supports the linked data initiative, although little of EDU’s oil and gas data is a part of the initiative. This situation will change as metadata is defined for data sets and they are included in the initiative.
Units of measure/reference entities
It is the OGA’s intention that units of measure and reference entities will be commonly used in the industry. Until these are formalised by an approved standards body, the OGA expects oil companies to follow normal industry practice.
Dates
Dates must comply with UK government and ISO standards, in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
Geological codes
DECC never imposed standards for lithology, chronostratigraphy or lithostratigraphy. Company codes can be used in submissions until such time as the OGA determines suitable international standards have emerged.
Information delivery
The OGA’s prefers to receive information digitally, although alternative methods may be acceptable if agreed in advance. Ideally the data will be transferred via the web, but it can also be emailed, or for large data sets submitted on CD. Many data sets and regulatory reports can be delivered via the UK Oil Portal and the OGA is looking into extending this capability. Web delivery should be assumed as the preferred delivery mode unless otherwise specified for specific data sets.
Summary of data content, data format and data exchange standards
For a specific data type and data set, the content will define the actual data items required and, where appropriate, specific data values. The data exchange format will define the delivery mechanism. There are few data exchange formats currently used in the oil industry but the OGA is working to develop them.
Gravity
Magnetic data
Licensing round application
Reservoir
-
Production data - Exchange format PPRS
-
Seismic
Wells
The OGA intends to review these standards on a regular basis. Please direct any comments, queries or suggestions on this specification to:
Colin Brown
OGA
Department of Energy and Climate Change
3 Whitehall Place
London SW1A 2HD
tel: 0300 068 5738
Data purchase data
The OGA aims to make as much information and data publicly available as soon as possible. Under current regulation data is usually available for release once a period of confidentiality has passed. All data release contracts are non-exclusive, and all data collected under the PON9b requirements will be considered for release.
Wells purchase data
Below is a list of data release agents from whom you can purchase information about wells.
| Agent | Data type | Website and telephone contact |
|---|---|---|
| TGS-NOPEC (A2D) | Well logs and reports UKNS Facies Map Browser | www.tgsnopec.com - Steve Allen - 0208 339 4200 - steve.allen@tgsnopec.com |
| Data by Design | UK Petroleum Data CD | www.databydesign.co.uk - Steve Allen - 01278 723492 - info@databydesign.co.uk |
| Exploration Geosciences | United Kingdom Discovery Digest | www.expgeo.co.uk - Yvonne Drummond - 01580 212080 |
| CGG Data Management (UK) Ltd | Logs and reports, Merged wireline logs, Workstation-ready well logs, Well attributes, Core Analysis database, Geothermal database, Rw database | www.data.cgg.com - Nestor Nwafor - 01492 564500 - DMS.DigitalProducts@CGG.COM |
| IHS | Well logs and reports, merged wireline logs, merged well logs, workstation-ready well logs, well attributes, re-interpretted pressure data | www.ihs.com - Richard Longhurst - 01666 501822 - releaseddata@ihs.com |
Seismic data purchase data
Offshore data
- A selection of pre-1992 2D seismic data is available through Phoenix Data Solutions Ltd.
- Fugro Robertson Ltd and Lynx Information Systems have also released a selection of offshore surveys.
- Offshore gravity and magnetic data is available through ARK Geophysics.
- CDA launched a seismic datastore in 2009.
Onshore data
The UK Onshore Geophysical Library, managed by Lynx Information Systems, releases onshore seismic data.
Contact Neil Anderton on 020 8780 2634 for further details.
Updates to this page
Published 22 January 2013Last updated 20 January 2016 + show all updates
-
137th Well Release List - (added)
-
Oil and gas: Added 136th Well Release List
-
133rd, 134th and 135th Well Releases - (added)
-
Oil and gas: 132nd Well Release - (added)
-
Oil and gas: 131th Well Release List - (added)
-
Oil and gas: 130th well release - (added)
-
Oil and gas: Draft 2014 well release list - (added)
-
Oil and gas: 128th Well Release List - (added)
-
Well release - Draft 2013 - added, 27th - added
-
Alternate cms links while redirects are down
-
First published.