The UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded two contracts for petroleum system related studies for the East Shetland Platform and South West Approaches areas.
The contracts have been awarded to Getech and BGS for South West Approaches and FROGTECH and IGI Limited for the East Shetland Platform. Both projects are expected to be completed by the end of March 2017.
The provision of the studies has been supported by the MER UK Exploration Task Force and will complement the acquisition and reprocessing of seismic data in this area which has formed part of the 2016 UK Government Seismic Programme.
Other recent OGA projects include a post-well analysis of exploration and appraisal wells drilled during 2003-2013 in the Moray Firth and Central North Sea, which can be found here, and a geoscientific regional petroleum system analysis of the Palaeozoic which is due to be released in Spring 2017.
The new contracts were issued by OGA as part of the five year work plan by its Technical Advisory Committee, which includes members from Azinor Catalyst, BayernGas, BP, Chevron, DONG, ENGIE, Hurricane Energy, Maersk Oil, Shell and Siccar Point Energy.
The committee is responsible for a five-year plan of regional subsurface studies to support ongoing exploration initiatives and future licensing activities.
Nick Richardson, OGA Head of Exploration and New Ventures, said: “These projects represent the initial phases of more extensive regional mapping projects to drive exploration across the UK Continental Shelf.
“The results of these projects from Getech, BGS, FROGTECH and IGI Limited will enhance industry knowledge, awareness and understanding of both the South West Approaches and East Shetland Platform ahead of the 31st Frontier Licensing Round in 2018.”