Economic Report 2018

Figure 34: Infrastructure Density on the UKCS, Norwegian Continental Shelf and the US Gulf of Mexico

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UKCS – 75 per cent Infrastructure Coverage

NCS – 37 per cent Infrastructure Coverage

US GoM – 69 per cent Infrastructure Coverage

Source: Rystad Energy

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Improved access to data — Current and future UKCS stakeholders rely on access to quality data to make key investment decisions. In 2015, the government allocated £20 million of funds to a seismic acquisition programme, with a further £20 million committed in 2016. Both programmes focused on underexplored regions such as the Rockall Trough, Mid-North Sea High and the East Shetland Platform. Data from these programmes has been made freely available to industry via CDA’s UKoilandgasdata portal in support of recent Licensing Rounds. The Wood Review recommended that industry should have an accessible digital perspective of subsurface and prospectivity of the UKCS. In response to this, the 21 st Century Exploration Roadmap has been developed. The roadmap is a five-year plan of regional subsurface studies to support ongoing exploration and future activity, culminating in the development of a holistic database that will catalogue the working petroleum systems of the basin. New technology — New technologies are helping to open up plays and the Exploration Task Force is currently sponsoring an exciting project with the OGTC to explore the application of machine learning. The UK oil and gas industry is smaller than it once was and fewer people possess the expertise upon which the traditional exploration approach relies. Machine learning could not only help the industry work more effectively but also has the potential to significantly accelerate the exploration lifecycle, and also increase both technical and commercial success rates.

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CASE STUDY

The Beryl embayment located in the South Viking Graben is undergoing a rejuvenation driven by development drilling and near-field exploration. Apache acquired Mobil North Sea Ltd and became operator of the Beryl field complex at the beginning of 2012. Early investment in an extensive high-quality broadband 3D seismic survey has been key to building a diverse prospect portfolio to allow for a continuous drilling program. The resumption of exploration is paying dividends. Four new field discoveries have been made in the Beryl area over the past three years including Callater, Corona, Storr, and the recently announced Garten exploration well, which logged more than 700 feet of net oil pay.

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