Major boost for UK offshore seismic data repository

July 26, 2022
More than 132 terabytes of seismic data have been uploaded to Britain’s National Data Repository, according to the North Sea Transition Authority.

Offshore staff

LONDON  More than 132 terabytes of seismic data have been uploaded to Britain’s National Data Repository (NDR), according to the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).

The data will be available to potential bidders for the UK’s first carbon storage licensing round.

Twenty-nine datasets over the UK Continental Shelf dating from 1988-2015 have been transferred from tape storage to the cloud, for access by companies and researchers.

The datasets, the largest of which is 72 terabytes, are mostly over the central and southern UK North Sea and cover areas thought to hold best potential for carbon storage.

But the data can also support hydrocarbons exploration and positioning of offshore wind installations, the NSTA added.

The latest upload took seismic field data that had previously been reported to the NSTA. With the assistance of Moveout Data Seismic Services, the data have been made "processing ready," which helps users by completing the first step for reprocessing work on their behalf.

About 200 tapes have been transferred from a controlled storage site into the NDR cloud, in addition to 26 similar datasets that have been made available on the site over the past year.

NDR, which was first launched in 2019, with more than 130 terabytes of information, was "refreshed" last year to improve its functionality for users.

07.26.2022