Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has announced the completion of the data acquisition stage of a UK Government-funded £20m seismic campaign.
The campaign underexplored areas of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is expected to improve the previously sparse seismic coverage in the Rockall Trough and Mid-North Sea High regions.
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By GlobalDataWesternGeco was selected by OGA to undertake the programme following a competitive tendering process, and acquired almost 20,000km of new 2D seismic lines over an area of 200,000km².
OGA Exploration and Production director Gunther Newcombe said: "I am delighted that our partner WesternGeco has completed the campaign on time and without incident, having surveyed an area almost the size of the British Isles.
"Seismic data is currently being processed by WesternGeco and data packages will be made freely available when they are finalised towards the end of Q1 2016.
Subsurface imaging was improved using the new seismic acquisition and processing technologies to help boost understanding of the geology and potential prospectivity.
At present, the OGA is preparing for the 29th round, which will be announced in 2016 and would focus on frontier areas using the data from the seismic campaign.
Oil & Gas UK operations director Oonagh Werngren said: "The completion of the data acquisition stage of the seismic programme is very good news at a time when the sector is challenged with attracting fresh investment into the UKCS.
"By ensuring that the data will be made available to both industry and academia, the OGA is promoting maximum value from the surveys, which will help to stimulate further exploration activity in the UK."
The latest campaign is part of a plan to help revitalise exploration on the UKCS, which witnessed a decline in the exploration activity in recent years.
Funding of the seismic programme was announced by chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne in the March 2015 budget, as part of a £1.3bn package of measures to drive investment in the UKCS.
Image: WesternGeco acquired almost 20,000km of new 2D seismic lines over an area of 200,000km². Photo: courtesy of Oil and Gas Authority / Crown copyright.
