Article by Henry Allen, 21stC XRM Project Board Chair & Palaeozoic Technical Steering Committee Co-chair 

Background

One of the key actions of the Wood Report was that Government should urgently assess the potential to stimulate exploration. Further, that an up-to-date, readily accessible, digital perspective on the prospectivity and geology of the UKCS should be developed. These actions fitted well with the aims of PILOT’s  Exploration Task Force (ETF) which had been working for some time to develop the 21st Century Exploration Road Map (21CXRM) for the UKCS.

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has now taken leadership in determining the future of the 21CXRM programme. Its aspiration is still that all companies, whether holders of traditional or promote licences, as well as geophysical and geological contractors, contribute to these studies, so that one of Sir Ian’s Wood’s key recommendations is fully implemented.

One of the first projects to be initiated by the ETF was a Regional Petroleum Systems Analysis of the main Palaeozoic play elements on the UKCS.

The remit of the Palaeozoic project is to maximise collaboration and knowledge sharing to create a starting point that enables both licence holders and service providers to leverage their competitive strengths and maximise commercial success on the UKCS as follows;

• Achieve the best common understanding we can of key parts of the offshore Palaeozoic in order that a greater number of more successful wells are drilled by the industry
• Develop win-win arrangements for optimal use of commercially owned IP such as seismic data
• Facilitate a fully integrated collaborative approach across the whole industry

Overview

The study is being operated as a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with approximately 50% Government funding and 50% industry funding, along with contributions from Oil & Gas UK. DECC/OGA commissioned the project with BGS in January 2015 to be overseen by a joint-industry Project Board and a Technical Steering Committee.

Results from this work will be supplied to the JIP Sponsors in the first instance, subject to agreement from the various owners of data used. The project is timed for delivery prior to the opening of the 29^th Licencing Round, and sponsors will have exclusive access to the results until after the round is closed. These results will then be publicly released on the internet, or on 1^st July 2017 at the latest.

Companies can join at any time until the closure of the 29^th Licencing Round application period through a one-off subscription. The sponsors are eligible to take part in technical discussions with the project team, including attendance at the Technical Steering Committee Meetings approximately every 2 months.

There are currently 39 industry sponsors alongside OGA, O&G UK and BGS.

Objective

The high level aim of the project is to:

• Encourage research deeper and wider than the conventional hydrocarbon horizons
• Develop a strong, consistent regional data-set to provide a platform for more specific oil & gas exploration studies
• Develop a new scientific understanding
  • that down-risks some of the critical play elements
  • that stimulates new ideas for plays and prospectivity
• Provoke
  • new data acquisition
  • additional analysis and interpretation programmes
• Lead to
  • licence activity
  • significant exploration well activity
  • economic commercial success rates

Project Scope and Deliverables

The project focuses on the Carboniferous and the Devonian and has three phases covering the following areas

• Central North Sea/Mid North Sea High
• Moray Firth/Orcadian Basin
• Irish Sea

Key components of the petroleum systems within the Carboniferous and Devonian are being evaluated by integrating well data and modern offshore seismic data with UK onshore knowledge.

Project results will be delivered digitally and include interpretations of seismic, well and gravity data, along with burial/uplift/maturity modelling, source rock geochemistry studies and palaeographic reconstructions, to inform the location of prospective play elements.

Generalised interpretations based on commercial data will be provided subject to permission from the data owners. Samples of commercial data used (eg. speculative seismic) may also be provided in the final report, subject to permission from the owners. Delivery to project Sponsors in 2016 will coincide with the release by OGA of the UK Government Seismic Programme.

Timetable

Delivery of final results to Sponsors is planned for March 2016 to tie in to the release of seismic data from the government funded acquisition programme giving industry a new insight into key areas of the North Sea.

Data and Knowledge Sharing

All companies and individuals are welcome to contribute data and knowledge to the project, subject to ownership and confidentiality rights. However contribution in-kind does not qualify for participation as a sponsor.

Further Information and Joining as a Sponsor

Additional details are available on the OGA website at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-21st-century-exploration-road-map-21cxrm-projects  Alternatively please contact Henry Allen who currently chairs the 21stC XRM Project Board and co-chairs The Technical Steering Committee.

Hear Henry Allen give an overview of 21C XRM at 10.55 am on Wednesday 9 December at PROSPEX
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