Map source: OGA

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched the Supplementary 31st Offshore Licensing Round, presenting an exceptional opportunity for oil and gas companies to collaborate to maximise economic recovery of up to 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) in the Greater Buchan Area.

Situated in the Outer Moray Firth in the North Sea, the region features approx. 5,800 km² currently unlicensed acreage, which includes a number of undeveloped discoveries and prospects. Companies are being encouraged to collaborate and partner with each other to progress the material exploration and development opportunity in the area.

The Buchan Field first came online in 1981 using the Buchan Alpha floating drilling rig which was on station for around 36 years. The rig which reached the end of its design life has been removed from location, however significant oil and gas resources are estimated to remain in the Buchan reservoir and the Greater Buchan region, making it a valuable area of the North Sea.

To maximise economic recovery of the remaining resources, the OGA wishes to develop an Area Plan with industry linked to a licensing round.

The Supplementary Round has been supported by advanced release of substantial information and data, including seismic data packages. The OGA is continuing to make more and more data openly available and this dataset included well data for 154 wells, 3D seismic surveys, relinquishment and technical reports. To date, there have been 1,122 downloads from the OGA’s website, totalling 7.4 terabytes of data by 34 different companies.

A newly created ‘Buchan Field Production Dashboard’ is also available on the OGA’s Open Data site which shows the entire production profile since 1981. 

Prior to this, an information day on the Greater Buchan Area was held at the OGA’s Aberdeen office in November 2018, to promote the opportunity. The OGA was pleased with the interest which saw 34 companies attend.

Dr Andy Samuel, Chief Executive of the OGA, said this latest round should unlock new opportunities and maximise value from this targeted area: “There’s been excellent interest in the Greater Buchan Area. There’s much to play for from exploration through to development opportunities. We are encouraging prospective operators to look beyond individual opportunities and actively partner with other companies to establish a mutually beneficial Area Plan realising the full economic potential in the area.”

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