New oil industry data aims to encourage exploration

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has announced a major release of industry data in the hope of encouraging more exploration.

The UK Oil and Gas National Data Repository (NDR) contains details of thousands of wells, seismic surveys and pipelines.

It is hoped that giving industry and academics access to the information will encourage collaboration.

The data is now freely-available via an online platform.

• Gas find hailed as biggest in decade

• Call for deal to protect oil and gas sector

• UK reserves to last 'at least 20 years'

Nic Granger, of the OGA said: "The world is arguably entering a 'fourth industrial revolution', with data at its heart.

"The National Data Repository is a UK first and is an important milestone in our vision to enable open, transparent data.

"The platform makes data available for machine learning and artificial intelligence and offers the opportunity to uncover new prospects and previously overlooked plays."

The NDR covers more than 12,500 wellbores, 5,000 seismic surveys, and 3,000 pipelines.