The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) today celebrated the region’s 6,000th well.
Well 6,000 for the Norwegian Shelf was drilled on the Troll Field in the North Sea.
All wildcat and production wells drilled on the Norwegian shelf since 1966 have been registered in the NPD’s Fact Pages with wellbore designation and well ID.
The NPD’s Core Store includes core and cuttings samples from virtually all exploration wells drilled, in addition to all cores and substantial volumes of cuttings from all producing fields. This is all accessible to the general public.
“The companies should not compete for raw data. Everyone should have access to basic geological data and rather compete to develop the best interpretation,” said Robert Williams. He is a geologist and coordinator for the Core Store.
The store currently has a six week waiting list.
“For example, once Johan Sverdrup (previously Aldous/Avaldsnes) was proven in 2010, there was considerable interest in examining cores from the discovery well,” says data steward Per Henning Sæle in the NPD.
Mr Williams added: “The NPD’s sample release committee, which consists of four geologists, considers applications each week, including how much material the applicant will receive. Normally, we aren’t talking about more than a few grams.”