Along with a hammer and a drill, the most important tool in the geologist's kit bag has always been the geological map. Maps tell us about risk, uncertainty and where to drill. The more information a map contains, the more likely it is to be predictive.

Most people think of maps as representing data on the surface of the earth, but we build maps of the subsurface. Geoscience teams travel through time to reconstruct structural histories, paleogegraphic maps and migration pathways for hydrocarbons into reservoirs of highly variable quality. Because of this added dimension, the complexity and amount of data that is required to build geological map is huge.

TNK-BP has many sophisticated mapping systems digital data in a digital form, but there is not a company wide approach to this activity. As a result, it is difficult to produce a consistent set of products required for decision-making. As these data sets grow and the usage becomes more complex, then another important consideration is the investment required to properly protect the value and security of these data.

The Exploration Database is a new project designed to address these issues and will organize key geoscience data into a single data repository with common tools for retrieval and analysis. The project will follow standard CVP processes. The first phase will be officially launched in May. This phase will determine the detailed scope of data used in typical Exploration workflows, from field acquisition to map generation and analysis. By December, we will determine the most efficient methods for organizing the database systems that will support these ... Читать дальше »