THE Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded more than £6 million of contracts for surface and subsea studies to integrate a range of activities in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), writes Greg Russell.

Lloyd’s Register, British Geological Survey (BGS) and Schlumberger will share the four three-year contracts, designed to improve understanding and maximise value by bringing together exploration, development, production and decommissioning.

Gunther Newcombe, OGA’s exploration, production and decommissioning director, said: “In order to fulfil OGA’s goal to maximise economic value of the UKCS, it is vital we can independently assess remaining undiscovered resources and improve our geotechnical understanding.

“In addition, OGA is seeking to drive regional development and protect critical infrastructure while promoting the best application of new technologies. The award of these contracts provides a valuable, additional technical resource to the OGA’s exploration, production and decommissioning team.”

Lloyd’s Register has been awarded two of the contracts to provide regional exploration maps and regional and field support engineering services.

BGS will provide geoscience services that aid the identification, definition and quantification of leads and prospects, and provide input data for the calculation of undiscovered resource volumes.

Finally, Schlumberger will provide OGA with subsurface studies and reservoir evaluation services.