India’s Hydrocarbon Outlook 2024 114 A Report on Exploration & Production Activities E&P data - A National Asset E&P data is considered a valuable national asset, and its ownership lies with the government. The Petroleum and Natural Gas (Amendment) rules of 2006 mandate that all E&P operators in India provide to the Central Government or its designated agency with any data obtained as a result of petroleum operations in the country, free of cost. The E&P data policy issued by MoPNG in 2017 outlines the framework for data assimilation, disclosure, sharing, accessibility, and dissemination through the National Data Repository (NDR). The policy designates DGH as the agency for data submission. Technological advancements in data processing, interpretation, and visualization provide opportunities to gain new insights into even age-old E&P data. The exponential growth in data volume and diversity of data types enables the processing of diverse data sets to identify relational patterns, which can improve understanding of the subsurface, design exploration campaigns, and optimize oil and gas production. Effective data management is crucial to develop a robust national E&P database and accelerating exploration and production activities in the country. Therefore, safeguarding E&P data is a matter of national significance. National Data Repository The National Data Repository (NDR) was established by the Government of India in 2014 under the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to assimilate, preserve, and disseminate a vast amount of data acquired by public and private companies, operators, agencies, and contractors during E&P activities over several decades. The data was previously scattered across different work centres of ONGC, OIL, and DGH, or held by the respective operating companies. The main objective of the NDR is to organize and regulate the data for future exploration and development activities, as well as for research and development by educational institutions and government bodies. The NDR serves Objectives of NDR The broad objectives of NDR are as follows: • To assimilate, validate, archive, preserve, reproduce, and disseminate data relating to prospecting, exploration, development, and production of hydrocarbons. • To create and maintain a modern state of the art platform for reporting, managing, mapping and visualization using the latest technologies. • To ensure that industry, academia, research bodies and other users have ready access to the E&P data in NDR for promoting E&P research as a national-level establishment capable of managing a massive volume of data and providing access to it for public use. To implement the project, the government awarded a turnkey contract for the “Build, Populate and Operate” model for the NDR to M/s Halliburton Offshore Services in March 2014. After the initial set up and data loading, the NDR was officially launched for public use on 28th June 2017. The establishment of the NDR has facilitated the efficient management and utilization of E&P data and has helped to promote exploration and development activities in India’s hydrocarbon sector. The NDR is a key enabler of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) and Discovered Small Fields (DSF) rounds under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) regime. It provides E&P operators with the freedom to carve out blocks of their interest and size, facilitated by the E&P data provided by the NDR under the new policy regime. In addition to its use in the oil and gas sector, the NDR’s data are being utilized for research and development by educational/ academic institutions and government bodies. Overall, the NDR is a valuable resource for the Indian energy industry, offering a centralized repository of E&P data for reliable decision-making and future development.
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