Data mining
The Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB, www.cnsopb.ns.ca) recently launched its Dartmouth, N.S.–based Data Management Centre (DMC) as part of a significant upgrade to its Geoscience Research Centre (GRC). "This is the first centre in Canada with digitized and loaded [industry-specific] information that is available on the Internet," says Diana Dalton, the DMC's board chair and acting CEO. "Data is to exploration like wind is to a sail. You can't sail if you don't have wind, and you can't explore if you don't have data."
The GRC houses hard-copy information provided by the petroleum industry, including for wells, cores, and cuttings, plus geological and geophysical data. The new DMC provides online access to that information. The developments were made possible by a $2.4-million injection from the Province of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada. Part of the motivation behind the recent developments is a push to encourage further petroleum exploration in Nova Scotian waters. "We have the resource potential, and now people with entrepreneurial spirit can see that for themselves," said Energy Minister Bill Dooks at the DMC's official opening in October.
The new DMC encourages petroleum exploration.
The launch coincides with a decision to call for bids in December for potentially viable offshore lands, says Tim Church, the CNSOPB's senior communications advisor. A bid hasn't been made since 2003, and it is hoped that greater access to information will encourage companies both near and far to consider the area. "We know that this facility will play a huge role in defining the prospectivity that is a key to our resource future," says Dalton.
The CNSOPB has been collecting information from petroleum exploration companies dating back to the late 1950s. The companies are required by law to provide their geological and geophysical data. Much of what is submitted is protected by confidentiality agreements up to 10 years and only released to the public after that period has expired. By having the data in digital form, new security measures must be adopted. Lorne Meunier, the DMC's supervisor, points out that security is an ongoing effort. "The DMC is currently equipped with one of the best firewalls in the world," he says.
While some of the companies aren't always keen to offer up their information, they do appreciate the service the DMC provides. "A number of companies will come back to reinterpret their samples and test new processes and theories," says Mary Jean Verrall, the GRC's supervisor. As well as the petroleum companies, the GRC is well used by service companies, researchers, academics, and students.
Andrew MacRae, an assistant professor in the geology department at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, uses the DMC for his own research, plus he takes his students there as part of the university's petroleum geology course. "People don't usually understand why those facilities exist and how important they are, but they are crucial," he says. "Not just for academic purposes or teaching purposes, but whenever a company is interested in the region, the first thing they do is visit that facility and pull out cores that were drilled in some cases 20, almost 30 years ago and look at what's already been done."
— Mark Bolton
