International data forum meeting at the NPD
18/04/2017 The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is hosting an international conference on storage and use of petroleum data from 6 to 8 June. There is still time to register for those who are interested.
Since 1996, the stewards of national oil and gas resources have met to exchange experiences and discuss shared challenges. This year is the third time they are meeting at the NPD, at NDR 2017.
NDR stands for National Data Repositories, which started as an arena for countries around the North Sea. The forum has since become global, and functions as a meeting place for authorities, oil companies and service and equipment suppliers. The more than 30 participating countries include several that take part in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Oil for Development (OfD) programme, where Norwegian authorities assist partner countries in developing their national administration and management of oil and gas resources.
"Authorities need data in order to arrange licensing rounds," says Eric Toogood of the NPD. He is on the NDR 2017 Executive Committee, and is also the project manager for the Diskos NDR, the data repository for exploration and production information from the Norwegian shelf.
"International companies want the reporting in countries they operate in to be as similar as possible. And authorities should be as coordinated as possible as regards the requirements they set for data and information," he says, and adds that authorities – on behalf of the nation – must maintain a long-term perspective on the storage of petroleum data.
The NDR meetings – the most recent of which was three years ago in Azerbaijan – are followed up in working groups within topics such as standardisation, reporting, regulations, quality control and technical solutions. The participants are mostly professionals from various disciplines whose day-to-day work involves data management.
"The objective of these meetings is collaboration and transfer of experience," says Toogood.
"Other countries look to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and Norway to learn from us, but we have a shared interest in learning from each other, as well as working out solutions and measures."
Director General Bente Nyland is the keynote speaker at the conference, where the individual countries will also give presentations.
- Link to registration and programme >>
Updated: 18/04/2017