The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded more than £2.5 million to gather seismic data of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) to boost exploration.

Schlumberger WesternGeco and DownUnder Geosolutions (DUG) have won the contracts to supply around 15,000km of seismic data.

The data will complement findings from the UK Government funded Seismic Acquisition Programme and will extend the area already mapped. The data is expected to be made available to the industry in Q2 2017.

The OGA has also announced a tender for seismic data in a further 10,000km area in the UKCS. Amongst other areas, this includes a large regional 2D seismic dataset from the Anglo-Paris basin.

Nick Richardson, OGA Exploration and New Ventures Manager, said: “This data has the potential to unlock exploration potential in areas that have not been looked in earnest for decades and consequently have not benefited from the latest acquisition and processing techniques.”