Ausgeo News  March 2005  Issue no. 77

Remastering project – what's old is new again!

Data storage at Geoscience Australia’s national repository of seismic dataThe national repository of seismic data on the sub-surface geology of Australia's offshore marine jurisdiction is undergoing a media makeover.

Under the Petroleum Submerged Lands Act 1967 (PSLA) all companies and organisations acquiring seismic survey data within the Australian marine jurisdiction have been required to submit the raw and processed data to Geoscience Australia. Data that are part of a work program are confidential for three years from the date of acquisition. After this period the data are accessible by companies or any other interested party.

This repository of information is made available to exploration companies at cost of transfer. However, much of the data is recorded on outdated media, including 9 and 21 track tapes and 3480 cartridges, making it increasingly difficult to access and expensive to store.

Companies have been required to borrow the large number of older media associated with a seismic survey and return copies to Geoscience Australia. To preserve older data and make it accessible to explorers, Geoscience Australia was allocated $10 million in the 2003-04 Australian Government Budget to be used for the copying and concatenation of the data onto high-density media.

The overall project involves copying around 285 000 old tapes onto about 12 000 3590B tapes. This media – which holds 10 gigabytes of data per tape – has been the industry standard since 1990. More than 90% of Geoscience Australia's repository of seismic data has been collected in that time, and is stored on just over 40 000 3590B tapes.

Transcription, quality control and physical disposal are being carried out by commercial companies in Perth. The transcription contracts were awarded to Guardian Data and SpectrumData, and quality control is being undertaken by GeoCom Services Australia. After copies are approved, the original tapes are disposed of in Perth to be recycled into plastic products.

The remastering project has been running for one year. To date, about 100 000 nine-track tapes and 40 000 3480 cartridges have been transcribed (see table 1 for list of completed surveys).

The project is delivering easier access and lower costs for petroleum companies and other clients.

Above right: Data storage at Geoscience Australia's national repository of seismic data.

Table 1. Remastering – completed surveys

Survey Year Basin State
NT/P36 Marine Seismic (Arafura Sea S81) 1981 Arafura Basin / Money Shoal Basin NT
Bridge Bass 1990 Marine Seismic 1990 Bark Sub-basin / Bass Basin/Boobyalla Sub-basin / Durroon Basin TAS
Donna Marine Seismic 1995 Barrow Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin WA
C81A Marine Seismic 1982 Barrow Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin / Exmouth Plateau WA
C81B Marine Seismic 1981 Barrow Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin / Exmouth Plateau WA
C81B Marine Seismic 1981 Barrow Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin / Exmouth Plateau WA
Hummock Marine Seismic 1996 Bass Basin TAS
Bass 1988 Marine Seismic 1988 Bass Basin TAS
HB 80A and Pookanah Detail Marine Seismic 1980 Bass Basin TAS
BS89A/B - BS90A/B and T89/2 Marine Seismic 1990 Bass Basin / Torquay Sub-Basin TAS
Mahakam Marine Seismic 1992 Beagle Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin WA
Mohaku 1993 Seismic 1993 Beagle Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin WA
Dampier-Beagle Marine Seismic 1975 Beagle Sub-basin / Carnarvon Basin / Dampier Sub-Basin WA
Helvetius 1992 Marine Seismic 1992 Bonaparte Basin WA
Andromeda Marine Seismic 1996 Bonaparte Basin NT
Van Diemen Rise Seismic 1969 Bonaparte Basin NT, WA
Caspian Marine Seismic 1991 Bonaparte Basin WA
HV11 Skua 3D Marine Seismic 1990 Bonaparte Basin NT
PC95 Marine Seismic 1995 Bonaparte Basin WA
Anderdon Marine Seismic 1990 Bonaparte Basin NT
B89 Marine Seismic 1989 Bonaparte Basin NT, WA
Copernicus Marine Seismic 1992 Bonaparte Basin NT
NT/P47 and NT/P48 Marine Seismic 1997 Bonaparte Basin NT
H2683D Jabiru and Extension Marine Seismic 1984 Bonaparte Basin / Browse Basin / Vulcan Sub-basin NT
Endeavour Marine Seismic 1995 Bonaparte Basin / Vulcan Sub-basin WA
SPA 4SL/95-96 (Browse Basin) Marine Seismic 1996 Browse Basin WA
Calliance Reef Marine Seismic and Seismic Refraction 1983 Browse Basin WA
Churchill 1980 Marine Seismic 1980 Browse Basin WA
Interpretation of the Greater Caswell Area Marine Seismic 1984 Browse Basin WA
Sascha 1992 Seismic 1992 Browse Basin WA
C94A Marine Seismic 1994 Canning Basin WA
Lambert Shelf Marine Seismic 1980 Canning Basin / Carnarvon Basin WA
Minden 3D 1995 Carnarvon Basin WA
HH88 Marine Seismic 1988 Carnarvon Basin WA
SPA 3D Marine Seismic (Parker 3D) 1991 Carnarvon Basin WA
C83A Marine Seismic 1983 Carnarvon Basin WA
C83B Marine Seismic 1983 Carnarvon Basin WA
X95A Marine Seismic (Scarborough 2D) 1995 Carnarvon Basin WA
C92A Marine Seismic 1992 Carnarvon Basin WA
Boronia Marine Seismic 1983 Carnarvon Basin WA
Eaglehawk Marine Seismic 1996 Carnarvon Basin / Dampier Sub-basin WA
Michelle Marine Seismic 1993 Carnarvon Basin / Dampier Sub-basin WA
Exmouth South 1996 SPA 6SL (95-96) 1996 Carnarvon Basin / Exmouth Sub-basin WA
Cuvier 1992 Marine Seismic 1992 Carnarvon Basin / Gascoyne Sub-basin WA
Rundle Marine Seismic 1994 Carnarvon Basin / Gascoyne Sub-basin WA
NT/P32 1980 Marine Seismic 1980 Carpentaria Basin NT
Carpentaria Basin 1980 Marine Seismic 1980 Carpentaria Basin NT
Denman Basin Marine Seismic 1972 Denman Basin SA
Offshore Twilight Cove Seismic 1970 Eucla Basin WA
X78A Marine Seismic 1978 Exmouth Sub-Basin WA
GS81A Marine Seismic 1982 Gippsland Basin VIC
GP-81A Marine Seismic 1981 Gippsland Basin VIC
GUT-83A Marine Seismic and Magnetic 1983 Gippsland Basin VIC
GUT-83P Marine Seismic and Magnetic 1983 Gippsland Basin TAS
G89A Marine Seismic 1990 Gippsland Basin VIC
GH82A Marine Seismic and Magnetic 1982 Gippsland Basin VIC
G89A Marine Seismic: Blackback 3D Grid 1990 Gippsland Basin VIC
GS95A Marine Seismic (Basker Manta 3D) 1995 Gippsland Basin VIC
G84A Marine Seismic 1985 Gippsland Basin VIC
OH91B Marine Seismic 1991 Otway Basin VIC
OS90A 1990 Otway Basin VIC
Geelvink Channel Seismic 1970 Perth Basin WA
Plum Marine Seismic 1992 Perth Basin WA

 

For further information: Phone Paula Croninon +61 2 6249 9181 or e-mail paula.cronin@ga.gov.au

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