Our work

Geoscience Australia works collaboratively with the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA), and Western Australia’s Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, under the National Offshore Petroleum Data and Core Repository framework, to manage collections comprised of exploration, development and production related data and samples predominantly from the Australian continental shelf, primarily acquired by petroleum exploration and development titleholders.

Titleholders, as defined in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Resource Management and Administration Regulations 2011, must submit relevant information, data and samples from an activity (e.g., drilling, survey or reprocessing project) to NOPTA in accordance with the regulations. These items remain commercial-in-confidence for a designated period until they have been authorised for public release.

Once NOPTA has authorised public release, Geoscience Australia becomes the custodian of the data and samples and has the responsibility of making them accessible via the Repository.

The Repository also manages physical sample collections acquired by Geoscience Australia, and its predecessors, as part of pre-competitive programs spanning many decades. This includes marine and Antarctic sediment samples, groundwater samples, and samples collected during onshore field mapping programs.

Geoscience Australia is currently in the process of making more than 90% of its collections digitally available by 2035.

The collections largely comprise of data and physical samples collected during drilling and geophysical survey activities, including:

• Geophysical survey data:
  • seismic and ancillary data in field and processed form
  • bathymetric data
  • potential field data
• Well data:
  • basic and interpretive well completion and associated reports
  • well logs in hard copy and digital forms
• Core and cuttings samples
• Hydrocarbon fluid samples
• Marine core data
• Marine samples including dredge and grab samples
• Rock samples including hand specimens, crushes, powders and thin sections
• Digital tape media
• Digital optical media
• Hard copy documents and records
• Large format hard copy material

Although primarily acquired and utilised by the petroleum industry, the collections have broadened their utility across numerous energy resource, groundwater and science applications and research endeavours.