The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has collected and prepared the first data sets for offshore wind on the Norwegian shelf.

Data from the subsurface surveys in the first phase of Sørlige Nordsjø II (Southern North Sea II) are now ready for download from Diskos.

This includes surveys NPD22100 and NPD23100. Each survey contains seven types of data, in addition to interpretation reports.  

• 2D Ultra-High-Resolution (UHR) multi-channel seismic
• Bottom penetrating sonar
• Multi-beam echo sounder (bathymetry)
• Back-scatter data
• MBES water column data
• Magnetometer data
• Side-Seeking Sonar (SSS) data

The Government has great ambitions for developing offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf. Norway’s ambition is to award acreage for 30 000 megawatt (MW) of energy generation by 2040.

The first areas were opened in 2020

The first areas were opened for renewable offshore energy production on the Norwegian shelf in 2020. Since then, the authorities have worked to establish the regulatory framework in close cooperation with business, industry and others that use the ocean. 2023 saw the first announcement of project areas for offshore wind at Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II, and the authorities plan to award acreage during the first quarter of 2024. 

In the spring of 2022, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) tasked the NPD with planning and implementing a tender process for conducting pilot surveys in Sørlige Nordsjø II and at Utsira Nord, with potential start-up in 2022.  

The first phase of the survey in Sørlige Nordsjø II (eastern part) was started in the autumn of 2022 and completed in 2023.  

The survey on Utsira Nord was commenced in the summer of 2023. To date, the northern area has been completed, while the southern area is nearing completion. Work has just gotten under way on the central area. According to plan, the Utsira Nord survey will be completed in the spring of 2024.

Some data will be made available later

Magnetometer data and MBES water column data will only be made available after a licence is awarded. This data will then be available for the party that will be developing the area. Players will also have access to the complete version of the interpretation report. 

Players who want to access the collected data, NPD22100 (NPDid 10679) and NPD23100 (NPDid 10620) can access the Diskos Public Portal.

Technical or practical questions linked to Diskos and downloading data can be directed to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate at  factweb@npd.no or to the contact persons referenced at diskos.no 

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate