Well, Geophysical & Geochemical Data
The Geology and Petroleum Department (GPD) is the custodian of all well, geophysical and geochemical data produced from petroleum exploration and development in Belize and are the property of the Government of Belize. The types of geophysical data are seismic, gravity and aeromagnetic data, while geochemical data are data on oil and gas seeps in soil and rocks and the chemical composition of liquid oil samples. All these data are either public or proprietary. All public data are data that were produced under exploration licenses that have expired or relinquished. Proprietary data are data that are produced by petroleum companies under current licences and only become public when the licence expires or is relinquished.
Seismic Surveys
Past and present petroleum companies conducted many two-dimensional (2D) seismic surveys in Belize, most of which were done in the offshore territory. Belize Natural Energy Ltd. (BNE) and West Bay Exploration Company Ltd. conducted two exploration three-dimensional (3D) seismic surveys and BNE conducted two development 3D seismic surveys. Most of the vintage seismic data are poor quality, while more of the recent seismic data are better quality data. All recent seismic data consists of field and processed data and are available in electronic formats. All vintage seismic data consisted of paper copies only and were scanned and vectorized and are available in electronic work station ready SEG-Y format. Lynx Information Systems INC of Houston, Texas, USA is the Government’s licensed provider of all the Belize seismic data and hosts the Belize Seismic Repository for the storage, preservation and sale of Belize seismic data.
Aeromagnetic and Gravity Surveys
Several vintage aeromagnetic and gravity surveys were conducted in Belize. The data for these vintage surveys consists of paper copies only. Five recent aeromagnetic surveys were conducted by Perenco, Providence Energy, BCH International, BNE and Touchstone Exploration. The recent aeromagnetic data consists of field and processed data and are available in electronic formats.
Wells
A total of 143 wells have been drilled in Belize. Prior to 2000, 34 onshore and 16 offshore wells were drilled. Eight stratigraphic wells were also drilled in 1961 in the Fireburn area in the Orange Walk District. Post 2000, 83 onshore wells and two shallow offshore stratigraphic wells were drilled. BNE drilled 63 of these recent wells. TGS of Houston, Texas, USA is the Government’s licensed provider of all the Belize well data and hosts the Belize Well Data Repository for the storage, preservation and sale of Belize well data. All well data are available in work station ready LAS format.
Geochemical Data
Several geochemical surveys have been conducted in Belize. Four recent geochemical surveys were conducted by Pacific Rubiales, BNE, Gulfport Energy and RSM Corporation. The survey reports and maps are available from the GPD.