Kentucky Oil and Gas Repository
In 2014, the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) proposed to review 20,000 folders of oil and gas records for documents missing from the Kentucky Oil and Gas Repository, and add digital images to the existing online resource. The KGS western Kentucky office maintains a separate file of historical well records that has been compiled from a variety of sources. This collection is known to contain some original documents not in the main office, as well as working copies that have valuable annotations that have been made over the years. The only access to these unique documents is by visual inspection of the original documents at the western Kentucky office. KGS has lacked resources to make significant progress with the comparison of the two collections to identify unique documents to scan and append to the online repository. There are estimated to be 80,000 document folders that need review, and this is likely to constitute a multi-year effort. The KGS requested and received $32,027 for the proposed work, which included 1,820 hours of student time.
The most frequently accessed KGS data are related to oil and gas wells. Companies around the globe use KGS’s free, online data services to view and download data for developing new prospects. Online access saves companies both money and time and places Kentucky at an advantage in attracting development activity. This project helped to add valuable records to the online repository that were previously only available by visiting the western Kentucky office in Henderson.
Access collections preserved by Kentucky Geological Survey HERE