Curating Australia's Well Log Archive Since 1969
Australasian petroleum well log archive. 12,316 wells, 77 sedimentary basins, all curated to the same standard since 1969.
Our Story
The Beginning
Wiltshire Geological Services was founded in 1969 by Michael Wiltshire, a petroleum geologist with a background in mathematics who recognised a critical gap in Australia's oil and gas exploration sector: the lack of accessible, high-quality wireline log data. Drawing on his training in the geological sciences and the quantitative rigour required for meaningful subsurface analysis, Michael set out to build an archive a working petrophysicist could actually use.
Growth of the Archive
What began as a personal initiative to serve the Australian exploration community is now what we believe to be the largest private well log archive in Australasia, comprising 12,316 wells across Australia, New Zealand, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea. The archive has been digital since the early 1980s, before LAS 1.0 was published in 1989, and has been continuously expanded and improved since.
Occam Technology
Occam Technology was established in 2006 to manage the archive and develop related technical capabilities, including proprietary software for digitisation, quality control, and LAS data processing. We still follow the same founding principle: deliver data ready to load into Petrel, Techlog, or any other workstation, without rework.
Our Mission Today
The original principle holds: high-quality data is the foundation of all subsurface analysis. Your interpretation depends on your input data. We've spent 57 years getting it right.
Wiltshire Geological Services and Occam Technology are Australian-owned, Adelaide-based, and serve customers globally. The second generation now works with Michael to keep the standard.
The People Behind the Archive
Michael Wiltshire
Founder, Managing Director & Chief Geologist
Michael founded Wiltshire Geological Services in 1969 to provide consulting geological services to the Australian petroleum exploration industry. From the 1980s, WGS focused on the supply of high-quality digital subsurface data and pioneered this industry in Australia. With a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney, and a strong background in physics and mathematics, Mike is our visionary founder with a deep understanding of Australian exploration history, the data that's been generated, and how it applies to the modern context.
Over his career, Mike has developed methods for subsurface data visualisation and quality control, holds a patent for synthetic sonic log generation, and is currently working on analytical techniques for total organic carbon assessment, plus minerals and new-energy exploration applications.
Away from the office, Mike regularly breaks his age on the golf course and maintains a love of science and technology. He's just as happy talking data as he is telling stories about the halcyon days of Australian exploration.
Steven Wiltshire
Co-Founder & Director, Technology & Data
Steven co-founded Occam Technology in 2006 and is the architect and builder of its technical platform. Steve has been immersed in the family business all his life, starting out at Wiltshire Geological Services helping to maintain DEC VAX systems, aged 10. He maintained a corporate mail server at 16, and has been building systems ever since. At Occam, he works across the full stack, from database and server to data delivery and business development.
Occam's technical infrastructure is Steve's work since 2006: open-source software, commodity hardware, and the pragmatic engineering choices that come with running a lean business. The archive's data is delivered to customers in formats ready for immediate use.
He holds a Bachelor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship from the University of Adelaide, speaks fluent Python, prefers FreeBSD for his servers, and is just as comfortable in his swag in the Simpson Desert as he is troubleshooting a transaction or debugging a DNS issue.
By the Numbers
What Sets Our Data Apart
Validation, format consistency, documentation, and provenance, on every well.
Quality Control
Every log is reviewed, corrected, and validated before delivery.
Format Consistency
LAS format with standardised curve naming. Load directly into your workstation without reformatting.
Supporting Documentation
Our well data summaries are unique to Occam. Where available, each consolidates a well's history into a single document: laboratory analysis, drilling reports, formation data, deviation surveys, engineering information, and more, compiled by geoscientists. They exist nowhere else, making them increasingly valuable as training data for AI and ML applications in subsurface analysis.
Continuous Improvement
The archive is actively maintained and expanded. New wells, corrections, and enhancements are ongoing.
Full Provenance
Documented chain of custody and source provenance for every well. Where the original record exists, the data is digitised directly from it.
Who We Serve
Geoscientists, operators, and researchers use our data for subsurface analysis across these industries.
Majors, independents, and juniors
Petrophysics and formation evaluation
Geological surveys and regulators
Universities and CSIRO
Carbon storage and energy transition
Groundwater and resource exploration
Explore the Archive
See what's in our collection or get in touch to discuss your data needs.