International Petroleum Data Management Association

Business Case Points

Over the last decade, the petroleum industry experienced an explosion of petroleum data elevating petroleum data management to a primary discipline in the international oil and gas industry. Petroleum companies moved into the pedabyte dominion, with data expanding into the 1000’s of terabytes under management in most large and medium size companies. The complex engineering and systems approach to enhance value has squarely put an important and key role to petroleum data managers and their groups. They must find reliable data, maintain both the accessibility and quality of data, manage complex sets of data at many levels within the enterprise. They must make the data interoperable with numerous complex data capture/storage and application programs used by the company’s internal clients/users including geologists, geophysicists, engineers, accountants, planners, designers, and the many other clients creating and enhancing corporate value. A number of industry studies and investigations have shown that digital technology could appreciably enhance value of most companies engaged in the oil and gas industry (CERA, Gartner Group, Philip C. Crouse and Associates, Inc, and others).

Indeed, the industry is beginning to understand that in the 21st century petroleum company, effective and timely data management can enhance value, reduce loss of production, enhance production, enhance finding and development of oil and gas resources, minimize process risks by metrics allowed with best practices data management, and provide for more streamlined management practices within the enterprise through effective integration and interoperability.

Philip C. Crouse and Associates, Inc. has been involved directly in the data management area by providing industry studies, conferences, and training in this complex industry segment. In one study for a client, Crouse noted that data managers and their groups were not understood well by their collective corporate management; and, these groups have for the most part been viewed as a cost center instead of a revenue enhancement center. Until 2004 low oil and natural gas prices squeezed many company data management units by both reducing employees engaged in data management and funding data management and development. This occurred while databases and data needs expanded, making the petroleum data management problem more acute.

Work by Philip C. Crouse and Associates, Inc. shows that within the petroleum data management segment, there is a wealth of talent in base skills of operator and vendor companies. Many of these leaders have plurality of geological and engineering degrees, with some integrated information technology and management information systems backgrounds. As well a number of managers and employees came into a company directly engaged in data and record management. The problem has been that there exists no formal recognition within the companies for this new requirement as a primary value skill and key discipline.

To that end, Philip C. Crouse and Associates, Inc. has proposed to create an international, independent, not-for-profit association for the petroleum data management sector for educational, scientific, literary and charitable purposes. The association would aim to create understanding and development of industry needs for professional status and certification for those who are active in this arena. In addition, the association would provide educational activities and training where the industry believes such education and training is needed. Its principal mission would be two fold: (1) to provide opportunities through its programs for interested individuals to maintain and upgrade their individual technical competence in the aforementioned areas for the public benefit, and (2) to encourage best practices through education and information by the collection, dissemination, and exchange of technical information concerning data and data management of oil and gas resources for the public benefit.

The association would satisfy the need for a separate member organization where there could be established a higher level of practice, good practices, and ways to encourage efficiencies to the oil and gas industry. The association would provide for “credibility” to the discipline. Petroleum industry managements, in general, do not fully understand what the IT/DM personnel do for the corporation and have historically looked at data management as only a cost center and “necessary evil”. No groups currently exist to fill the petroleum data management needs. The association would create a “community of practice” which is critically needed in the petroleum industry.

The international petroleum industry needs a conduit or facilitator for ideas/issues that the industry needs addressed to improve data management. To this end, the association should provide “leading edge” training and educational opportunities for industry personnel engaged in this sector. The association would also provide for legitimate collaboration with and between its members and with other organizations when appropriate to its members.

The petroleum data management industry segment needs opportunities to benchmark industry and companies to industry trends and developments. Again, an association responsive to its membership can fill this industry need.

Both service and operating companies are engaged in reporting (web reporting, data warehouses, etc.), applications (ERP, geotech, etc), development tools (.net, JAVA, etc.), analyses, and data acquisition. Functions or personnel which should be targeted would include Executive Management (CTO, CIO), IT Petroleum Data Management, Data Application Specialists, Software writers and providers, Systems Developers, Programmers, Geologists, Geophysicists, GeoTechs, GIS administrators, G&G coordinators and administrators, exploration and production engineers, Business Development, Marketing, and others.

Company Benefits

1. A seat at the table on the formation of the organization. The initial board will be composed of the sponsors of the JIP. Later the Board will be elected.

2. Organization provides for a mechanism and new conduit for a service company to meet and present on a professional level to existing and new clients, which will be attending events and meetings of the organization.

3. Organization provides for networking with clients and other companies which may become aligned with a service company.

4. Organization would work towards “best practices” sharing which has the potential to save the industry millions of dollars by spending money more wisely.

5. Organization would help to benchmark and provide a vision of industry trends in data management which right now are vaguely identified and in some cases wrong trends have been identified because of a poorly defined market segment that needs more structure.

6. Organization would be responsive to needs of its members, and all members are equals. Company members would have opportunities to educate members about products technology and application in a professional environment (papers, meetings, etc.).

7. Organization would align with other professional groups where practical (Example alignments would be SPE with the IADC and AADE on beneficial meetings for drilling personnel). Alignments with multi-industry group meetings which have “data management” in their mission may occur where of benefit to the membership.

8. The organization would “champion” the petroleum data management area and foster best practices with petroleum enterprises. Service companies that would play an important role and would leverage their efforts through the new organization.

9. The organization would maintain member lists which would be available to all members of the organization.