Whether inconsistent, inaccurate, ambiguous or just plain wrong, bad data is a big barrier to digital transformation. Digital transformation initiatives are challenging to complete in many organizations. When data issues block the path forward, progress stops... Read more >
The Unique Well Identifier (formerly referred to as the API number) is a unique identifier assigned to each well drilled for oil and gas operations in the United States. At the urging of industry, states and regulatory bodies started the assignment of these identifiers in the 1960’s based on the publication of the D12 standard issued by the American Petroleum Institute (API). This standard was modified over the years but last updated by the API in 1979 and republished in 1982 and 1985. During the period from 1979 through 2013, the complexity of drilled... Read more >
Like oil, data is a commodity with tangible value. Yet the digital oilfield is like the wild west where energy professionals spend an inordinate portion of their day on data wrangling because of a chaotic mix of structured and unstructured data, multiple versions of the truth, and lack of data governance. Every department in the energy enterprise is contending with increasing volumes, variety, and velocity of data, leading to analysis paralysis, delayed decision-making, and unnecessary rework (e.g., prior period adjustments). This “big data” dilemma often leaves important questions difficult... Read more >
Seismic surveying is a method of creating pictures of the earth’s subsurface with recorded sound waves. Seismic can be used to help characterize any subsurface resource, including oil & gas, geothermal reservoirs, CO2 storage (CCS), ore bodies for mining of critical minerals, valuable brines (lithium), and more. Acquiring new seismic data on location (i.e., a ‘seismic program’) is a major capital investment for companies that develop these resources. Besides the program operator, there are other stakeholders like government regulators... Read more >
Data-intensive workflows at the field level have always presented challenges in the Energy Industry. As data sets collected in the field have grown exponentially, data management challenges have both evolved and compounded. This article will address these pain points and discuss strategies and solutions that should be implemented to ensure data compliance and entitlement and promote ease of accessibility... Read more >
A data warehouse, or enterprise data warehouse (EDW), is a system to aggregate your data from multiple sources so it’s easy to access and analyze. Data warehouses typically store large amounts of historical data that can be queried by data engineers and business analysts for business intelligence... Read more >
There has been a sea change in the dynamics of the energy, utilities, resources, and nuclear power industries since 2020. A series of black swan events have profoundly affected the way the world generates, distributes, stores, and consumes energy... Read more >
We’ve observed a lot of buzz lately surrounding a new mandate for Chief Data Managers (CDM)/Chief Information Officer (CIO)/Chief Data Officer (CDO) in the Oil and Gas industry, but do we really understand these roles and the impact they have when integrated with operations and C-Suite decisions to collectively lead a successful digital transformation? Furthermore, do Oil and Gas companies... Read more >
The PPDM Association released the new ‘What is a Facility’ (WIAF) Phase one Standard at the end of July 2022. The volunteer work group presented a faceted taxonomy to describe facilities in the global energy industry. Regulatory and ESG reporting requirements vary by facility and the intent is to structure this Standard to include a common language for consistent reporting, analysis, decision-making, and interpretation for operators and external stakeholders. WIAF defines various facilities, along with information on location, business associate, life cycle, business intention, products, equipment and more. This publication incorporated all types of energy production references that will be elaborated further in subsequent versions. The volunteer subject matter experts spent a year building this 22-page Standard. Preceding ‘What is a Facility’ was a feasibility study... Read more >
If you have ever attended a PPDM Association conference or expo, you know that everyone gets chocolate. We have chocolate sponsors! Every once in a while, a PPDM newbie asks, “Why did I get chocolate?” Usually, they ask with an expression of befuddled delight. They bounce the chocolate from hand to hand, wondering whether it’s some kind of weird nefariou... Read more >