MANAGEMENT & ECONOMICS: Software system allows geographic display, analysis of upstream activity

A desktop software package from Deloitte & Touche allows users to combine and display disparate data in a geographical context. The system, available by sub-scription, includes access to exploration and production data provided and maintained by Deloitte & Touche and allows import of client data from a wide range of other corporate sources.

Launched in 1992, the system, called Petro-View, includes complete data for Asia-Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, North West Europe, Brazil, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Deloitte & Touche plans to add North Africa, China, and the Southern Cone to the lineup this year. The company has been in talks with government agencies to obtain reliable data for other areas as well, said Matthew Snyder, a geologist in Deloitte & Touche's oil and gas group.

Developed using MapInfo Professional 6.5, PetroView can be used on any Microsoft platform. The system uses dialog-driven queries to display precisely defined information and allows simultaneous analysis of location and attribute data. The data can be mapped or graphed, sometimes making it easier to spot trends that would be less quickly identified from attribute data alone.

Fields in the Gulf of Mexico, for example, can be color-coded based on remaining reserve size, or PetroView can highlight interests held singly or jointly by two companies.

"The data's there," said Nick Davis of Deloitte & Touche's petroleum services group, "and can be displayed however the client wants the information displayed."

D&T's licensing scouts, well scouts, and petroleum engineers collect the data from a number of sources, including governments, field operators, and field partners. In addition, the system will accommodate the loading of third-party data – corporate records, seismic navigation data, structural geology data, and production records – from sources like Microsoft Access or Excel, Oracle, Lotus 123, Dbase, and simple text files. It also supports Microstation, ESRI ArcGIS, Kingdom, Open-works, and Finder formats. In addition, any file created by a Windows application can be linked to PetroView. These files, which could be license reports, images, geological cross sections, or spreadsheets, can be associated with any object on a PetroView map.

PetroView, updated monthly, is available to subscribers via the Internet or on CD-ROM.

The PetroView database contains data on:

• Licenses: operator, ownership information, status, key dates, and acreage
• Wells: well type, operator, spud and completion dates, results, depth data, geological formation, total vertical depth, water depth, rig name, and license details
• Fields: field type, water depth, operator, ownership information, key dates, block unitization, reservoir characteristics, reserve data, and production profiles
• Pipelines: start and end points, hydrocarbon type, diameter, length, key dates, and capacity
• Platforms: type, function, capacity, contractors, accommodation type, water depth, well slot numbers, and leg numbers.

The system also provides cultural data on coastlines, boundaries, and bathymetry. A number of optional modules for deals, historic licensing, and field reports are available for some regions. New releases based on MapInfo Professional 7.0 and on ESRI ArcView 8.x will be available in 1Q 2003.