[March 31, 2000] Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation (POSC) "an international not-for-profit membership corporation. It is uniquely designed to unite industry people, issues and ideas to facilitate E&P (Exploration and Production) information sharing and business process integration. POSC provides open specifications for information modeling, information management, and data and application integration over the life cycle of E&P assets."
"POSC is promoting the creation of standard XML document definitions (called Document Type Definitions, or DTDs for short) for use in exchanging E&P data in several domains. We currently have three active projects relating to XML: MMS data reporting; a reference data service; and a new exchange format for E&P information.
"WellLogML: An XML Standard for Web-Based Exchange of Well Log Data This project, sponsored by POSC, Oilware and INT, is focused on creating an XML DTD for exchanging well log data. The sponsors envision that the WellLogML specification will replace the popular LAS format as the preferred means of exchanging well log data in the Industry... WellLogML 1.0, a new XML-based standard for well log data, offically released by POSC. This specification has been reviewed extensively by a number of service companies and well known well log software vendors over the last 9 months. WellLogML will revolutionize the way the E&P industry accesses, exchanges and manipulates well log data."
"MMS Reporting Proposal: POSC is working with both the MMS and the BLM to help them establish the means for electronic submission of regulatory information. We are currently conducting a pilot test of our ideas with the MMS. The project is incorporating various XML technologies to accomplish its objectives.
"XML-Based Reference Service: POSC is proposing to develop a reference data service accessible over the Internet. The proposed service relies on XML technology as the basis for storing the reference values.
"XML Format Description Standards for Well Log Graphics: This is an initial proposal for an ASCII well log graphics description mechanism based on the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). This first draft includes basic log graphics entities and can be extended in the future to cover a richer suite of objects.
Epicentre XML Exchange Format: "The Epicentre XML Exchange Format is based on the Express Specification of the Epicentre Data Model. This document will explain the mapping from the Express entities, attributes, and data types into XML Elements and Attributes. The purpose of defining an XML Exchange Format is to be able to exchange data based based on an Epicentre Data Model. It has been found that the PEF, based on RP66, is too burdensome for most exchanges. With the emergence of XML as an exchange format, it is useful to be able to express the data in this format."
References:
Contact for WellLogML: WellLogML@posc.org
"XML Format Description Standards for Well Log Graphics." - A Proposal - Comments Requested.
[July 24, 2001] "Oil Industry, POSC and Government Collaborate On Well Data Standards Using XML." - "POSC, an international member consortium focused on leveraging eBusiness and Internet technology for the energy industry, recently announced that a number of key players from the European oil industry agreed to collaborate on implementing standards using XML for exchanging basic well data over the Internet. A meeting was held in Aberdeen, Scotland, supported by senior representatives from BP, Shell, Esso, Conoco, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Paradigm, CDA, DTI and POSC. They agreed to collaborate in a project to develop and implement within three months an XML standard for well data in the North Sea. A major challenge in the oil industry is the process of dealing with governments; obtaining consents, reporting activity and delivering information. The web is becoming a basic tool worldwide in the oil industry for data exchange amongst companies but the lack of standards is seen as a major problem. POSC have identified the need to establish easy to use web standards between oil companies and governments worldwide as a key challenge for the next few years. The business processes that have been identified that would benefit from global standards for web delivery are: Allocation of licences for acreage, Transfer of assets, Well and drilling consents, Well operations notifications, Environmental consents, Use of dangerous chemicals, Dispersal of produced water, Field approvals, Oil production returns, Pipeline consents, Decommissioning consents, Release of data. POSC is an international membership organization focused on the rapid development, implementation and use of Energy eStandards -- information exchange and interoperability standards in support of eBusiness for the energy industry. Founded by five major oil companies in 1990, and with a membership of over 50 energy-related companies, POSC has headquarters in Houston with an office in London. Current activities, which leverage the industry's significant investment in information standards over the past decade, include XML-based eStandards for representing and exchanging technical information -- in particular, global standards for well header information and transportable exchange standards for well logs."
[September 27, 2000] "Wellogix Adds DrillTeam to Core Service. WellXML Data Standards to be Made Publicly Available to Oil and Gas Industry." Wellogix, Inc. announced today the addition of DrillTeam, an online project management and collaboration tool, to its core service package. Concurrently, the company announced the public availability of its WellXML data tag sets to the oil and gas industry. The addition of DrillTeam enhances the process efficiencies available through the company's standard service offering. DrillTeam allows oil and gas company engineering teams to jointly specify requirements for well drilling, completion and workover operations in conjunction with their main service providers, all online. The product allows different levels of information sharing among users, so that the owner of any single-well or multi-well project retains complete control over what information can be modified by different members of the project team. At the same time, the owner of a project can use DrillTeam to show or delegate project specifications to specialists in other areas of the company, and to external experts such as technical representatives of the company's service providers. WellXML is a subset of XML (extensible markup language) specific to the oil and gas industry, created to provide common data structures for the transfer of information between the back-office systems and well-planning/design software of oil companies and their service providers. Use of WellXML common data structures can alleviate the need for re-keying information that has been received from another company's software systems, greatly improving process efficiencies, increasing the value of personnel assets, and eliminating costly data re-entry errors. 'By providing WellXML free to the industry, we intend to facilitate the acceptance of common data structures to improve the speed and accuracy of information transfer in the industry,' said Bill Chikirivao, chief knowledge officer of Wellogix. 'WellXML allows companies to differentiate themselves by maintaining preferred graphical and organizational representation of information, while achieving standard communication tools for the transfer of data between software systems. A close analogy would be two car companies building cars with unique appearances, while using the same or similar engines and compatible parts under the hood. Wellogix was formed through the merger of WellBid, Inc. and eNersection, two leaders in workflow improvement and knowledge management in the oil and gas industry. The combined company now provides a single source for online tools and software infrastructure to streamline workflow, improve collaboration, expedite the inter-company exchange of enterprise data, and communicate complex engineered services via the Internet..."
[November 14, 2000] "Energy Leaders Gather for Election, Celebration and Collaboration On eBusiness Issues." - "POSC (Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation), an international consortium of energy companies focused on leveraging technology and standards for eBusiness, today announced the results of its recent Annual Member Meeting, 10-year anniversary celebration and Energy eCommerce Conference. 'The Energy eCommerce Conference brought together an outstanding lineup of speakers and delegates -- thought leaders who are driving fundamental changes in the industry -- in a neutral, collaborative environment to discuss how eBusiness and eStandards have already impacted and will continue to impact the industry,' said David Archer, president of POSC. 'Our participants shared what they are currently doing to realize the promises of eCommerce and digital marketplaces as well as what they believe the next year will hold.' Dave Clementz, president of Chevron Information Technology Company, kicked off the eCommerce Conference with a discussion of new approaches for the new economy. Conference keynotes included several industry leaders; among these were John Gibson, CEO of Landmark Graphics; Thierry Pilenko, CEO of GeoQuest; Paul Frison, CEO, Houston Technology Center; and Philippe Chalon, CIO of TotalFinaElf. As part of the annual member meeting, POSC outlined its directions for the coming year stating that the central focus for 2001 will be XML solutions for high-value exchanges of technical, business and regulatory information. The organization also reiterated its commitment to collaboration and joint activities with other standards-oriented bodies; to this end, it announced the recent exchange of membership with the BizTech for Energy Foundation. 'The objective of POSC is to build value by making eStandards and information available to the Membership as well as to the industry at large,' Archer said, adding, 'It's through these meetings that we bring key industry players together to increase awareness and to focus on implementations that will increase business efficiency in the energy sector.' The annual meeting resulted in the election of four new POSC board members, including: Stefan Nowina, manager for utilities and middleware for BP Amoco Technical Applications Group; William Ragosa, manager of data resource management within Upstream Technical Computing for ExxonMobil Exploration Company; Jim Honefenger, vice president of marketing-ISVs for GeoNet Services.com; and David Archer, president of POSC."
[September 08, 2000] "POSC Presents XML Conference For Upstream E&P." - "By encouraging collaboration and organizing idea exchange forums, POSC is raising awareness of the benefits of e-business and the need for Energy eStandards to enable information exchange and business process integration within the E&P industry. This September, POSC presents 'XML Solutions for Oil & Gas E-Commerce,' a 3 day web enablement event in Stavanger, Norway. This event will take place on September 27-29, 2000 and is hosted by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The meeting, sponsored by PetroData AS, continues the series of E&P e-Business events organized by POSC. The most recent event, held in Houston, Texas on July 13, 2000, captured the attention of a capacity crowd by delivering an overview of the current state of XML in the Upstream E&P industry. Attendees at the July conference represented major oil companies, software, services, e-commerce companies, data vendors, consultants, and government agencies. Speakers from IBM, Conoco, and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate will describe their involvement in XML development and their participation in collaborative XML projects benefiting the E&P industry. The objective of the Stavanger conference is for European participants to see XML in action within the E&P industry, to identify opportunities for collaborative XML-based solutions, and to receive hands-on web enablement training. The conference will benefit a very diverse audience. Managers or technical developers working on E&P related electronic commerce initiatives, those seeking to understand the state of XML usage in E&P, and everyone interested in opportunities for collaborative development of XML solutions (specifications & products) are encouraged to attend. With an eye toward leading edge technologies, POSC not only develops and publishes eStandards, but also helps compress today's innovation cycles through collaboration among the organizations that are leading tomorrow's endeavors. POSC's commitment to practical Energy eStandards is focused on laying the foundation for eBusiness Networks of the future."
