Information Supply Chain for Offshore Oil and Gas Production

Abstract

Commercial oil and gas production is one of the world s biggest industries and has activities all over the planet. When operating in a huge and widespread business environment it is challenging for central management and decision makers to keep track of all the company s activities. Real-time information about production operations and activities is fundamental for all decision making, future projections and risk management. In the international world of oil and gas production, standard methods for optimal distribution of relevant and appropriate information to the right decision makers are not present. In the petroleum industry there are many changing and uncertain factors that have a direct impact on the operating company s activities and well-being. Oil and gas companies sell petroleum products extracted from the earth. The amount of hydrocarbons being extracted at all times indicates how much money the company will be making when the end product is sold on the market. Knowing what is produced today is of huge importance for the company, especially the central management who keep track of the company s well-being. Knowing what can be produced tomorrow and next month is critical for future predictions and planning. Estimating remaining reserves is an important information requirement for business managers. All activities of a petroleum company depend on the amount of money coming in, which is directly linked to the day-to-day oil price. Oil is a commodity with high price volatility and the price fluctuates from one day to the next. In total there are a lot of uncertain variables in the oil and gas industry that operating companies relies on in their planning and activities. The amount of data available to oil and gas companies is increasing as production measuring technologies are improved. That arise a new challenge in the industry. How to obtain optimal utilization of available data and information for improved business processes and better decision making? By utilizing IT (information technology), data gathering, data analysis and information distribution can be standardized and automated. A well-functioning information technology system must be based on logical architecture, interactions and functional structure. This thesis aims to define and describe a future information supply chain for improved information distribution and better decision making in petroleum companies. Providing the right person with the right information at the right timing is the paramount objective of an information supply chain. Future information technology systems can be built upon the proposed information supply chain to ensure optimal information distribution and further enhanced business processes.