Most upstream operators leverage multiple geo applications for various functions, such as project management, mapping, interpretation, statistics, geo-modeling, geochemistry, and geo-steering. In fact, recent research found that 68% of operators use more than 5 G&G applications, while 16% use more than 15 tools for their day-to-day data processing, correlation, and interpretation tasks. Of course, within these applications, geo departments work with a multitude of data types and sources to support their varying functions.

In such a complex, multi-application environment, geo teams often struggle to keep their data in-sync, free of errors and quality issues, while distinguishing between raw vs. interpreted data, and governing which sources are most trusted. Challenges arise because applications are difficult to integrate with; they require inefficient, manual data movements; data types are complex and unstandardized; and data is often inherited through M&A activity.

The net result for many operators is significant, with high-skilled geoscientists spending too much time manually wrangling data rather than interpreting it, and drill schedules running behind as a result. In a survey of 50 practitioners in Europe and North America, industry analysts IDC found that a quarter of upstream data users currently spend more than 80% of their time on data handling activities ( see the full results here). As an industry, we can do better!

Geo Applications and Data Types

The first step to improve data management in geo departments is ensuring that most common geo data types and applications are supported and integrated into a centralized geo data hub. To address this, plug-ins and configurable integrations with applications (such as Petra, Kingdom, Petrel, Geographix, StarSteer and others) that enable bi-directional movement of data types (such as well headers, directional surveys, logs, formation tops, cores, geochemistry, and well files/documents) should be supported through integrations.

Geo Data Management Workflows

The second step is to deploy configurable workflows on top of the data to address common challenges that are relevant to your organization. A common starting place is well mastering. This entails blending well header information (which comes from various projects and applications within the geo department) with other sources of well header data (which comes from vendors and other internal applications), and then prioritizing preferred sources for individual data fields to create a trusted golden record. As a next step, many of the operators we work with then incorporate the related geo data types associated with the proper well header so that they can be prioritized, governed, and made accessible.

There are many other workflows that can then be layered on top of this mastered and prioritized data, such as:

• Comparison, de-duplication, reconciliation, and sync across overlapping geo projects
• Facilitation and governance of overrides, approvals, and changes to data
• Proactive data quality exception identification and management dashboards
• Data-type-specific visualization and management of logs, rock and fluid, and unstructured data
• Flow of formation tops or other relevant datasets between geo apps and the rest of the org
• Exposing and managing access to this data through map and attribute-based search.

It is important to be able to deploy these workflows through configurable solution templates that address common geo data management challenges that are standardized, repeatable, and reduce time to value.

Impact on Geo Departments

All of the above helps increase efficiency for geo department staff by eliminating manual workflows for moving and updating data within geo applications and projects. This allows highly trained geo specialists to spend more time focusing on higher value work. It can also support the reduction of licensing and data costs by providing access to data that has historically been locked in individual applications. Most importantly, it helps geo departments stay further ahead of drill schedules by reducing time spent moving or waiting on data and reducing the risk of making poor decisions with data that is errant or low-quality.

Click here to learn more about how we are setting geo departments up for success by automating data-intensive workflows.

S&P Global provides industry-leading data, software and technology platforms and managed services to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in financial markets. We help our customers better understand complicated markets, reduce risk, operate more efficiently and comply with financial regulation.

This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.