GIS and data management
Mapping out data management in the oil and gas industry
The importance of effective data management is widely underestimated, yet in many cases it can be the critical factor determining success or failure of an oil and gas company initiative. Information is the life-blood of companies and only good data management will allow companies to be competitive in the marketplace.
A typical oil and gas company has numerous information systems, each churning through vast amounts of data in order to support a multitude of business decisions. Successful management of these information systems is not simply a case of keeping the systems running and providing suitable backup mechanisms when things go wrong. It also includes the adoption of professional data management practices. Key responsibilities should include:
- overseeing data through program coordination;
- integration across systems;
- stewardship;
- establishing quality processes; and
- developing new systems and support operations.
In recent years, the industry has been deeply affected by the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley which has transformed data management into an essential prerequisite for effective corporate governance. As a result, senior management are more interested than ever in the provenance, completeness and accuracy of all types of information which underpins their financial and management accounting statements. Data management processes must, therefore, be clearly defined, repeatable and auditable, allowing risks to be quantified and ultimately mitigated.
How we can help
We are ideally placed to help organisations develop robust data management strategies, processes and tools. We can do this by drawing upon our 20 years' experience developing technical solutions for clients incorporating databases, GIS, web and asset-management tools and combining this with the wealth of experience within our global organisation. Deloitte's expertise is also supported by the strong database, reporting and programming experience derived from the development of our own information systems and data management processes.
What we offer
GIS and data management strategy: We can consider an organisation's current GIS and data management working practices to identify potential weaknesses, inefficiencies, data duplication, undocumented processes, risks to the business and bottlenecks, and provide suggestions on how these might be remedied.
Application development: We can design, develop and implement spatial and non-spatial asset management systems. Desktop GIS tools and applications based on the ESRI (ArcGIS) or MapInfo Professional platforms can be developed as integrated PetroView tools or standalone extensions as desired. We can also provide asset management and production management systems depending on clients’ requirements.
We can design, develop and implement web-based mapping systems for internal and/or external users, showcasing GIS resources and client products to a wider audience in a dynamic and intuitive way.
Data analysis, geo-processing tools and data modelling: We can develop models, queries and tools that perform automated and easily repeatable processes to produce datasets, reports or result sets that might be required on a regular basis. We can provide ad-hoc data and spatial analysis services using our extensive internal databases and can offer research time to help clients conduct a market study or identify data sources, tools, people etc for a particular project.
Secondments: We can provide GIS developers, DBAs, GIS technicians and data analysts at all levels (junior through to senior) for short term secondments depending on clients’ needs.
