Question. Is membership of CIDAI restricted ?
Answer. Definitely not. All oil companies with interests in the UK North Sea are actively being encouraged to join CIDAI and benefit from access to shared digital copies of their well logs. In addition, and for no additional cost, all participants will have access to all digital logs that have passed into the public domain, thus improving information access for the smaller oil companies, who up to now have usually not found it viable to purchase a complete set of released logs.
Question. What is the benefit to the UK?
Answer.The UK North Sea competes with other oil producing regions of the world for development funds. If the costs of operating in this country can be reduced, especially by the removal of obvious duplication of effort in the management of geotechnical data, then the UK becomes a more attractive proposition. CIDAI is one element of an initiative called CRINE (Cost Reduction In the New Era) Taken together, these initiatives are having a substantial effect on the UK oil industry. A robust oil industry in turn means jobs, tax revenue and a better trade balance with the rest of the world.
Question. Will the reduction in the in-house management of geotechnical data mean that my job is in jeopardy?
Answer. The improved management of geotechnical data will be good for your company, leading to a general improvement in employee prospects. The type of work that CIDAI will be undertaking is the lower end of the value adding scale - reprographics, tape loading etc. Many oil companies have already outsourced this type of work. By actively participating in the creation of better ways of managing data, employees engaged in this area can really add value to their company�s operations.
Question. How will my job change?
Answer. Difficult to give a general answer to this one. Certainly there will be significantly less work involved in arranging well tape copying and hardcopy reprographics - that will be done by QC Data / Schlumberger. Data trading will also be a much reduced task. This will leave more time for information centre staff to provide more valuable services to the business, possibly concentrating on improving the quality of in-house databases or providing a more pro-active service to data users. Each participating oil company will have their own plans for staff effected by CIDAI, so to get a better individual answer, information centre staff should take up their concerns with their departmental manager.
Question. How will CIDAI be implemented in my company?
Answer.This will be for the individual oil company to decide. It is likely that requests for a digital well log will be satisfied much quicker than was possible before, in that the log will be downloaded over a telecommunications link from the CIDAI facility, rather than retrieved from a tape stored offsite. Hardcopy in the future will be printed from the image held at CIDAI, so again improving the speed of access. Whether all explorationists have direct access to the CIDAI database, or whether access is achieved via a data management department, will be up to the individual oil company.
Question. Can we be sure that no unauthorised access can be made to our well logs?
Answer. A lot of work has gone into establishing an index of entitlements to the well logs. Each operator has provided a list of companies authorised to view its well logs, whether this came about by reason of partnership entitlement, equity acquisition or well trade. The software used to guard access to the well logs database was developed by QC Data and proved in the Canadian oil industry where there are substantially more oil companies and wells than we have here in the UK.
Question. How will CIDAI effect the way academics access confidential data?
Answer. Access will be granted by the well owner according to the same criteria as now. The data will be provided via the owner, as is the case now, or the academic institution could, for a fee, arrange with CIDAI to have electronic access to the database. Once an owner�s authorisation has been given, the CIDAI database will be amended to allow access the underlying well log information. Access can be made via modem, ISDN or dedicated communications links. In addition, all academic institutions can elect to have access to all digital logs that have passed into the public domain, thus improving their access to geotechnical information.
Question. If we are doing research for non-members of CIDAI how do we access the information?
Answer. In the same way as above.
Question. As I do not own data, do I need to make a massive investment in technology in order to access materials that I am entitled to?
Answer. Firstly, you do not have to join CIDAI and can go on working in the way that you always have, requesting copies of tapes and hardcopy well logs from the operator. CIDAI will provide these on behalf of the operator at no additional expense to your company. (What you pay is covered in your JOAs) By joining CIDAI you can dispose of many of your data management problems and gain access to a wealth of digital well data which has been released into the public domain. To access the facility on-line you will need is a suitable PC or Unix workstation (which most oil companies already will have) linked to a modem (approx. �150).
Question. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the system for me?
Answer. As stated above, by joining CIDAI you can dispose of many of your data management problems and gain access to a wealth of digital well data which has been released into the public domain. If you do not join you will not be in a worse position than you are now, but of course you will not have the enhanced functionality that the CIDAI service provides. If you wish to join at a later stage you will be welcomed.
Question. Cost savings for the oil companies mean less revenue for me - why should I support this initiative?
Answer. Your business depends in part on the future health of the oil industry in this country. CIDAI and other CRINE related initiatives are crucial to the future success of the industry for the reasons stated above. The oil companies involved in CIDAI are eager to work with you in shaping the way their data is stored in the future, and investigating other ways in which your expertise in this field can be used to benefit the industry. Consultation sessions with the service sector are being planned for the near future to discuss this aspect of the initiative.
Questions relating to the CIDAI project should be directed to:
John Redfern, Amerada Hess Limited Tel: 0171 887 2206
Martin Owen, Amerada Hess Limited Tel: 0171 887 2890
Rob Podolski, Amerada Hess Limited Tel: 0171 887 2614