2 Oilfield Review

Guillermo ArangoMontrouge, France

Nick ColleyBritish Gas International Exploration & ProductionReading, England

Christine Connelly Kent GreenesKeith PearseBP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd.Sunbury on Thames, England

Jerome DenisPeter HighnamAustin, Texas, USA

Charles DurbecClamart, France

Larry GutmanDavid SimsSugar Land, Texas

Stuart JardineTim Jervis Reid SmithCambridge, England

Richard MilesUniversity of CambridgeCambridge, England

What’s in IT for Us?

For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Joe Amlin, Schlumberger Limited, Sugar Land, Texas,USA; Harry Barrow, Schlumberger Cambridge Research, Cambridge, England; Eddie D’Souza, Omnes, Houston,Texas; Douglas Gray-Stephens, Chris Kenyon, Bill MacGregor, David Scheibner and Claire Vishik,Schlumberger Austin Product Center, Austin, Texas; Per Helgaker, Geco-Prakla, Oslo, Norway; Jerry Huchital, Dowell, Sugar Land, Texas; Khemarata Kunsuik-Mengrai and Alain Michel, Schlumberger Wireline & Testing, Montrouge, France; and Neill Wylie,Schlumberger Wireline & Testing, Aberdeen, Scotland.

ClientLink, InterACT, MAXIS (Multitask Acquisition andImaging System), MDT (Modular Formation DynamicsTester), PEPTEC, SuperVision and TCV are marks ofSchlumberger. TWS (Trusted Web Service) and INCA(Intranet Node Corporate Access) are marks of Omnes.Lotus Notes is a mark of Lotus Development Corp.Netscape Enterprise is a mark of Netscape Communications Corporation. PGP is a mark of PrettyGood Privacy, Inc. BackWeb is a mark of Interad Ltd.Pointcast is a mark of Pointcast, Inc. Marimba is a markof Marimba, Inc. AppleShare, Macintosh and AppleTalkare marks of Apple Computer, Inc.

The WorldWide Web is accumulating some 200,000 new pages daily; an

even greater number of electronic messages are sent to individuals or

posted on specialized bulletin boards every day; databases proliferate.

These facts proclaim the amazing growth in the use of information

technology (IT). But they also beg the key question: “With so much

information milling about the system, what’s in IT for us?”

Autumn 1997 3

It is wrong to think of information networksas a new phenomenon. In the 2nd centuryAD, the Roman Emperor Septimius Severusruled an empire that covered about onethird of the world. As ever, accurate infor-mation was vital, and his network was theCursus Publicus.1 It centered on personalmessengers called Nuntii who handcarriedinformation to and from Rome.

Improving on an existing system, Septim-ius Severus established “service stations”every 20 miles or so along all the mainroutes through the empire. By simply show-ing a pass, the Nuntii were able to exchangehorses or use a bed for the night. In this way,

the efficient—though not always secure—flow of information across thousands ofmiles was ensured through a state-of-the-artnetwork that survived until the fifth century.

More than a thousand years later in 1860,the speed and bandwidth of informationtechnology were virtually unchanged, andechoing the Romans, the Pony Expressestablished its own smaller version of theCursus Publicus in the USA—this time on acommercial basis.2 But by then, technologydevelopment was beginning to accelerateand just eighteen months later the firsttranscontinental telegraph line precipitatedthe end of the Pony Express.

Since then, speed and bandwidth havecontinued to increase and in the last fewyears the rate of increase has accelerateddramatically. Today, electronic informationtechnology (IT) is delivering data and infor-mation to individuals and corporations at arate and volume never before achieved. Thisarticle reviews some of the contemporarychallenges and opportunities presented bymodern IT and also looks ahead at howknowledge management is becoming anincreasing concern within the oil industry.

1. Cursus Publicus may be literally translated to mean“Public Road.”

2. The cost of sending a package was $5 per half-ounce.

4 Oilfield Review

First, it is important to understand howdata, information and knowledge arerelated. Data may be defined as raw facts,information as data endowed with rele-vance and purpose, and knowledge asinformation enhanced by context, meaningand interpretation.3

For example, the data in a timetabledescribing a train departure might read“Camb-07.39-2.” Information consists of dis-crete pieces of data that are ordered andorganized by the mind into various patterns.Therefore, the information described bythese data is that the Cambridge train departsfrom Platform Two at 7:39 in the morning.

If someone then told you that: “The 7:39always leaves five minutes late because ithas to wait for a connection with anothertrain,” he or she is imparting their knowl-edge to you—although, if you were notinterested in the train, this constitutes noiserather than knowledge. The problem then iswhat value to put on this knowledge. If the

advice came from the manager of the trainstation, the knowledge is more likely to becredible than if it came from a stranger youhad just met in the station. Unless of coursethe stranger turned out to be the driver ofthe train.

In short, data alone cannot tell you whatyou need to know. And even after the datahave been transformed into information, thisin turn must be organized and integratedusing experience, memory and insight tocreate knowledge (above left).

Since its genesis, the oil industry has beenone of the most geographically dispersedand multicultural businesses. As such, thedemands made on those charged with find-ing and delivering hydrocarbons havealways been high. For example, when the

pioneering oilfield engineers of the 1930swaded through the swamps of Venezuela todiscover and develop resources there, theyhad no practical means to rapidly commu-nicate with their headquarters or technicalcenters. For all intents and purposes, theywere the sole repositories of their branch ofknowledge on that rig at that time.

Although communications have improveddramatically, this effectively remained thesituation until relatively recently. It was onlythen that new ways of using expertise—within a wider organization and beyond theconfines of the rig—started to be deployed.Yet even today, it is virtually impossible todeliver the full scope of corporate know-how to every corner of industry activity. Butit is this objective that is motivating opera-tors and contractors alike. The goals are toimprove decision making, raise servicequality and cut operational costs by apply-ing the full weight of corporate knowledgeeverywhere all the time.

Using an organization’s knowledge andstored information to the fullest possibleextent has some prerequisites. First, thetechnology needs to be in place—namely, asecure communications infrastructure, thenecessary repositories of data and informa-tion and the software to extract the desiredinformation. However, knowledge startsand ends with people; putting knowledgeto work across an organization requiresnew processes and individuals who are pre-disposed to communicate their knowledgeto others.

■■From data to information toknowledge. Datamust be integratedto change them intoinformation andthen organizedusing experience tocreate knowledge.

Data

Information

Knowledge

Simple observations or measurements

Data endowed with relevance andpurpose by humans

The most valuable information is given context, meaning or a particularinterpretation that includes humanwisdom, reflection and synthesis

Easy to structure

Easy to capture on machines

Easy to transfer

Often quantified

Difficult to structure

Difficult to capture on machines

Difficult to transfer

Often tacit

Requires unit of analysis

Needs a consensus meaning or definition

Requires human mediation

■■Contemporary network. The Schlumberger intranet currentlyserves about 25,000 users in more than 65 countries.

Autumn 1997 5

Creating a Secure InfrastructureDevelopments over the past decade or sohave put in place an infrastructure—a seriesof connected networks—that can reach intoalmost every corner of the world. In mostcases, only political problems prevent fullcoverage (see “The Links Behind the Desk-top,” next page).

The growth in bandwidth and speed ofthese networks is creating new ways of doing business. For example, theSchlumberger intranet—SINet—first offeredthe transmission of basic e-mail over a directlink in 1985. Today, the network may beused to deliver a 25 million trace, 3D seis-mic survey in a few working days, helping tosubstantially reduce the turnaround time forprocessing seismic data (previous page, top).

There are of course key differencesbetween the networks of today and a sim-plistic system of messengers such as theCursus Publicus. These differences concernnot only the dramatically higher bandwidthand speed, but also accessibility. Networkssuch as SINet deal not just in traffic to andfrom the center; everyone on the networkcan access everyone else. Achieving thisuniversality and developing communica-tions networks that can meet expandingneeds required the establishment of stan-dards that allow interoperability (below).

Simply stated, interoperability is the abilityof different systems, products and servicesto work together. Therefore, no matter whatthe computing and communication plat-form, SINet offers equal accessibility. Thekey to interoperability is the developmentand implementation of open interfaces.

With different Schlumbergeroperations coveringalmost theent i reworld,needstended tovary. Theinteroper-ability wasachieved, andis maintained,through a col-laborative envi-ronment via aforum that can beused to receive andalso propagate opin-ions and ideas.

A similar approach of col-laboration and discussionaround the world was neededto ensure that broad standardshave been adopted by the net-work community as a whole.Through the work of the InternetEngineering Task Force, the Internet hasbeen able to grow far beyond its originallylimited bounds.

Emperor Septimius Severus made greatefforts to keep secret the information hetransmitted. Similar concerns face many oftoday’s network users. Indeed, one of thestrongest barriers to increased use of IT issecurity concerns. In Roman times, securitywas provided by a unique seal on the pack-

age being transmitted. For this seal to bebroken required the negligence or collabo-ration of the messenger.

The picture today remains fundamentallythe same. Industry statistics reveal thatonly a small percentage of all securityincidents are due to “outsider attacks.” Inmost cases, security breaches are due toignorance—like misuse of technology—oremployee negligence (above).

For this reason, corporate security policiesusually start with the work force and extendthrough the establishment of internal secu-rity policies and audit procedures. Theseencompass access, authentication and dataintegrity procedures (see “Security Policiesin Focus,” page 9).

However, securing an open networkingarchitecture does pose new technical chal-lenges. There are two major concerns. Thefirst is the protection of the interfacebetween a closed private network—intranet—and the open Internet, which is

■■New technolo-gies bring newchallenges. In 19th centuryEurope, the prob-lem of interoper-ability quicklytook root wherecountries andcompanies chosedifferent gaugesfor their railways,preventing easyconnection ofrival networks.The issue of inter-operability is onethat still concernsIT managersaround the world.

Disasters 13%

Bugs,mistakes, negligence65%

Insider misuses 19%

Outsider attacks 3%

3. Davenport TH: Information Ecology—Mastering theInformation Knowledge Environment. New York, New York, USA: Oxford University Press, 1997.

(continued on page 8)

■■Information security—a people issue.Only about 3% of breaches in informationsecurity come through attacks from theoutside. Nevertheless, technology and anincident response team must be in place torespond to such breaches and any disas-ters that may occur.

6 Oilfield Review

For most of us, a network is visible only through

the applications it supports—e-mail, file transfer,

shareware and more sophisticated links. Behind

the screen on the desktop there is wiring or fiber-

optic cables, satellite facilities, switches, routers

and hubs, together with specialized computers

hidden from view. Binding all this together are

rules and protocols.1

When two or more computers are linked

together they create a network. Typically, when the

computers are close together they form a local-

area network (LAN). Devices may be connected by

twisted-pair wire, coaxial cables, or fiber-optic

cables. In general, LANs are confined to a single

building or group of buildings. LANs are capable of

transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster

than data may be transmitted over a telephone

line; but the distances are limited. However, one

LAN may be connected to other LANs over any dis-

tance by telephone lines or radio waves, creating

a wide-area network (WAN).

Networks are like the plumbing system of a city.

The LANs are equivalent to the plumbing system in

the house. The WAN is equivalent to the main

water pipes and pumping stations linking houses

together. Expansion and redevelopment constantly

change the requirements of the system.

Most LANs connect workstations and personal

computers. Each computer—or node—in a LAN

has its own central processing unit with which to

execute programs. However, it is also able to

access data and devices anywhere else on the

LAN. This means that many users may share data

and devices, such as laser printers. Users may also

communicate across LANs and WANs using e-mail.

The computers communicate with each other

according to sets of rules—protocols—that may be

implemented either in hardware or in software.

These ensure that the whole network responds uni-

formly, such as using the same type of error check-

ing and data compression, and recognizing that the

sending device has finished sending a message

and the receiving device has received a message.

There are a variety of standard protocols which

platforms and networks must support. For exam-

ple, token-ring networks, ethernets and ARCnets

are the most common for PCs. Most Apple net-

works are based on the AppleTalk network system,

which is built into Macintosh computers. Each has

particular advantages and disadvantages. From a

user’s point of view, the only interesting aspect

about protocols is that your computer or device

must support the right ones if you want to commu-

nicate with other computers.

The way that a network is configured is called

its architecture. In a client-server architecture,

each computer or process on the network is usu-

ally either a client or a server. Clients are less

powerful PCs or workstations on which users run

applications. Clients rely on servers for resources,

such as files, devices and even processing power.

Servers are powerful computers or processors

that are often dedicated, meaning that they perform

no other tasks besides their server function. A file

server is a computer and storage device that stores

files for any user on the network; a print server

manages one or more printers; a network server

manages network traffic; and a database server

processes database queries. On multiprocessing

operating systems, however, a single computer

may execute several programs at once. A server in

this case could refer to the program that is manag-

ing resources rather than the entire computer.

Another type of network architecture is known as

a peer-to-peer architecture because each node has

equivalent responsibilities, acting as a server and

client—for example, AppleShare or Network

Neighborhood. Both client-server and peer-to-peer

architectures are widely used.

From Internet to IntranetCompany LANs and WANs are increasingly con-

nected via routers to the outside world in the

shape of the much talked about Internet. The Inter-

net provides individuals with many different ways

to disseminate and retrieve information. The Inter-

net’s underlying communications concept is to

connect networks of information together so that a

user with his or her personal computer or worksta-

tion can connect, either directly or through a suc-

cession of intermediary computers, to a remote

computer that acts as a server of information. This

connection permits the flow of data and informa-

tion, typically at the request of the user.2

The Internet may best be pictured as a system

that transports discrete packets of information. The

Internet protocol (IP) takes care of ensuring that

the routers know where to send the data being

transported in the system—each location carries

its own IP number. For practical reasons, informa-

tion sent across IP networks is broken up into man-

ageable packets that may not be transported

through the network in one block. This prevents any

one user from monopolizing the system. And at any

one time, all sorts of different packets from many

different sources are moving through the system.

The Links Behind the Desktop

Autumn 1997 7

Once the packets reach their IP destination, they

need to be reconstructed in the right order to form

the original file. That is why the transmission con-

trol protocol (TCP) is employed. TCP is used to

break the initial file into pieces that are usually no

longer than 1500 characters long. It numbers each

piece, so the receipt of the full document may be

authenticated, and correct reconstruction may be

carried out.

Many established protocols have been inte-

grated and enhanced using tools—such as Web

browsers—that access the WorldWide Web. The

WorldWide Web allows organizations to use

graphical “front ends” to provide remote users

with point-and-click access to information stored

on their servers, as well as access through links to

information stored on other remote servers. Web

browsers are programs that run on a personal

computer or workstations that enable a user to

establish connections to these graphical front

ends, and to view, retrieve and manipulate data

provided by those remote servers.

At the root of the Web are three protocols: the

hypertext markup language (HTML), a file format

for embedding navigational information in graphi-

cal and text-based documents; the hypertext

transfer protocol (HTTP), a communications proto-

col for communicating navigational information

and other data between the remote server and the

requesting computer; and the uniform resource

locator (URL) scheme for identifying locations of

Web-accessible documents.

A Web site or group of Web sites belonging to

an organization and accessible only by the organi-

zation’s members, employees or others with

authorization constitute an intranet. An intranet’s

Web sites look and act just like any other Web

sites, but the firewall surrounding an intranet

fends off unauthorized access (for more informa-

tion about network security, see “Security Policies

in Focus,” page 9).

The next step is to link some intranets

together, so that companies may communicate

more efficiently with their partners, suppliers,

customers and contractors without having to go

through the Internet. We will then have reached

the age of the extranet.3

The Schlumberger IntranetIn 1984, long before the term “intranet” had been

coined, Schlumberger connected research labs in

France, Japan, the USA and England through a

series of proprietary networks.

But by the late 1980s, use of multiple propri-

etary networks proved unsatisfactory. In 1991,

Schlumberger decided to chart an aggressive

Internet-based strategy using the TCP/IP protocol

for its international network.4 Between 1989

and 1996, Schlumberger invested just under

$100 million in the Schlumberger intranet—

SINet—which is now one of the world’s largest

private networks and is the backbone of the com-

pany’s business infrastructure.

Today, SINet serves more than 25,000 users at

450 locations in more than 65 countries. This adds

up to a formidable collection of hardware with over

500 routers plus 150 access servers, 1750 ether-

net hubs, 2000 modems, and more than 25,000

desktops systems of all types. Satellite technology

provides access from remote sites, such as

those in West Africa, Jakarta and Balikpapan in

Indonesia, and elsewhere. Depending on the loca-

tion, this gives a network bandwidth ranging from

4.8 kBps to 45MBps.

In 1995, the joint venture Omnes was formed

by Schlumberger Limited and Cable and Wireless

plc. Omnes acquired SINet, which it now adminis-

ters. Since its formation, Omnes has served the

communications and IT needs of more than 100

customers based in over 30 countries. In 1996,

the Omnes quality management system at its

Service Management Center (SMC), Houston,

Texas, USA, was granted ISO 9002 certification

by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance. The SMC

provides global telecommunications customer

support including helpdesk, network management

and fault management services.

1. A comprehensive set of definitions and explanations maybe found at the PC Webopædia: http://www.pcwebopae-dia.com/index.html.

2. A more detailed discussion of the Internet’s genesis andsome of the protocols that control it may be found at:http://www.ladas.com/NII/NII_Technology.html.

3. In fact such links already exist. For example, to aid in the development of new production logging technology, cooperation between researchers in Schlumberger Cambridge Research, Cambridge, England and BP Exploration in Sunbury on Thames, England, was greatlyaided through joint project Web pages. These were accessible through both company intranets, yet access was limited to those working on the project.

4. Clark R, Danti B, Guthery S, Jurgensen T, Kennedy K, Keddie J and Sims D: “Building a Global Highway for Oilfield Data,” Oilfield Review 5, no. 4 (October 1993): 23-35.

the main gateway to the outside world. Sec-ond, if partners and suppliers choose toimprove communications by linking theirintranets—creating so-called extranets—each link will have to be protected andsecured. Thus, the need for technical solu-tions such as firewalls, encryption, andauthentication is increasing.

Firewalls—Designed to block the progress ofmost kinds of unauthorized access to orfrom a private network, firewalls police theintranet-Internet doorway. All traffic enteringor leaving an intranet that passes throughthe firewall is examined. Traffic that doesnot meet specific security criteria is rejected.There are several techniques: • A packet filter looks at each packet of data

or information entering or leaving the net-work and accepts or rejects it based onnetwork administrator-defined rules

• An application gateway applies securitymechanisms to specific applications, suchas those used to transfer files

• A proxy server intercepts all messagesentering and leaving the network. Theproxy server effectively hides the true net-work addresses.

In practice, many firewalls use two ormore of these techniques in concert. Forgreater security, data may be encrypted.

Encryption—In its most basic form, encryp-tion amounts to the scrambling of data usinga mathematical program that may bereversed to unscramble data to their usableformat. Encryption and decryption areenabled by the possesion of the appropriatekey. The keys that control access to the dataare actually strings of alphanumeric digitsthat are plugged into the mathematical algo-rithm that scrambles the data. Anyone withthe key can decrypt the data to yield theoriginal sequence of binary digits that com-prise the file (above).

There are two main types of encryption:symmetric and asymmetric—often calledpublic-key. Symmetric-key systems use asingle key that both the sender and recipienthold. However, key management is easier inpublic-key—asymmetric—systems, which iswhy most messaging systems such as PGPPretty Good Privacy and S/MIME SecureMIME use public-key algorithms to dis-tribute keys through the Internet. The public

key is disseminated to anyone from whomyou wish to receive a message. The ownerof the private key keeps it secret and uses itto decrypt the messages sent to him andencrypt messages he sends (below).

When John wants to send a secure mes-sage to Jane, he uses his key and Jane’s pub-lic key to encrypt the message. Jane thenuses her private key to decrypt it.4 In addi-tion, Jane is certain that it was John whosent the message since it required John’s keyfor successful encryption and decryption.

Although the public and private keys arerelated, it is computationally impractical todeduce the private key even if the publickey is known. The only difficulty with pub-lic-key systems—as with symmetric key sys-tems—is that message senders need therecipient’s public key to encrypt a messageto him or her, and distribution and mainte-nance of public keys require some kind ofrepository. This is important because Johnneeds to be sure that he has Jane’s publickey when sending a message. For example,if Kate were to publish her key under Jane’sname and John used it to send a message,Jane would be unable to decrypt it and Katemay even be able to read the message—thisis a type of denial-of-service attack. How-ever, to avoid this, digital certificates can beused to bind Jane’s name to her public key.

Today, the private key may be stored on ahard or floppy disk which in turn mightneed a personal identity number (PIN) toopen. However, an increasingly popularoption is for the encryption algorithms to beheld on the chip of a smart card that is thenused in a card reader attached to the com-puter. A smart card also requires a PIN toactivate it. Storing the algorithms on a cardis desirable because the secret key neednever leave the card, avoiding the possibilityof a rogue terminal storing users’ keys.

Authentication—When mathematical algo-rithms are used to combine information froma data object, such as a word-processing doc-ument or image, with a user’s private key, adigital signature is created. The signature canbe created only by the holder of the privatekey. Anyone with the appropriate public keycan then verify that the object was signed asclaimed. Verifying the signature on a dataobject is one example of authentication.

8 Oilfield Review

Encrypt Decrypt

Cipher textPlain text Plain text

Encrypt Decrypt

Cipher text

Jane's public key

JohnJane's private key

Jane

Plain text Plain text

■■Encryption usinga shared key.

■■Asymmetric encryption using public and private keys.

4. A description of cryptography may be found at:http://www.sandybay.com/pc-web/public_key_cryp-tography.htm.

Autumn 1997 9

Information security is not a technology. Rather it

is a discipline, an attitude, on the part of every-

one—essentially it requires the same disciplines

as quality, health, safety and environment

(QHSE). Also, being “secure” is not something

that can be taken for granted for any period of

time, as threats shift continually. People are at

the center of any effort to achieve and perpetuate

information security.

Information is the foundation of most aspects of

business carried out by Schlumberger companies.

As such, all employees and subcontractors have

ethical and legal obligations to protect proprietary

information owned by or under the custody of

Schlumberger, and to maintain the confidentiality

of this information.

To help achieve this, the priority is on building

awareness in and offering training to employees.

High-risk behavior is identified and simple and

practical recommendations are made available to

all employees. This is then supported by on-line

training material. Site security officers ensure that

guidelines are followed and that information secu-

rity is assured.

Information security within Schlumberger is

monitored by the company’s QHSE organization,

rather than its IT or financial departments as is

the case in many other large organizations. QHSE

is responsible for raising awareness, and for

training, monitoring and reporting information

security issues because it already has established

processes and a network of people in place to cre-

ate the required continuous improvement and

safety cultures. A scale of the severity of informa-

tion security incidents has been developed

according to QHSE guidelines based on the classi-

fication of information, the financial impact and

the time to undo the damage. An incident

response team is always available to investigate

serious problems and provide the technical exper-

tise to find appropriate solutions.

An information classification standard is a

foundation for information security because it

makes clear what needs protection and how to

protect it. Information classification also reduces

the cost of security by establishing controls that

are commensurate with the value of the informa-

tion being protected.

Information security incidents are defined as

loss of control over information assets—such as

hardcopy documents, electronic files, equipment,

passwords and decryption keys. Incidents are pre-

vented by defining the level of control appropriate

to each type of information and then deploying the

necessary mechanisms to implement that level of

control. The Schlumberger information classifica-

tion standards establish three categories of sensi-

tive information—secret, confidential and private.

Secret information provides the organization

with a significant competitive edge, shows specific

business strategies or organizational directions, or

is essential to the technical or financial success of

a product or service. Unauthorized disclosure

would cause serious damage to the interests or

reputation of the company. Examples of secret

information include that which could affect the

share price, relates to significant acquisitions and

divestments or details R&D information about new

tools prior to testing the engineering prototype. All

client information and data in Schlumberger cus-

tody are classified as secret.

Strict control mechanisms—procedures and

tools—are established for protecting information

classified as secret. For example, it may only be

located on the intranet if protected by TWS Trusted

Web Server technology; if it is shipped on CD-ROM

through insecure channels, it must be encrypted

with a strong encryption method; when the media

are disposed of, a secure destruction method must

be used.

Confidential information would be prejudicial to

the interests of the company, or would cause

embarrassment or difficulty for the company or its

employees if disclosed. For example, such infor-

mation includes confidential agreements and con-

tracts, tool maintenance manuals, engineering

files or personnel documents.

Appropriate control mechanisms must also be

applied when the information is created, modified,

stored, communicated or disposed of. These con-

trols are less strict than those applied to informa-

tion classified as secret. For example, encryption

of the information during transmission on the

intranet may be optional, while in the case of

secret information it is mandatory. Even so, TWS

Trusted Web Server protection for Web-based infor-

mation and strong encryption are recommended

when communicating it through insecure media

such as CD-ROMs.

Private information is available to company

employees only as part of routine business. For

example, it includes intracompany e-mail that

does not contain confidential or secret informa-

tion, and equipment catalogs. Private information

is protected by using less stringent security mech-

anisms. For example, weak encryption is used

instead of strong encryption, and for information

posted on the intranet, firewalls are considered to

offer sufficient protection.

Security Policies in Focus

10 Oilfield Review

Generating a digital signature uses crypto-graphic techniques, but does not necessarilyencrypt the work; the work may still beaccessed and used without decryption.Thus, digital signatures identify the origina-tor of a particular file, and also verify thatthe contents of the file have not been alteredfrom what was originally distributed.

“Digital watermarking” methods have alsobeen developed that encode digitized infor-mation with attributes. These attributes can-not easily be detected or disassociated fromthe file containing that information. Thus,hidden messages may be embedded in digi-tized visual or audio data, making breachesof copyright easier to detect. This watermarkdoes not degrade, yet does not affect thevisual or audible quality of the work.Instead, the embedded information can bedetected only if specifically sought out bysomeone who knows what to look for—forexample, the copyright owner.

There is, therefore, a wide range of tech-niques available to an IT solutions provider—such as Omnes, the Schlumberger/Cable andWireless joint venture—to deliver a range ofsecure services. For example, Omnes offersits INCA Intranet Node Corporate Accessintegrated Internet and intranet solutionsplatform to distribute the Internet through anorganization while ensuring security througha fully managed firewall capability. Omnesrecently implemented this for the Qatar Gen-eral Petroleum Corp.

Firewalls may be likened to a hard exter-nal shell of an egg; once broken, the wholeof the egg inside may be accessed.Because firewalls may in some circum-stances be bypassed or breached, compa-nies need additional defenses for thoseparts of their intranets that contain the mostsensitive information.

Combining Web-based accessibility withcase-hardened security, SchlumbergerAustin Product Center, Austin, Texas, USA,has developed with Omnes the TWSTrusted Web Service secure documentvault. For this, a Netscape Enterprise serveris equipped with state-of-the-art securitymeasures—firewalls, personal digital certifi-cates and tools to authenticate, encrypt andmonitor all traffic. The server is also on adedicated machine that constantly monitorspossible intrusions and checks the integrityof its configuration. This opens the way formore effective on-line communicationsbetween partners, or between contractorsand operators (above).

For example, by using TWS technology,Geco-Prakla has launched its SuperVisionservice. This enables an oil company tomonitor the progress of seismic acquisitionand data processing projects. Authorizedpersonnel are able to access a site dedi-cated to a given project. They may acquirehourly, daily or monthly updated informa-tion on the progress of acquisition and pro-cessing. Images and quality control plotswill be available, as will daily productionreports, spreadsheets and correspondence.Over time, the updated information createsa project archive.

Digital certificates are already in use foraccess to TWS protected sites. Currentlythese are loaded onto a computer’s harddisk, and cannot be tampered with or transferred to another machine.Schlumberger is experimenting with theuse of smart cards as physical carriers ofpersonal digital certificates.

Using Infrastructure: Building Better TeamsSince the introduction of photocopiers,nothing has influenced the way that infor-mation flows through an organization morethan computer networks. The simplest bene-fit comes from the replacement of phone,fax and telex messages with electronic mailon private and public networks. However,more sophisticated changes are possibleand are being harnessed to improve the waythat information and knowledge are propa-gated and accumulated. This section looksat how improving communications tech-niques has yielded exciting results.

When BP Exploration Operating CompanyLimited was reorganized into 42 separatebusiness assets in 1994, a “federation ofassets” was created. Each asset was giventhe freedom to develop processes and solu-tions to meet local needs.

Good communications were clearly essen-tial to making this federation work. Head-quarters needed a means of coordinationand the business units needed ways of com-municating the creative results of their rela-tive independence. One potential solutionwas the installation of video conferencingcapability across the organization.

At the outset, it was decided that the pro-ject be led not by a group of IT experts, butby a special core team. There were severalreasons for this. One was a determinationthat the initiative should not be seen as an

Geco-Prakla vessel or land crew

Data access via web serverOptional:

Data analysis via Geco-Prakla

or client software

Acquisition Secure web server Client office

■■Desktop access with state-of-the-art security. The Geco-Prakla SuperVision serviceenables clients to monitor the progress of acquisition and processing projects while pre-venting unauthorized access to the information.

Autumn 1997 11

IT initiative, but as a business initiative. Asecond was that the emphasis was being puton the need to change work behavior, ratherthan technology. Finally, the aim was to usevirtual teamworking (VT) to cross organiza-tional boundaries. It was decided that theseobjectives would best be served by a groupdrawn from different parts of the company.The team of five people began work inDecember 1994. From the start, the focuswas on connecting people with comple-mentary expertise.

In 1996, building on the success of the VTpilot, BP Exploration took interoperability astep further than many companies, stan-dardizing the desktop and server environ-ment across the organization. This meantthe choice of just two types of PC—desktopor laptop. Each was supplied with core soft-ware plus additional applications from astandard suite. The infrastructure was alsostandardized through common file serversand network protocols. In just six months,the fully-supported changeover for 7500users in 27 locations was achieved.

Moving VT from pilot to operational statusmeant that 500 of these PCs were fitted witha package that enabled use of desktop videoconferencing, multimedia e-mail, applica-

tion-sharing shared chalkboards, videorecording, groupware exchanges, Webbrowsing and document scanning.

Connections were made using ISDN overstandard telephone lines and, when neces-sary, through satellite links.5 The first unitswere put in place in August 1995. A key ele-ment of the implementation revolvedaround coaching. A subgroup of the coreteam—the coaching team—took on the roleof showing participants how to use the tech-nology. More importantly, the coachesdemonstrated how teams could use thetechnology to improve their work processesand enhance personal interaction. Of thefive pilots chosen for the first wave, the pro-ject of developing the Andrew field in theUK North Sea proved the worth of VT.

The goal of the Andrew team was to com-plete the construction of the new platformon time. The job of building the platform fellto an alliance of BP Exploration and severalother companies, including Brown & RootLimited, a design and engineering firm withoffices in Colliers Wood, near London, Eng-land; and Trafalgar John Brown Oil & GasLimited (now a member of the KvaernerGroup), a construction firm based inTeesside, northeast England. So the trial wasnot just one of linking geographically sepa-rate operations; it also linked different orga-nizations. In the end, the project team suc-cessfully rolled out the Andrew platform inrecord time (above). There are many rea-sons for this success, but here is how PhilForth, an independent consultant from York,England, who worked with the Andrewteam to help them use VT effectively, pin-points the advantages of VT.

Errors are removed from the conversation:“I have come to understand that conversa-tion is rich in visual clues and is poor inaural clues. I have listened to phone conver-sations whose main achievement was irrita-tion and confusion for both parties. I havealso been involved in video conferencesthat have used the visual clues to steerthrough misunderstandings and move theproject forward.”

Individuals establish their integrity: “It is fareasier to establish credibility when there is aphysical presence. We now have someexcellent examples of how video conferenc-ing has lead to one individual giving respon-sibility to another because of the rapportthat has been established through VT.”

Time to completion is dramatically reduced:“VT has allowed an action to happen atonce. Momentum, a precious commodity ina large organization, is maintained.”

VT gets the right information to the rightpeople at the right time, enabling them totake the right action: “We are seeingstartling examples of how the right thingshappen because VT gets people the infor-mation they need.”

VT stops paper shuffling and ties thingsdown: ”The potential for VT to remove themass of paper that crawls around an organi-zation is becoming increasingly apparent.”

This latter example includes the effectiveuse of groupware such as Lotus Notes. Inthe case of Andrew, Lotus Notes softwarewas used only towards the end of the pro-ject in the completion phase. However, thepotential to decrease paperwork may beappreciated by looking at the design changenotices (DCN) that were normally raised inthe engineering department in ColliersWood and construction change notices(CCN) raised in Teesside.

In total, the project generated about 650DCNs and 1000 CCNs. Each CCN was cir-culated to four or five disciplines and couldlead to changes in perhaps 30 drawings thatwould be attached to the CCNs for circula-tion. Each CCN would then be forwarded tosome six people for comment or for them toaccept. The end result was described as a“flood of paper” that was carried by courierdaily between Colliers Wood and Teesside.Most of this could have been avoidedthrough the effective use of groupware.

Using Infrastructure: Improving Service Quality The advent of effective networks eases theaccess of employees to stored information.Daily forms and reports that used to beneeded may be consolidated and their flow through an organization optimized.Furthermore, electronic commerce andimproved management systems will simplifythe interfaces between service companiesand their clients.

Put simply, the daily clutter of paperworkthat obstructs the delivery of services maybe removed. Thus, people may concentrateon productive tasks while being able tomore clearly identify past mistakes in order

■■The BP Andrew platform brought into pro-duction six months early, in June 1996. Theproject of developing the Andrew field inthe UK North Sea is a good example of thepositive effects of virtual teamworking (VT).The goal of this team was to complete theconstruction of the new platform on timeand VT proved to be one of the major inno-vations on the project. (Courtesy of BritishPetroleum)

5. Integrated services digital network (ISDN) is an international communications standard for sendingvoice, video and data over digital telephone lines. An ISDN line supports data transfer rates of 64 kBps(64,000 bits per second).

12 Oilfield Review

to avoid them in the future. These two fac-tors alone are significant steps towardimproving service quality (right).

Similarly, electronic documentation maybe used to reduce office clutter and thelength of company bookshelves. Firstattempts to transfer documents such as man-uals to an electronic format centered on sim-ply mimicking the paper format: ElectronicDocument Management meant creatingelectronic books on CD-ROM or the Web.

Oilfield service companies are increas-ingly turning to electronic documentationfor manuals and service support literature.The technology offers scope to produce sig-nificantly more than simple scanned manu-als. The documents themselves may be mul-tilayered. The links between the document’sproducer, shipper, reader and maintainermay be two-way, allowing for rapid modifi-cation and redistribution.

A key element in effective service deliverywithin a fast-changing technological envi-ronment is the training and development ofemployees. Here too, companies areincreasingly turning to network-deliveredtraining programs that incorporate a grow-ing number of elements of interactionbetween the learner and the lesson (see“On-Line Electronic Training,” next page).

While IT offers service providers opportu-nities to optimize their internal processesand to better train their engineers, networkconnectivity also allows service deliveryitself to be reengineered. For example, theSchlumberger ClientLink initiative allowsclient needs and problems to be better gath-ered, propagated and ultimately dealt with.6

Another example of this is the real-timetransfer of data from rigs to oil and gascompany offices. The Schlumberger Wire-line & Testing InterACT program, forinstance, enables office-based customers tofully engage with the wellsite logging engi-neer, ensuring optimal use of a logging sur-vey operation. The InterACT service offersreal-time transmission of log files, two-waycommunication and data compression.Optical and digital data are conveyed inreal time from the MAXIS Multitask Acqui-sition and Imaging System logging unit sothat they may be viewed and stored onclient desktop computers. In this way, rig-based decisions may be made faster and infull cooperation with the company expertswho do not need to be on the rig during the

job. Supervisors can remotely oversee well-site operations, and geoscientific expertscan respond in a coordinated manner dur-ing logging operations.

At the core of the InterACT service is a PC-based file transfer system (FTS) developed atthe Schlumberger Austin Product Center. TheFTS uses standard transmission control pro-tocols (TCP) and Internet protocols (IP) witha read-while-write capability, adaptablecompression and quick recovery (see “FromInternet to Intranet,” page 6). Data compres-sion minimizes the bandwidth allocation,allowing use of conventional phone lines.During field tests, networks with throughputsas low as 10 kBps were used to transmit awide variety of imaging logs.

The transmit-while-acquire function makesit possible to transfer very large files duringthe several hours typically involved in a data

acquisition program. In certain situations,these files could be transferred to a process-ing center before the logging tools havebeen fully rigged down. The largest suchoperation to date in the North Sea involvedtransmission of a file of 320 MB in 11 hoursover a nominal 64 kBps link.

The fully automated system is designed sothat neither the logging engineer or theoffice-based client face technical barriers toits use, nor is anyone distracted from theoperation by it (above).

Process

Clutter

Tim

e, d

ays

1996

0

20

40

60

80

100

Today

PrivateLAN/WAN

PrivateLAN/WAN

Human interface

PTSN

Client PC

Office

Wellsite MAXIS unit

Well

Dial-upaccess

Directnetwork

Publicphone lines

■■Removing clutterand improvingresponse to fieldrequests for support.By initiating anelectronic system toreport the need formodifications toequipment,Schlumberger Wireline & Testinghas reduced thepaper chase andensured that theresponse time isnow 15 days ratherthan 100.

■■Bringing the wellsite tothe client office. By usingits IT infrastructure,Schlumberger Wireline &Testing can deliver data toa client’s desktop whilelogs are being acquired.

6. Edmonds P: “Linking Solutions to Problems,” Oilfield Review 8, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 4-17.

Autumn 1997 13

It should go without saying that to offer the highest

possible standard of service requires training. In

the past, this has often meant periodic visits to

training centers to upgrade skills. However, the

pattern of the oil business has evolved. The need

for greater flexibility and faster training points to

more self-training. Today using advanced simula-

tion and other IT methods, the culture is changing

from “spoon-fed” teaching to proactive learning

while on the job.

For example, Schlumberger Wireline & Testing

has developed a new engineer training program—

the PEPTEC program—to replace one that had

been in use for over twenty years. This new pro-

gram places greater responsibility on individuals

to ensure that their training assignments are com-

pleted. Further, there is also a greater responsibil-

ity for field management to assist trainees with

their assignments. However, the new methodology

as well as the new training aids make this much

easier to achieve than in the past.

The program uses simulators and interactive

technology to help field engineers better under-

stand the basics. Training is now more focused on

each discipline. Yet there is also formal instruction

in “soft skills” such as communication.

The evolution of IT allows much greater access

to contemporary technical information. The advan-

tage of electronic documentation is that it is eas-

ier to maintain and update. Connectivity around

the world often allows training programs to be

accessible via intranets. In areas where connec-

tivity is poor or nonexistent, programs are con-

veyed on CD-ROMs.

Whether on-line or on CD-ROM, the training

modules take advantage of being in an electronic

medium. Many of the training modules now

involve interactive multimedia sections—each

section lasts about three minutes. At the end of

each section of training, self-assessment is used

to chart progress.

Simulators have also significantly changed the

training process to enhance logging or testing

training. Through simulation, new engineers may

experience logging and testing conditions that are

more realistic than can be achieved using 800-ft

[244-m] plastic-cased training wells. Today, many

new tools are developed using simulation code

that will be easily adaptable for training purposes.

Field engineers also use simulations of drill-

stem or surface testing to practice their skills. The

surface testing module is designed to operate

either alone or in conjunction with surface testing

hardware for both single-well and multiple-well

models. There is also a drillstem testing simulator

that comes complete with drawworks.

To ensure improved quality control, a data bank

of good and bad log examples has been compiled

as interactive multimedia files to help emphasize

the differences between good and bad logs. This

will enhance familiarity with basic logs in common

types of fields around the world and help in under-

standing some basic interpretation concepts.

Quality control and interpretation basics will be

emphasized and taught hands-on.

The PEPTEC program is not unique in

Schlumberger. Anadrill and Dowell, for example,

are both developing IT-based learning organiza-

tions. In both cases, the aims are similar—to

encourage involvement and communication

between field engineers and their supervisors,

organizations and clients. Training may be tar-

geted both to individual and client requirements,

answering specific needs of the field. At the same

time, an engineer acquires the necessary skills as

part of a continuous development program.

To ensure this significant corporate investment

remains “evergreen,” a group of IT specialists and

instructional designers located in Austin are inves-

tigating technologies and standards that will

enhance the integration of training, ease mainte-

nance, and improve relevance to the end-user.

One key to success is ensuring the longevity and

compatibility of training material through use of a

vendor-independent data format—such as the

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)—

instead of proprietary data formats.

Material authored using SGML is not limited to

a single publishing medium and may be dis-

tributed on the Web, CD-ROM or paper, if neces-

sary, from a single source. Database publishing,

as this is called, also allows for information to be

reused across collections. Thus, a technical pro-

cedure in a reference manual can be reused in a

training manual. This greatly reduces the cost of

maintenance and reduces the chance of errors

because only one version of the information need

be held, instead of multiple copies pasted into

many different locations.

On-Line Electronic Training

14 Oilfield Review

British Gas (BG) International Exploration& Production has used the InterACT serviceto relay logs in real time from the North Seaand Trinidad to the company’s headquartersin Reading, southern England. For example,when testing wells, MDT Modular Forma-tion Dynamics Tester pressure measure-ments were relayed to Reading. There, Dr.Nick Colley, BG Principal Petrophysicist,Petroleum Engineering Department, wasable to judge when sufficient data had beengathered for a given zone. At his request, thetool’s probes were then closed and movedto the next zone of interest. It was almost asif he had actually been on the rig at thetime. “The InterACT facility has all the mak-ings of a significant change in petrophysicalworking practice. One can exert nearly allthe control as if one was in the unit itself,”explains Dr. Colley.

Simulating a Better FutureWe have seen how IT-based processes andsystems may be used to clear away theunnecessary ephemera of day-to-day opera-tions and to develop engineers who candeliver world-class services right into clientoffices. However, parallel to these activities,simulation—a recognized tool for risk anal-ysis and process optimization—is beingdeployed so that accumulated informationand data may be better used to improvefuture activities.

For example, costs are influenced by sev-eral sources of uncertainty. The process ofquantifying the effects of these uncertaintiesthrough simulation is called risk analysis(above). Elsewhere, simulation techniquesare being used to model new equipment ortools, accelerating their introduction to thefield. Models of the earth are also being cre-ated so that similar geologies may be com-pared and contrasted to improve log andseismic data interpretation.

Additionally, service company operationsmay be simulated to improve safety or effi-ciency. A key challenge facing an industrywith expanding activity is the need to meetdemand. Capital investment in high-costequipment is one way of meeting medium-or long-term demand. By analyzing globaloperational statistics, it is possible to iden-tify significant trends and develop improvedmarket understanding. This informationmay then be used to better specify whatequipment to acquire. In this way, clientdemand for services may be met cost effec-tively and quickly.

However, short-term needs may often bebetter met through increased use of currentassets. Techniques that help optimize equip-ment levels and new equipment allocation,or ones that identify bottlenecks and suggestresource management strategies, are alreadyin use.

An example of this comes from the USA.To deliver its fracturing services, Dowelloperates thousands of trucks and other vehi-cles. Work-flow analysis of three districts inWest Texas has suggested a potentialincrease in utilization of stimulation trucks.

To examine what stimulation jobs wererequested and which were carried out, datawere gathered from standard reports—ser-vice orders, well treatment reports, supplyservice receipt data, service quality reportsand driver trip reports. Researchers based inAustin modeled equipment allocation usingseveral parameters: the hydraulic horse-power (HHP), pressure and rate of availablepump units; the usage of TCV treatmentcontrol vans; the job requirements and theirlocation; and the number of jobs per dayand the time required for each job.

The modeling process was able to showthat the brake on increasing the utilizationof the pumpers was the number of TCVunits. Increasing the number of pumperswould reduce overall pumper utilization,while average TCV usage would quickly riseto 100% (left). Then, by proposing anincrease in TCV usage, new pumper-sharingpolicies, and a new dispatching protocol—where jobs were allocated in groups ratherthan individually as they were received—the researchers were also able to show theability to meet a significantly increaseddemand, over recent historical averages.

What this relatively simple example indi-cates is that operations research model-ing—which has commonly been used byairlines and in other industries—has a roleto play in improving equipment utilizationand speeding up service company responseto client requests.

7. Beham R, Brown A, Mottershead C, Whitgift J, Cross J,Desroches L, Espeland J, Greenberg M, Haines P,Landgren K, Layrisse I, Lugo J, Moreán O, O’Neill Dand Sledz J: “Changing the Shape of E&P Data Man-agement,” Oilfield Review 9, no. 2 (Summer 1997):21-33.

8. One search engine to try is the FAQ Finder at the University of Chicago. This is a WordNet-based appli-cation—a different approach to natural langauge pro-cessing: http://faqfinder.cs.uchicago.edu:8001/.

9. NOEMIE is a project in the European Union’s Espritprogram, where the partners are, from France:Schlumberger Limited, Matra Cap Systémes, Univer-sité Dauphine and Acknosoft; from Norway: SINTEFand Norsk Hydro; and from Italy: JRC Ispra.

Data analysis

"What-if" analysis

QA controlled database

Operations

Decision supportinformation

Risk analysisand simulation

Probabilitydistributions

Field data

X X+6

100

0

50

100

40

60

80

X+12 X+18

X X+6 X+12 X+18

HH

P u

tiliz

atio

n, %

TCV

util

izat

ion,

%

Total pumpers

Total pumpers

Average TCVutilization

Average pumperutilization

■■Analysis of hydraulic horsepower (HHP)and TCV treatment control van utilizationin West Texas. The addition of extra HHP(top) reduces pumper utilization andincreases TCV use (bottom) to 100%.

■■Risk analysis. How field data may beused to support subsequent operationaldecisions.

Autumn 1997 15

Keeping Track of Data and InformationBetter business processes and effective sim-ulation work using IT depend on access tothe necessary data and information. A clas-sic response to this need has often been tocreate a database. Because of this, the cor-porate information of large industrial com-panies is usually scattered among manysources—databases, spreadsheets and Webpages—distributed over many different geo-graphical locations. Additionally, legacydata repositories are usually constructed tostore and manage dedicated administrativeor operational data, and are targeted for spe-cific uses and needs. For instance, thepumper-truck example above required datagathered from at least six different sources.

Considerable efforts are being made by theIT industry to develop ways of “drillingdown” different data repositories, extractingthe required data and information.7 So-called search engines usually locate relevantdocuments of any format in databases anddata repositories on the basis of matchingquery terms with the documents.8 However,most conventional search engines deliver tothe petitioner unvalidated and unsortedselections. This means that relevant datamay not be available when and where theyare needed—at least not for an organizationas a whole.

There is an alternative approach thatmany of us may have benefited from with-out necesarily knowing it. The philosophyof the most effective help-desk services maybest be summarized by the maxim thatwhen faced with a problem, it is a goodidea to find out whether it has happenedbefore. And if it has, to know what solved itlast time. The challenge for many busi-nesses is to gather that data and informationfrom multiple sources and to weight theresponse to take into account the personmaking the request.

For example, the expected answer to thequery, “What is the efficiency of equipmentXYZ?” may differ depending on whether thechief accountant or the technical managerasked the question. The answer would alsohave to use data from many sources.Because the integration of the existingdatabases into one single repository is usu-ally not desirable for cost and technical rea-sons, an alternative is to federate them.

In 1996, groups in France, Norway andItaly—including Norsk Hydro andSchlumberger—embarked on the NOEMIEproject, which has European Unionsupport.9 NOEMIE uses data-mining (DM)techniques—using search engines—toextract data from multiple sources. Then ituses case-based reasoning (CBR) methods toorient the way in which the data are han-dled according to who makes the query.

Using data delivered from severaldatabases by the DM process, CBR com-pares the user’s current problem with previ-ous specific situations—or cases—stored inan experience base. This experience basealso provides the necessary general informa-tion—concept hierarchies, relationships,associations and decision rules—needed todeliver the response. Between the user andthe CBR stage, a further interface relates theprocess to the user’s situation, orienting theresponse to user needs (above).

Experience database

Generalknowledge

Stored data

Stored data

Selection and sampling

Preprocessingand cleaning

Previouscases

Reuse relevantcases

Verify/revisesolution as

required

Retainsolution as experience

Newcase

New case(problem)

Retrieverelevantcases

Applying data-mining techniques

Transformationand reduction

Mergedatabase

Stored data

Stored data

Stored data

Generic databases

Company databases

Data Mining Case-Based Reasoning

■■Data mining enables the grouping of scattered and apparently independent data intoclasses or clusters based on some similarities. Case-based reasoning then provides a “user-centered” view, attempting to link a user’s current situation to previous similar situations,from which the data and information relevant to the user’s problem may be identified.

16 Oilfield Review

To assess the feasibility of the methodol-ogy, the NOEMIE team is building a demon-strator that incorporates existing methods foreach part of the chain. The project isexpected to be completed in 1999. Becauseone of the end users involved is NorskHydro, one pilot project is concentrating onevents that have a negative influence onsafety, production reliability, and the cost ofrepairs to oil and gas production facilities.The type of subjects addressed range fromthe specific, “How to improve a specificfailure-prone unit or component,” to thegeneral, “How to optimize the layout of anew production platform.”

When an unwanted event has occurred, adecision needs to be made by managementon how to reduce the likelihood of or pre-vent such incidents in the future. To makethis decision, all cases with similar charac-teristics need to be located with NOEMIE,and the parameters describing those eventsused as a guide for resolving the current sit-uation (right). Such incidents will thenbecome cases in the NOEMIE experiencedatabase and be available to aid future deci-sion-making.

The NOEMIE database aims to resolve theunsorted nature of data and informationdelivered by search engines, through anautomated case-based approach. An alter-native is to create a network of company-wide experts to assess, filter and order thedata and information delivered by searchengines and other sources.

This approach has been adopted by theSchlumberger Technology Watch (TW) pro-gram, designed to harness external knowl-edge and to include all available technologyinto new products and services. The aim is toshorten the product development cycle byenabling in-house research and developmenteffort to concentrate on core competencies.

The TW program also leverages externaldatabases and information feeds. To avoidinformation overload, a filtering agent—therefinery—was developed. The refineryuploads information from relevant sources,such as Petroleum Abstracts and the USpatent database, and indexes it. Anyone inthe company can subscribe to existing pro-files of interest or create his or her own to

receive an e-mail alert when new informa-tion is available. This decentralized manage-ment reduces to a minimum the administra-tion of the system.

An example of TW in action is the deliveryof improved downhole battery technology.Development costs for new batteries is high,while time to market may be long. Due tothe oilfield market’s low volume, batteryvendors do not tend to be interested in cus-tomization. Using TW, the state-of-the-art ofbattery technology was determined and therole of existing packaging challenged. Whilesurveying battery technology, Marvin Mile-wits, senior development engineer with theSchlumberger Perforating & Testing Center(SPT) in Rosharon, Texas, met with represen-tatives of a relatively small technology com-pany. Development of a long-term relation-ship with this company helped SPT todesign battery cells that are adapted to someof the most stringent requirements in size,shape and temperature.

Access to key vendor expertise provedvaluable in implementing new chemistry forthe cells and in experimenting with shapesbetter adapted to downhole tools. By lever-aging outside resources, SPT was able toconcentrate on internal requirements, suchas proximity to the drillstring for measure-

ments-while-drilling tools, temperature andlongevity for drillstem test measurements.

Corporate Knowledge: Retention and DeliveryIn the NOEMIE and TW cases describedhere, attempts are being made to organizeand integrate information and data usingexperience, memory and insight, which wasour definition for knowledge creation at thestart of this article. The techniques point to arelatively new application for IT—oftendescribed as knowledge management. But aswe have seen, such techniques may varyfrom essentially automatic systems that bor-der on artificial intelligence to those thatrequire a high degree of human intervention.

For its part, BP defines knowledge manage-ment as an attempt to recognize what is anessentially human asset, and to turn it intoan organizational asset that may be accessedand used by a broader set of individuals onwhose decisions its assets depend.

■■NOEMIE cases. In order to make this search possible and efficient,a past case needs to be described by a set of generic attributesrelated to the problem. This example lists attributes describing anunwanted event on a platform.

Attribute Examples

Event category Accident, Incident, Failure, Combination

Identification Industry, Company, Failure, Combination,Topside, Subsea, Location, System class orEquipment class

Severity Persons, Environment, Production, Emergencyshut down, Trip, Equipment maintenance

Activity Design, Installation, Testing, Drilling, Workover,Production, Maintenance, Training

Main observed cause Action, Circumstances, Technical, Combination

Remedial actions Human, Operating, Management, Technical,Logistics

Effect of remedialactions

Factors similar to above. Must normally beevaluated based on statistics of the recurrenceof such events after the initial event.

Contributing factors Human, Management, Procedures,Work environment, Electrical, Mechanical,Operations

Autumn 1997 17

Building on the successful introduction ofvirtual teamworking, BP is now strengthen-ing its abilities in both knowledge captureand knowledge transfer. In practice, thismeans discovering in a systematic waywhat and where the knowledge is, makingspecific knowledge visible, capturing expe-rience and creating the knowledge productspeople want to use.

This has led to a number of projects. ManyBP Exploration assets and interest groupshave established home pages on the BP-Web. These home pages are designed as liv-ing documents to provide up-to-date infor-mation. In some cases, detailed descriptionsof staff competencies have been included.These entries may be interrogated by searchengines to discover the best source of keyknow-how when it is needed. In the longterm, every graduate-entry employee willbuild and maintain his or her personalhome page. This will reinforce personalresponsibility for knowledge management.

Also on the Web is the Einstein page. Thisprovides contemporary information aboutBP experience and training opportunities. Itaims to accelerate the learning process byensuring that staff members have access tothe necessary training resources, includingcomputer-based material for learning at adistance.

Moving forward, BP has a number of pro-jects now in the pipeline. For example, onescheme recognizes the changing expecta-tions regarding employee mobility and isseeking to change the traditional oilfieldpattern and move more work to people,rather than the opposite. Although, somejobs have to be carried out on the spot,more work may be carried out by fullyeffective sub-teams, located remotely from aproject. Work is now under way to optimizethis approach.

Like every other operator, BP Explorationstrives to reduce drilling costs and is seekingto accelerate the speed of learning from onewell to another. The stakes are high as drilling

often makes up the lion’s share of develop-ment costs. To enhance learning betweenwells, the company is using video clips of thedrilling team dis-tributed around thecompany on CD-ROM. Immediatelyafter completing thewell, team membersrecord what they didand, more impor-tantly, what theywould do differently.These CD recordingsare facilitated andedited by a profes-sional producer.

In fact, this idea isborrowed from theUS Army, which hasdeveloped tech-niques to retainexperience. After every major training exer-cise or operation, the unit involved immedi-ately holds an after-action review. Held onlocation if necessary, this systematic, facili-tated process is designed to review whatwas supposed to happen, what did happen,why there were differences and who didwhat. The actions of commanders, special-ists and soldiers are all exposed.

Of course, propagating this acquiredknowledge by CD-ROM is just one tech-nique. Another element in enhancing learn-ing is real-time accessibility to previousexperience. To improve drilling perfor-mance, researchers in Schlumberger Cam-bridge Research, Cambridge, England, havebuilt an experimental, Web-based system todiagnosis the causes of stuck pipe duringdrilling and then to suggest remedies.

Stuck pipe was chosen because, in addi-tion to there being an urgent need to reducethe number of toolstrings that are lost inhole, there already exists an industry-accepted database on how to map stuck-pipe decisions.10

Using this database as a starting point,researchers have built a prototype that inter-actively interrogates the user about what

may be observed—for example, stand-pipe pressure trends,changes in overpulland the type of shaleobserved on theshakers. The systemstores a number ofrepresentative cases,and uses them todetermine the likeli-hood of various typesof sticking mecha-nism—such as differ-ential sticking or keyseating. Based on theobservations input bythe user, the systemdisplays the proba-

bilities of various mechanisms causing theproblem. The greater the number of obser-vations, the better refined the predictions ofthe model will be.

More cases will be stored as they areexperienced, allowing a local knowledgebase to be developed. And, by following upcase studies, the decision map may berefined. This system will be used to ensuremore accurate diagnosis, for better earlywarning and improved training (next page).In short, it will accelerate the learningcurve. It is then planned that the local expe-rience be fed back to form a global knowl-edge base. This resource will enable drillersin new areas to more quickly solve stuck-pipe problems.

The system will not stop at just one aspectof drilling. It will also be linked to downholemeasurements, drilling parameters andother elements of the drilling process, offer-ing a web-based, cross-platform drillingknowledge base at the drill floor. Progress indelivering state-of-the-art knowledge glob-ally will then have been made.

10. Bailey L, Jones T, Belaskie J, Orban J, Sheppard M,Houwen O, Jardine S and McCann D: “Stuck Pipe:Causes, Detection and Prevention,” Oilfield Review3, no. 2 (October 1991): 13-26.

Attempts are beingmade to organizeand integrateinformation anddata using experience, memory andinsight.

18 Oilfield Review

Push Me—Pull YouBecause IT improves communications, theopportunities for experts to collaborateacross international boundaries have dra-matically increased. The picture of commu-nities of interest forming regardless of geog-raphy and company status is one that mostpeople wholeheartedly welcome. However,some reservations have been expressed. For

example, a paper published in Scienceraises an interesting prospect of what it callsthe “Balkanization of science.”11

At the heart of this is the notion—which isequally valid for disciplines outside purescience—that limitations on people’s timewill mean that local contact between peo-ple of different specialization decreases astheir efforts to communicate within theirspecialization increases. The possible result

is the creation of a series of highly special-ized, yet unrelated, communities of interest(next page).

One way of avoiding this has beenaddressed by BP, with attempts to createwhat it calls “the virtual coffee machine,” toencourage random exchanges over its VT

■■Stuck-pipe experience. To improve drilling performance and reduce the incidence ofstuck pipe, researchers at Schlumberger Cambridge Research have developed a Web-based system to diagnose the causes of stuck-pipe incidents and to suggest solutions.

Is circulation restricted?

Gather Information More information

Is overpull in new section?

Smooth

Erratic

Wellbore geometry, formation ledges

Reactive mobile formationsor unconsolidated formations

Unconsolidated, fractured, faultedor geopressured formations

Unconsolidated, fracturedor faulted formations

Fractured, faulted formationsCementblocks, junk

Cementblocks, junk

0%

Differential sticking

Mobile formations

Undergauge hole

Poor hole cleaning

Unconsolidated formations

Key seating

Other

100%

Cementblocks, junk

Key seating

Inadequate hole cleaning

Inadequate hole cleaning

Reactive mobileor unconsolidated formations

Wellbore geometry,fractured or faulted formations

Mechanism

Local database

Wellbore geometry,formation ledges

Observations

Rea

ctiv

e m

obile

form

atio

ns

Tripping out

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

YesKey seating

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Are known problem formations exposed in new hole section?

Does rotating string allow obstruction tobe passed?

Are known problem formations exposed in hole section drilled by previous bits?

Are known problem formations exposed in hole section drilled by previous bits?

Is circulation restricted?

Is circulation restricted?

Is circulation restricted?

Is downward motion possible?

No

No

No

No

No

NoNo

No

No

No

No

No

Is circulation restricted?

Can BHA be rotated free?

Is downward motion possible?

Autumn 1997 19

equipment. In this way people who mayotherwise never talk, can meet and findcommon interest. The geographically dis-persed Andrew organization held a virtualmeeting every morning and randomexchanges were found to be beneficial.

There is also a need to link schemes likeNOEMIE—call them the information man-agement approaches—with the newlyknowledge-motivated employees of an orga-nization. The objective of these links mustbe to ensure that the information peopleneed is made available efficiently.

In the beginning there was PUSH technol-ogy—applications like e-mail allow thesender to write a message and push it to thepersons of choice. Then came PULL tech-nology—people interested in a particularissue may enter a Web page, access a file ofinterest and pull it to their desktops.

Today, one area of debate centers on whatinformation should be pushed and whatpulled. For example, it is possible, usingapplications like Pointcast, BackWeb,Marimba and other new entries into thismarket, for individual users to register inter-est in certain areas, leaving the software tofind and present this customized informa-tion as required, often in a visually com-pelling way.

The ability to push information to people’sdesktops means that some information, suchas important computer virus updates or inter-esting company news, could enjoywidespread distribution. But not all informa-tion need go to all employees, and liketelexes, faxes and e-mails before, overuse ofthis technology will reduce its effect. The keylies in finding ways of targeting informationto those people who will most benefit fromit. In the jargon of our age: contextual push.

This ability to target will offer boundlessopportunities to better propagate informa-tion through organizations. And, as we entera new millennium, developments in thisarea will shape the way many of us willreceive the information we need. If thesedevelopments bear fruit, we will becomepart of a well-informed work force armedwith the tools to boost productivity, improveservice quality and gain competitive advan-tage. To do this, we will require inclusive,comprehensive and easily accessible corpo-rate memories. —CF

Geographic communities

Discipline communities

11. Van Alstyne M and Brynjolfsson E: “WideningAccess and Narrowing Focus: Could the InternetBalkanize Science?” Science 274, no. 5292 (November 29, 1997): 1479-1480.

■■Balkanized science. Time limitations can lead to fragmenting ofgeographic communities and cross-specialization communities.