Network Integration:
A Case Study in Custom Exploration and Production Software
The Problem
Even the best planned corporate acquisition can be challenging for an IT department.
In 2005 our client, an overseas producer of oil and gas, purchased a 100 percent stake in a local exploration and production company, inheriting a fully operational oil and gas company with its own accounting, operating, production, and exploration systems. One of the first tasks following the acquisition was to combine the local company's existing IT system with their own system, which already served 35,000 employees worldwide.
The Custom Software Solution
Entrance Software helped our client's IT department to identify and target software applications for integration, re-branding, or conversion to the new network. Entrance Software leveraged experience in the Oil and Gas industry and knowledge of Custom Software Development and Business System Integration to help them re-brand many of their existing applications and make the changes necessary to produce company standard reports.
Asset management
The local exploration and production company's existing asset management system was created to collect daily production data on every one of the company’s producing wells. Following the acquisition, Entrance Software worked with managers to develop company-standard reports and modify the asset management database to record additional company-required information. Additional work on the asset management system included importing accounting data from SAP to reconcile production estimates with actual sales of oil and gas.
Intranet
The inherited Intranet Site served as a hub for communicating with employees about company news, human resources issues, and company-wide operating information. Following the acquisition, the Intranet was re-branded to fit our client's standards, a process that required extensive content development and technological support. Entrance Software helped them develop a site based on their corporate template, customized to fit their unique business and informational needs. Entrance Software was responsible for gathering and filtering company requirements to identify the most effective technological means of achieving the client's content creation and presentation demands.
Process mapping
One of the challenges in merging data is the naming conventions used to refer to a particular piece of data. Entrance Software helped these managers to identify the key assets that are tracked in each information system and map the unique identifiers, the names, that can be used to link information stored in databases, spreadsheets, and paper files throughout the company.
