BIOSTRATIGRAPHY WEB PORTAL:
GIVING THE PETROLEUM GEOSCIENTIST
ACCESS TO KEY DATA

Anthony C. Gary, Tramontane, Inc. 
William E. Full, Advanced Solutions Group, Univ. of South Carolina, 730 Devine, Columbia, SC 29208, BFull@asg.sc.edu
Garry D. Jones, Unocal Corp.
HISTORICALLY, PETROLEUM COMPANIES MAINTAINED LARGE STAFFS OF SPECIALISTS (E.G., GEOCHEMISTS, SEDIMENTOLOGISTS, AND BIOSTRATIGRAPHERS) TO COLLECT, MAINTAIN, INTERPRET AND DISTRIBUTE KEY DATA TO OTHER GEOSCIENTISTS.  OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DECADES THE AMOUNT OF GEOLOGIC DATA HAS DRAMATICALLY INCREASED WHILE THE NUMBERS OF SPECIALISTS AVAILABLE TO MANAGE IT HAVE DECREASED.  IT IS THEREFORE A CONSIDERABLE CHALLENGE TO CREATE TANGIBLE VALUE FROM ALL THE DATA IN THE SPECIALIST’S DOMAIN.
SPECIALISTS’ DATA MUST BE VETTED OF ERRORS AND SOMETIMES REQUIRE VARIOUS TRANSFORMATIONS AND FIXES.  IN ADDITION, SOMEONE MUST CAST THE DATA INTO A STRUCTURE THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLE BY THE NON-SPECIALIST.  GEOSCIENTISTS IN SOME COMPANIES STILL FACE DATA ACCESS PROBLEMS BOTH IN TERMS OF CONTENT OR
AN ENERGY COMPANY’S BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC DATABASE HOSTED AND MAINTAINED BY A TEAM OF BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND I.T. SPECIALISTS AS A DATA WAREHOUSE OR DATA MART, EITHER OFFSITE AND SECURED BY VPN AND OTHER SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES, OR WITHIN THE COMPANY’S OWN FIREWALL.
THE COMPANY’S GEOSCIENTISTS ACCESS AND ANALYZE THE DATA THROUGH A SECURED INTERNET LINK USING STANDARD WEB BROWSER TECHNOLOGY WITH ENCRYPTION.
FUNCTIONALITY IS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE NEEDS OF THE COMPANY’S GEOSCIENCE COMMUNITY.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A PORTAL?
WHAT IS A BIOSTRATIGRAPHY
WEB PORTAL?
THE VALUE OF A COMPANY RESOURCE, BIOSTRATIGRAPHY DATA, IS INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY BY MAKING IT READILY AVAILABLE TO ALL USERS IN A FORM THAT CAN BE EASILY INTEGRATED WITHIN THEIR EXISTING ENVIRONMENT.
THE COMPANY’S BIOSTRATIGRAPHY STAFF ARE FREED FROM DATABASE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE TASKS, SO THAT THEY CAN FOCUS ON THEIR SPECIALTY – BIOSTRATIGRAPHY.
THE EVALUATION OF THE COMPANY’S PROCESSES THAT USE BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC DATA/INFORMATION CAN UNCOVER PROBLEMS, INEFFICENCIES AND REDUNDANCIES IN DATA HANDLING AND ANALYSIS THAT CAN BE CORRECTED.
A WEB-PORTAL DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE TEAM THAT INCLUDES BOTH BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND I.T. SPECIALISTS CAN PRODUCE A BETTER PRODUCT THAN WHEN ONLY ONE TECHNICAL SPECIALTY IS PRIMARLY RESPONSIBLE.
NEW DATA AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY AVAILABLE TO THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION ALLOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.
THE NEW DATABASE STRUCTURE ALLOWS RAPID ANALYSIS (I.E., DATA MINING) OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA ENABLING MORE COST-EFFECTIVE REGIONAL STUDIES.
TIMELINESS OF DELIVERY OR BOTH.  THE WORST CASE IS THAT USEFUL DATA IS SIMPLY NOT USED.
UNOCAL CORPORATION HAS ADDRESSED THESE PROBLEMS FOR THEIR BIOSTRATIGRAPIC AND LOG-DERIVED SAND COUNT DATA BY DEVELOPING A DATABASE AND WEB-ENABLED PORTAL THAT ALLOWS DIRECT ACCESS TO THESE DATA.  THE PORTAL HAS A VARIETY OF QUERIES, ANALYSES, AND DISPLAYS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PETROLEUM GEOLOGIST.  THE UNDERLYING ARCHITECTURE IS BASED ON A COMBINATION OF RELATIONAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IN CONJUNCTION WITH JAVA.  A KEY TO SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN TO ALLOW THE USER COMMUNITY TO BE THE PRIMARY DRIVER.  OTHER KEYS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PORTAL ARE GIS, GRAPHIC VISUALIZATION AND REPORT FUNCTIONS.
ABSTRACT