Palisade has just released a new version of its @RISK decision support package. @RISK 5.0 offers ‘total’ Excel integration, improved graphics and model sharing and more analysis including Six Sigma design of experiment and value at risk functions. @RISK Library is a new SQL database for sharing of probability distributions, model components and simulation results with other users.
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AVEVA has announced PDMS 12.0, a new version of its plant design package. The new release is said to be easier to use with rule-based design, automation and easier deployment. Enhancements include applications for designing equipment, piping, ducting, structural steel and supports with a Microsoft office ‘look and feel. ’ Design rule technology adds rule-based, automatic pipe routing and quality checking. New object associations in the plant model allow key relationships to be defined and monitored as the design evolves. IPR protection allows for data sharing with sub-contractors and partners, reducing the risk of copy or modification.
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Tecplot RS, a joint Tecplot/Chevron development is a post-processor for oil and gas reservoir modeling. The new RS 2008 release manages data from multiple reservoir simulation software applications, as well as observed data such as production rates and formation tests. New features include project-oriented I/O—with one-step project leading, templates for recreating specific plots, a loader for VIP and NEXUS solutions saved in the VDB database format and interactive plot editing.
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Heliosoft’s SeisMaster Pro 6.0 offers an improved graphical user interface and new modules for horizon tracking on multiple 2D data, horizon flattening or static shifts and automatic gain control. A new ‘generic application framework’ enables researchers and developers to create their own applications within the SeisMaster environment.
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Energy Navigator has announced version 6.0 of its AFE Navigator spend management package. The new release improves end user functionality and integration with other systems. A single sign-on logs users into AFE Navigator automatically. AFE-related documentation can be retrieved through a web browser front-end to corporate document management systems. Key AFE events can now be ‘pushed’ to third-party applications with a user-defined data integration tool.
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ESRI has announced an ArcGIS ‘Data Appliance’ to provide terabytes of ‘ready-to-use’ data to ArcGIS Server users. The data appliance serves pre-rendered, pre-cached geographic data previously only available from ESRI’s hosted ArcGIS Online service. The appliance is built around a network attached storage solution from Inline Corp. Data collections include 15m worldwide satellite imagery, a world street map with shaded relief imagery, physical and topographic maps and a world political atlas. A USA ‘Prime Imagery’ collection offers eight terabytes of data including a mosaic of 1-meter or better aerial imagery and detailed topography.
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Open Inventor 7 from Mercury, a new version of the cross-platform 3D graphics toolkit, adds new functions including ‘ReservoirViz’ very large, 3D structured meshes and ScaleViz for cluster-based rendering. A new function is available for GPU-based geometry shading and a range of compressed formats has been added. A Frame Buffer Object allows for GPU-based number crunching (GPGPU).
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Imation’s new LTO-4-based ‘adjacent-track’ tape technology increases the capacity of conventional data storage tape to 10,000 tracks per inch. This doubles current capacity to around 1.6 terabytes on a conventional LTO4 cartridge.
This article originally appeared in Oil IT Journal 2008 Issue # 1.
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