Oracle Energy Upstream is an integrated suite of business software applications specifically designed for the oil and gas exploration & production, trading and transportation industries. Shell Services Company, with the assistance of Oracle Consulting Services, has implemented the system in New Orleans and Houston for more than 30 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and plans to roll out the system to some 20 additional onshore locations. Shell, like most of the industry, has been using legacy systems designed thirty years ago when much of the industry was regulated, including prices.
Free market
Today, in the free market, prices fluctuate on a daily basis and competition has increased while margins have decreased in the face of rising cost and price pressures. Oracle Energy Upstream provides Shell with online access to information it needs to react quickly to changing business conditions to maintain profitability in the oil and gas commodity business environment. Shell Services' Oil and Gas Financial Services practice, E&P's accounting outsourcer, expects Oracle Energy Upstream to help reduce costs through substantial process improvements as well as the additional flexibility to have more of the business reflected in the software, so staff can focus on higher-value tasks.
Legacy systems
For example, the legacy systems handled oil accounting separately from gas accounting, necessitating separate accountants for each. Oracle Energy Upstream allows Shell to merge those processes so a single accountant can handle an entire field. Oracle Energy Upstream also allows flexibility in setting up complex business rules to enable such practices as multi-tier pricing. In addition, Oracle Energy Upstream is Year 2000 compliant. Long term, Shell looks forward to the capability to provide Oracle Energy Upstream over the Web to enable easy access to the applications from any location, no matter how remote. Improved Efficiency and Data Integrity; Better Decision Making