The PDM Interoperability debate - GeoQuest's position statement (August 1998)

Over the last few months PDM has been invitingcontributions from software vendors and standards associations covering their approach tosoftware interoperability. Paul Haines, GeoQuest's head of data management, hascontributed the following position statement on behalf of GeoQuest.

As has been stated in various papers and presentations, GeoQuest believes interoperability is necessary for E&P companies to manage their data better and to do their job more efficiently. GeoQuest has demonstrated that reliable access to the data is facilitated by a stable interface. This is especially true as a system's underlying data model becomes broader and richer. We believe that such a stable interface should be based on business objects or data representations that are focused on actual usage.

As discussed during the 1997 AGM of the Public Petroleum Data Model Association (PPDMA), the PPDM is "a business driven model," which makes it appropriate for defining Business Object interfaces to data models, including Epicentre. An example shown at that meeting took an abstract view of a well test and put it into a more concise view that an end-user could readily use. This methodology is one way that cross-discipline and inter-application interoperability can be achieved. As far as the timeline of interoperability, we have definite and specific plans relating to the revamping and reconciliation of the GeoQuest data models to Epicentre-based structures, as was described at the PPDM AGM.

As PDM readers will know, the GeoFrame data model is based on Epicentre, and most of the Finder data model has been mapped to Epicentre. In addition, all our new developments, such as the production domain and Finder Enterprise are based directly on Epicentre structures. From our experiences in expanding the production domain, we see much of this work for Finder being finished before the end of next year (1999). Preliminary work (including prototypes) suggests that getting a common data model gives us and our clients options and benefits beyond just interoperability. Among these benefits is the ability to share a single instance of static data globally. Beyond the data model, systems based on common components are imperative to true interoperability. This, coupled with new technologies such as CORBA and JAVA that we are using in new developments, make a 2 to 4 year timeframe for complete interoperability more realistic than ever before.

With commitment from several major clients, continued commitment from GeoQuest, and a commitment from Landmark to the Geoshare standard, we see Geoshare use increasing. As a new member of the Geoshare User Group board, I am committed to helping the Geoshare standards remain the industry standard for inter-application data exchange.