OFS Portal, the selling-side e-commerce portal first announced in August 2000 (see Oil ITJ Vol. 5 N° 8) and which went live early last year has been awarded a contract by API unit the Petroleum Industry Data Exchange (PIDX) to ‘help re-energize e-commerce in the upstream oil and gas industry.’
Le Sage
OFS Portal CEO William Le Sage explained, “The structured content and standards that will generate cost savings from e-commerce have been absent until now. OFS Portal is addressing the industry’s needs so that oilfield e-commerce can move ahead more quickly and deliver its promised benefits.”
E-catalog
To achieve this, OFS Portal is creating structured e-catalog content, using a product classification scheme that follows API/PIDX standards. This will provide potential buyers with pertinent search results to help match products and services to their requirements.
Winning bid
OFS Portal submitted the winning bid to PIDX to develop and prove the effectiveness of transaction standards for B2B processes, including complex products and services. OFS Portal helped fund various pilot projects including one for the UK DTI’s LOGIC initiative designed to ‘assist in the adoption of oilfield catalog and transaction standards in the U.K. market.’
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