Since we last reported on the Public Petroleum Data Model Association’s (PPDM) ongoing Spatial Enabling project there have been some changes. We understand that the close-coupling of the PPDM database with ESRI’s Geodatabase has been abandoned in favor of a more vendor-independent approach.
Linear referencing
3D Spatial data for objects such as deviated wells and seismic lines are stored in the Spatial II project using the concept of linear referencing. This allows a single spatial geometry set to be created for a well and any attribute can be accurately spatially positioned through its measured depth.
Geodatabase?
Oil IT Journal understands that PPDM took a close look at the Geodatabase and found it wanting in two key areas—its inability to leverage compound keys (widely deployed in the PPDM model) and its limited support for reference values. PPDM spatial data is thus decoupled from the particular GIS technology deployed.
International Petrodata
One enthusiastic user of the PPDM Spatial techniques is Brad Dick of International Petrodata (IPD). IPD has successfully spatially enabled its well, pipeline and other databases using PPDM’s methodology. Dick observed, “Providing data to our clients from a PPDM database using ESRI’s Spatial Data Engine (SDE) allows access to our data in a standard data model from the GIS tools our clients know”.
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