A new software platform from Accenture and SAIC targets the digital oilfield. SAP’s xApp Integrated Exploration and Production (xIEP) allows oil and gas companies to integrate production, operations and maintenance data with their software applications. xIEP leverages SAP’s web services-based NetWeaver infrastructure, first announced early last year (Oil ITJ Vol 8 N° 1).
Kostial
Accenture energy program partner Peggy Kostial said, ‘SAP xIEP brings upstream operational and business support processes together into one integrated environment. This is the next step in unleashing value trapped in the upstream supply chain because of a lack of integration and sub-optimal business processes.’
Heinrich
SAP director Claus Heinrich added, ‘xIEP was developed to conform with Enterprise Services Architecture, SAP’s service-oriented framework. With the release of xIEP, we are delivering on our composite application strategy—of enabling customers’ industry-specific processes.’
Asset maintenance
SAP xIEP will initially support upstream asset maintenance, prioritizing work, reducing recurring maintenance, optimizing inventory levels and predicting high-impact equipment failures. The next step will be procurement, operations (planning, scheduling and maintenance) and accounting. When these capabilities are added, SAP xIEP will enable field and office workers to access the latest project-specific data from remote locations and view all relevant information including daily drilling and production data.
Synchronize
Field and office workers will be able to synchronize the data from different sources and collaborate remotely with team members—such as well engineers, geotechnical professionals and administrative teams—to support critical upstream business processes.
T2B—2?
It‘s not the first time that SAP has made a pitch for the upstream. Back in 1999 (OITJ Vol 4 N° 9) SAP announced its Upstream Energy Integration Platform—a collaboration with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Landmark. xIEP will likely rekindle interest in technical to business (T2B) integration. One significant win will be the availability (to production applications) of the extensive SAP ‘taxonomy’ of equipment tags.
© Oil IT Journal - all rights reserved.