BP’s Global Visualization Leader Jim Thomson addressed the Techsouth/Louisiana Governor’s Technology Awards Luncheon in Lafayette this month on the subject of ‘BP and big picture performance.’ Lousiana has a special interest in high-end visualization environments having built its own ‘Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise’ (LITE) center. Thomson reported that BP’s first Highly Immersive Visualization Environment (HIVE) was installed in 2001 and cost $1 million. But it saved BP $5 million in the first week of operations.
Growth
BP now has a family* of HIVEs. High end visualization provides ‘the foundation for continued growth.’ Thomson’s role covers upstream visualization technology which includes the HIVE program of collaborative visualization rooms. His mandate extends to the investigation of novel visualization tools and the dissemination of best practices within BP. BP is serious about innovating through visualization. Thomson explained, ‘BP has a number of vertical divisions, each addressing a specific domain. My position cuts across all of these verticals. BP uses visualization in nearly every facet of its business.’
Spears
TechSouth board member Mike Spears commented, ‘This technology was once only available to a handful of large companies. Now it’s available to anyone through LITE.’
* Speaking at the 2007 AAPG, Thomson reported that BP had 17 HIVEs in operation. As Oil IT Journal reported (April 2007), ‘the massive, centrally funded investment came from headquarters, “no one asked for them.”’
© Oil IT Journal - all rights reserved.