In our last issue we reported on no less than four ‘emergent’ upstream data ecosystems, from Agile, Halliburton, Schlumberger and The Open Group’s OSDU, the Open subsurface data universe. Schlumberger has now confirmed, as we reported earlier this year, that it is to ‘open source’ its Delfi-based data ecosystem. Moreover, Schlumberger is to contribute its data system to OSDU to ‘accelerate’ delivery of the data platform.
According to the Schlumberger release, the teaming will accelerate operators’ digital progress by moving data to the cloud using the OSDU platform, either when deploying their own applications or adapting Delfi applications to their needs. The move is to ‘avoid creating fragmentation of data and workflows that inhibits collaboration or creates barriers to innovation within the industry’.
Whether having an 800lb gorilla pitch into the game at the last minute (TOG earlier told Oil IT Journal that the OSDU code would be publicly available in September) is a help or a hinderance is another matter. An OSDU panel session at the PPDM-backed 2019 Houston Professional Petroleum Data Expo (i.e. before Schlumberger joined the party) addressed ‘industry scepticism’ as to what would be delivered and when, responding that OSDU operates in a ‘very agile’ manner, using ‘modern collaboration tools including Gitlab and Slack’.
The initial Amazon Web Services implementation demo release with ‘limited datasets and scope’ is (was?) targeted for summer 2019. Other ‘reference implementations’ are planned for Azure and the Google cloud. At the PPDM event, OSDU received endorsements from ConocoPhillips, BP and Chevron along with Shell, which conceived the initiative. The group has multiple subcommittees working on the architecture, data definitions, and security, as well as outreach and communications. More from TOG.
© Oil IT Journal - all rights reserved.