Implementation of a Virtual Enterprise for Reservoir Management Applications
Authors: Martin F. David , Murphy Mark B. , Kendall Richard P. , Whitney Earl M. , Kindel Joseph M. , Stubbs Bruce A. , Uszynski Bruce J. , Weiss William W. , Coombs Steven F. 
Published: December 2007

F. David Martin, SPE, Strategic Technology Resources; Mark B. Murphy, Strata Production Company; Richard P. Kendall, SPE, Earl M. Whitney, SPE, and Joseph M. Kindel, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Bruce A. Stubbs, SPE, Pecos Petroleum Engineering, Inc.; Bruce J. Uszynski, Territorial Resources, Inc.; William W. Weiss, SPE, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; and Steven F. Coombs, SPE, Pacific Operators Offshore, Inc.

A virtual company consolidates strengths of various individuals or entities for the synergistic pursuit of mutual goals. When a virtual company is formed of specialized professionals on an as-needed basis, the desired expertise is employed only when required. The Internet and World Wide Web (Web) provide a mechanism to establish virtual enterprises for exploiting network-based collaboration tools in reservoir management and other petroleum applications. This paper documents the implementation of a virtual enterprise, with independent producers and experts in separate locations, that was formed to address reservoir management applications.

Introduction

Electronic means of communications are becoming more important in the daily operations of many companies in the petroleum industry. The Internet and the World Wide Web (Web) are growing at an exponential rate which is creating a world-wide medium for the exchange of ideas, information, data, and technology. The use of electronic mail (e-mail) is becoming commonplace as providers of Internet access are expanding availability and reducing cost of the service. A wealth of information is now available on the Web in the form of hypertext-text that provides electronic connections to other documents, and hypermedia-linked documents that can include graphics, photographs, diagrams, figures, etc., as well as text.

However, the full potential of this new technology is just starting to be realized. Future applications will capitalize on the full potential of hypermedia in delivering technology, information, and related services to the petroleum and other industries. New Web applications have the potential of providing fundamental changes in the way business is conducted in the petroleum industry. One such Web application is a "virtual company" concept that can facilitate multi-company projects formed to exploit network-based collaboration tools for active involvement in problem solving and decision making processes.

What is a Virtual Company?

A virtual company is not a single entity in the classical corporate sense. A virtual company is the consolidation of technical, administrative, management, and financial strengths of various individuals or individual entities for the synergistic pursuit of mutual goals. With a virtual company formed of specialized individuals, often on a temporary basis, only the required expertise is employed to focus on the efficient accomplishment of the project at hand. With an alliance of companies or individuals, each individual entity will have specific strengths that were developed because each company or individual often has a certain niche. The concept is to draw from the individual strengths of multiple entities to form a virtual enterprise with capabilities far beyond those of the individual organizations.

Benefits of a Virtual Company

A strategic alliance of individuals or entities permits a company to concentrate on core competencies while involving other individuals or entities with additional competencies. For example, a company known to be a good operating company may find it advantageous to involve entities that are on the cutting edge of 3-D seismic resolution in thin-bed reservoirs. The idea of the virtual company is to draw from the individual strengths of multiple entities or individuals in a synergistic way that benefits everyone involved. Thus, the virtual company is endowed with capabilities far beyond those of the individual organizations which comprise it.

By pursuing new alliances and partnering opportunities with both individuals and corporate entities, a virtual enterprise can utilize telecommunication tools to provide a new business paradigm. P. 251^