Patent Abstract:
A method and system for generating output files which represent computer displayable geographically related data related to the oil and gas industries. The method and system provides an approach for representing vast amounts of data related to oil and gas industry assets geographically so that the data may be displayed in two and three-dimensions. The method and system provide a way of inputting raw data and outputting a file that may be processed by a geographic information system software package to visually represent the data geographically on the surface of the earth. The output file may also be in a number of other file formats and readable by other software applications.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. provisional application entitled A System for Displaying Oil and Gas Information having Ser. No. 61/081,562; by Gilje et al., filed Jul. 17, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The embodiments discussed herein are directed to a system for geographically indicating information related to the oil and gas industries and, more particularly, to a system accepting input raw data related to the oil and gas industries, and providing an output file used to display the information related to the oil and gas industries geographically by inputting the output file into a Geographic Information System. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    There has recently been growth of a number of commercially available geographic information systems, for example, Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, and ArcGIS which allow a user to visually fly around and view satellite images of the entire earth in either two-dimensional and three-dimensional views using a computer. A user can click and drag an input device, such as a mouse, to move about the earth and view the terrain of the earth. The user may zoom in and out to view the earth from as far away as outer space or as close as only viewing a canyon, river, building in a city, or a field. These geographic information systems allow a user to input a file and display an overlay from the data of the file on top of the displayed terrain of the earth. Google Earth, as an example, allows a user to input a geospatial data file which is in the format of Keyhole Markup Language (KML). This input file provides a user with the ability to overlay images and data onto the earth and display this data. 
         [0006]    Both the oil and gas industries require recordation of a vast amount of data which is difficult to geographically represent and document easily. Currently companies try to meet their analytical needs with a wide range of limited options. Some companies rudimentarily just draw a map by hand or use push pins to represent the data. Other companies manually create output files that are readable by software geographic information system packages. For example, a company may draw out with the aid of a computer mouse, where they have taken a lease. The hand drawn data requires a lot of manual interaction, and is not readily updatable in a systematic process. 
         [0007]    One of the goals of the embodiments is to utilize a computer to generate Keyhole Markup Language output files for oil and gas data which can be input into a geographic information system (GIS) software package, such as Google Earth, to overlay data from the output file onto satellite images of the earth to provide geographically related data for oil and gas industry assets. 
         [0008]    What is needed is a system that automates the process of creating these output files and displaying oil and gas industry related information for easy viewing on a display using a GIS software package. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    It is an aspect of the embodiments to provide an interface that easily allows creation of output files which are aggregations of large amounts of data related to oil and gas industry assets. 
         [0010]    It is another aspect of the embodiments to allow for displaying an output file as output data using a geographic information system. 
         [0011]    It is yet another aspect of the embodiments to allow the data of multiple output files to be overlaid on satellite images of the earth or a geographic representation of the earth on a display using a geographic information system. 
         [0012]    It is yet another aspect of the embodiments to allow a user to create output files based on several different data sources tailored to particular needs. 
         [0013]    This application provides a method, system, and interface for generating output files which represent computer displayable geographically related data related to the oil and gas industries. The method and system allow vast amounts of data related to oil and gas industry assets to be represented geographically so that the data may be displayed in two and three-dimensions. The method and system provide a way of inputting raw data and outputting a file that may be processed by a geographic information system software package such as Google Earth to visually represent the data geographically on the earth. The output file may also be in a number of other file formats and readable by other software applications. 
         [0014]    These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  depicts a geographic information system displaying satellite images of the earth with data overlaid from multiple data files. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  depicts a computer as hardware of the embodiments. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  shows a user interface. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows an overall process to create output files. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows a data structure for an “Area of Interest Data.” 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows how an output file for Drilling Activity is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows an example of a header that is written to an output file. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  shows a data structure for “Drilling Data.” 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  depicts an example of how a Drilling Activity output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  shows how an output file for Drilling Completions is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 11  depicts an example of how a Drilling Completions output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  shows how an output file for Open Acreage is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0027]      FIG. 13  depicts an example of how an Open Acreage output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0028]      FIG. 14  shows a data structure for “Pooling Data.” 
           [0029]      FIG. 15  shows a data structure for “Production Data.” 
           [0030]      FIG. 16  shows a data structure for “Master Leasing Data.” 
           [0031]      FIG. 17  shows how an output file for Well Info is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0032]      FIG. 18  depicts an example of how a Well Info output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0033]      FIG. 19  shows how an output file for Vertical Well Production Bar is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0034]      FIG. 20  depicts an example of how a Vertical Well Production Bar output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0035]      FIG. 21  shows how an output file for Land Activity is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0036]      FIG. 22  depicts an example of how a Land Activity output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0037]      FIG. 23  shows how an output file for Vertical Section Production Bar is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0038]      FIG. 24  depicts an example of how a Vertical Section Production Bar output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0039]      FIG. 25  shows how an output file for Land Boundaries is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0040]      FIG. 26  depicts an example of how a Land Boundaries output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0041]      FIG. 27  shows how an output file for Section Information is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0042]      FIG. 28  depicts an example of how a Section Information output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0043]      FIG. 29  shows a data structure for “Spacing Data.” 
           [0044]      FIG. 30  shows how an output file for Not Held by Production is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0045]      FIG. 31  depicts an example of how a Not Held by Production output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
           [0046]      FIG. 32  shows a data structure for “Non Held by Production Data.” 
           [0047]      FIG. 33  shows a data structure for “Plugging Data.” 
           [0048]      FIG. 34  shows how an output file for Leasing Activity is created according to an embodiment. 
           [0049]      FIG. 35  depicts an example of how a Leasing Activity output file is viewed in a geographical information system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0050]    The embodiments relate generally to the oil and gas industry, and in particular, to a method of processing and generating synthesized output from raw data by a computer. The raw data may be in the form of a number of data structures related to the oil and gas industry and contain a plurality of data related to oil and gas assets. Each data structure provides oil and gas associated data fields which may be stored on a computer readable medium. For instance, the data structures provide raw data related to area of interest, master land description, drilling data, pooling data, production data, master leasing data, spacing data, not held by production data, and plugging data as shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  5 A,  8 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  29 ,  32 , and  33 . Output files created by processing the raw data are formatted, such that they can be read by a commercially available geographic information system (GIS) application, which provides the viewer with a visual multi-dimensional view of the information. Additionally, the underlying data can also be readily outputted to be readable by Microsoft Excel, as comma separated values (csv), or as a simple text file. The method can be applied to the following types of data which relate to the oil and gas industry: production, drilling, land, and leasing data. Leasing data may include, as an example, legal and governmental filings such as deeds of record, tax filings, etc. 
         [0051]    The embodiments describe a method for converting data from various oil and gas data sources into output files which are easily viewed in commercially available GIS applications. Output files can be visualized and read by commercially available GIS applications. A key aspect of the method is that it generates distinct output files for various types of data which the user may be interested in, enabling a user to overlay various pieces of information in a GIS viewer to gain a broader understanding of what is going on in a particular “Area of Interest” with regards to oil and gas activity. An example of the output can be seen in  FIG. 1  which shows a geographic display region. This geographic display region provides a view of a geographical area and has an overlay of data on the view related to oil and gas assets which are in the area. As an example, the overlay of data can be seen at reference numeral  100  (Land Activity),  110  (Open Acreage), and  120  (Vertical Well Production Bars). As shown in this embodiment, overlays can be toggled on and off by selecting the checked boxes, as indicated by  130 . The following provides a detailed explanation as to how these output files are generated. 
         [0052]    The embodiments of this Application may be executed on a computer as is shown in  FIG. 2 . This figure shows a computer which enables interaction and display of the method using an interface as detailed in  FIG. 3  and the output, which can be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. In order to utilize the interface/method as displayed in  FIG. 3 , a user may utilize a computer  200  similar to that which is shown in  FIG. 2 . Additionally, the method described assumes that the interface in  FIG. 2  is linked to a database (local or otherwise) which enables the user to select recordsets from the data outlined in data structures as shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  5 A,  8 ,  14 ,  15 ,  16 ,  29 ,  32 , and  33 . The computer  200  shown in  FIG. 2  includes at least a display  210 , a processing unit,  220 , memory  230 , an input device  240 , and a geographical information system or equivalent  250 . 
         [0053]    Method Overview 
         [0054]      FIG. 4  represents the flow diagram of the overall process being employed and described. The application is started within the computer outlined in  FIG. 2 . Once the application is started  400 , the user can see the user interface with “buttons” or input regions being graphical, text, or otherwise as represented in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0055]    The user interface is designed to enable the user to input their area of interest  310  and their company color coding preferences  320 , both of these inputs correspond to  410 . An “Area of Interest” can be selected from the drop-down combo-box  311  and refer to a county or area of the state for which the user would like to build output files for. Company color coding information entails the matching of company names from drop-down combo-boxes  320 , with colors which the user would like to use to designate companies. Company color coding is used so that output files will properly enable the user to track a particular company&#39;s activity. 
         [0056]    Once these pieces of information are specified  310  and  320  the user can then select “Build an Area of Interest”  420 . Selecting a user&#39;s area of interest, stores section information, latitude, and longitude coordinates or any other related location identifiers, as identified, for example, in  FIG. 5 ,  501 ,  502 ,  503 ,  504 , and  505 . All sections in a users “Area of Interest” are stored in this table, to enable easy referencing for additional output and executable operations. 
         [0057]    Once an “Area of Interest” has been stored, a user may undertake any one of 11 operations to begin generating output files which can be read by a GIS software package. These operations are identified as subroutines in  FIG. 4  as  440 . To execute these operations/subroutines (which are described in further detail below), a user clicks on buttons or input regions  330 ,  331 ,  332 ,  333 ,  334 ,  335 ,  336 ,  337 ,  338 ,  339 , and  340  as described by  430 . 
         [0058]    Finally, once the output files have been built, the user may open the output files in a GIS viewer (as indicated by  450 . This enables the user to view the files generated by this method in three-dimensions (3-D) and access all of the data outputted and analyzed in steps. Additionally, the underlying data can also be exported to a spreadsheet/csv/textfile in this step. 
         [0059]    Drilling Activity Output File 
         [0060]    The first such output file/process that shall be described is outlined in  FIG. 6 , and initiated by a user clicking  330 . This output file is the “Drilling Activity” output file, and is designed to output information regarding intent to drills (drilling permits), spud reports, completions, recompletion applications, and enhanced recovery filings. 
         [0061]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  601 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, which enables GIS software to properly identify what it is reading. A header example is shown in  FIG. 7 , in this instance, this particular header,  710  is used when the method is adapted to Keyhole Markup Language (KML), however, this method is also applicable to headers for other types of GIS viewers including Microsoft Virtual Earth, and ArcGIS. The drilling activity will be displayed as distinct polygons, and the formats of these polygons are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of polygons are available to it. For the case of the “Drilling Activity” file, the colors that will be used are the company color codes that the user has identified in  320 . Any information that is output will be based off of these user preferences. In the event that activity occurs without a designated color to map to, the polygon is shaded gray. 
         [0062]    As shown in  604 , a recordset is selected from  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” and check whether there is any activity in that section by querying “Drilling Data” of  FIG. 8 . The querying of the data in  FIG. 8  is designated as  606 . If this query is null, that is, if it is at the end of its recordset, then the method proceeds to move on to the next section to see if there is any drilling activity (permits, spuds, completions) in that section, this is identified as  609  and  605 . Alternatively, if the query that is returned is not null, then the method proceeds to write to the output file. 
         [0063]    The information that is written to the output file is based on the user preferences in  320  (the color coding) and  802  (company name), the latitude and longitude coordinates specified in  502 - 505 , and the drilling type  805 . Based on  805 , the shape to be drawn is determined. In the case that a permit has been filed, then coordinates for a triangle are written to the output file (centered on  502 - 505 ). In the case that a well has been spuded, then coordinates for a half circle are written to the output file (centered on  502 - 505 ). In the case that well has been completed, then coordinates for a circle are written to the output file (centered on  502 - 505 ). Colors are also written based on the user preferences in  320 , the company name  802 , as designated by the styles written in  603 . The writing of the polygons to the output files is all conducted in  608 . 
         [0064]    In the event that there are multiple types of drilling activity being conducted in a particular section, the method in  608  writes a time stamp based on  803 , so that if a time lag feature is available in the GIS viewer, then the viewer will know when to display the polygons of interest. As shown indicated by  607  and  609 , each record of drilling information is looped through for a particular section, until the end of the recordset is reached. 
         [0065]    Based on the processes identified in  605 ,  606 ,  607 ,  608 ,  609 , and  610 , each drilling record in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest” should be cycled through, enabling this information to be written to an output file. Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  610 , then the output file is closed, and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0066]    An example of how the output file is viewed in a GIS application can be seen in  FIG. 9 . As shown in  901 , a completion is signified by a full circle, because the circle is gray it means that a user did not select this company for a specific floor in  320 . As shown in  902 , an intent to drill (or permit) is displayed as a small triangle, because this triangle is yellow, it means that a user selected this company in  320 . As shown in  903 , a spuded well is displayed as a half circle, because this half circle is yellow, it means that a user selected this company in  320 . 
         [0067]    Drilling Completions Output File 
         [0068]    This output file/process is described in  FIG. 10 , and is initiated by a user clicking  331 . This output file is the “Drilling Completions” output file, and is designed to output information regarding the attractiveness of drilling completions. When read by a GIS viewer, this output file should generate a series of vertical bars, corresponding to the initial production filed in a completion report. The higher the vertical bar, the more attractive the completion, the lower the vertical bar, the less attractive the completion. Vertical bars are comprised of red and green regions, the red region signifies gas production, the green region signifies oil production. The bars are designed to be comparable to one another on a British thermal unit (Btu) equivalent basis. An example of what the output looks like when viewed by a GIS viewer can be seen in  FIG. 11 , where  1101  points to a particular completion (red bar), whose height is determined by initial production rates. 
         [0069]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  1001 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what it is reading. The drilling completions will be displayed as distinct vertical bars, the formats of these bars are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of vertical bars are available to it (in this case red and green). The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  1003 . 
         [0070]    As shown in  1004 , a recordset is selected from  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” and check whether there are completions that section by querying the data structure related to “Drilling Data” in  FIG. 8 , and seeing whether for any records from  FIG. 8  if  805  is a “completion”. The querying of Drilling Data is designated as  1006 . If this query is null, that is, if it is at the end of its recordset, then the method proceeds to move on to the next section to see if there are any completions, this is identified as  1009  and  1005 . Alternatively, if the query that is returned is not null, then the method proceeds to write to the output file. 
         [0071]    The information that is written to the output file is based the latitude and longitude coordinates specified in  502 - 505 , the drilling type  805  (in this case completion), and the initial production volumes identified in  807  and  808 . Coordinates from  502 - 505 , are written to the output file, so that the location of the section of the completion can be identified, the height of the vertical completion bar is designated by the values of  807  and  808 , the larger these values, the greater the height of the bar. The writing of the vertical completion bars to the output files is all conducted in  1008 . 
         [0072]    In the event that there are multiple completions in a particular section, the method in  1008 , writes a time stamp based on  803 , so that if a time lag feature is available in the GIS viewer, then the viewer will know when to display the polygons of interest. As shown indicated by  1007  and  1009 , each record of drilling information is looped through for a particular section, until the end of the recordset is reached. Because the exact coordinates of the completion may not be known, this method writes coordinates to the output file, such that the completion should appear in the center of the section. In the case that there are multiple completions, not only will they be time stamped, but they well be spaced across a section. 
         [0073]    Based on the processes identified in  1005 - 1010 , each completion record in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest” should be cycled through, enabling this information to be written to an output file. Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  1010 , then the output file is closed, and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0074]    Open Acreage Output File 
         [0075]    This output file/process is shown in  FIG. 12 , and is initiated by a user clicking  332 . This output file is the “Open Acreage” output file, and is designed to output information regarding whether acreage might be available to be newly leased. When read by a GIS viewer (as can be seen in  FIG. 13 ), this output file should generate a series pink polygons (indicated by  1301 ,  1302 , and  1303 ), which signify that a section of acreage may have unleased acres. Additionally, green polygons are generated to represent previously leased acreage that has expired. Pink polygons vary in size depending on the amount of leased acreage. The largest pink polygon signifies that no acreage has been leased  1301 , the medium polygon signifies that some acreage has been leased  1302 , and the smallest polygon signifies that all acreage may be leased  1303 . 
         [0076]    As shown in  FIG. 12 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  1201 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The open acreage will be displayed as distinct pink polygons. The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  1203 . 
         [0077]    As shown in  1204 , a temporary table (Temp 1 ) is generated from the data in  FIG. 5 , this table is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest, and has an identical data structure as shown in  FIG. 5 . Records are deleted from Temp 1 , based on whether there has been recent pooling activity (the is section is also in  FIG. 14 ,  1402 ), or whether there has been recent drilling activity (the section is in  801 ). These processes are identified as  1205  and  1206 , respectively. 
         [0078]    As shown in  1207 , and additional temporary table is generated, but this one is from  FIG. 15 . This temporary table (Temp 2 ), has the same data structure as  FIG. 15 . From this table, all records are deleted for which production has not occurred in the last two years as designated by  1504 , this is represented by  1208 . 
         [0079]    Now that both Temp 1  and Temp 2  have been generated, all records from Temp 1  are deleted for which a section in Temp 1  exists in Temp 2  ( 1503  is also in  501 ), this is represented by  1209 . What this achieves is that all sections for which no production has occurred in the last two years are deleted from Temp 1 . 
         [0080]    Selecting all records from Temp 1  enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” which have met the requirements to be open acreage; that is no pooling activity, no drilling activity, and no production in the last two years. The method proceeds to write to latitude and longitude coordinates to the output file and polygon styles, as signified in  1212 . Additionally, because Temp 1  has been joined with the data in  FIG. 16 , leasing information can be incorporated into the “Open Acreage” information. Depending on the amount of leasing done in a section, the size of the outputted pink polygon may vary. Acreage that appears to be fully leased is designated with a small pink square, acreage that is partially leased is designated with a medium pink square, and acreage that is open is designated with a full pink square (indicated by  1303 ,  1302 , and  1301  respectively). Once these polygons are written, the method selects all leases which are unexpired for a particular section from the data in  FIG. 16  ( 1213 ), then timestamps green polygons ( 1215 ) which are drawn to represent acreage becoming open after leases expire  1304 . Once we have moved through all unexpired leases in a particular section  1216 , we then move to the next open acreage section/record  1211  and cycle through all records which have been identified as open acreage, until the end of the recordset is reached  1217 . Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through, then the output file is closed, and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0081]    Well Info Output File 
         [0082]    This output file/process is described as shown in  FIG. 17 , and is initiated by a user clicking  333 . This output file is the “Well Info” output file, and is designed to output information regarding well information. When read by a GIS viewer, this output file should generate a series of placemarks, which contain information regarding operator name, API number, gas production, oil production, well depth, formation, date production start, date production stop. Additionally, the placemark colors can be shaded depending on the date of production stopping. An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS viewer can be seen in  FIG. 18 , with an example of detailed well information being displayed in  1801 . 
         [0083]    As shown in  FIG. 17 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  1701 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what it is reading. The well information will be displayed as distinct placemarks, the formats of these placemarks are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of placemarks are available to it (in this case red for active wells and blue for inactive). The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  1703 . 
         [0084]    As shown in  1704 , a recordset is selected from  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest and production information. Selecting all sections and wells in an area of interest enables the method to loop through each of ns in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest.” Once the recordset has been created, as represented by  1704 , this method then checks whether the end of the recordset has been reached. If the end of the recordset has not been reached, the method utilizes the information in the recordset (same data structures as in  FIGS. 5 and 15 ) to write to an output file, such that this information can then be represented in a GIS viewer, utilizing the well information and latitude and longitude coordinates from  FIGS. 5 and 15 . The process of checking whether the end of the recordset has been reached, the writing of information to the output file, and moving to the next record is represented by  1708 ,  1707 , and  1706 . 
         [0085]    Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  1708 , then the output file is closed  1709 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0086]    Vertical Well Production Bar Output File 
         [0087]    This output file/process is described in  FIG. 19 , and is initiated by a user clicking on  334 . This output file is the “Vertical Well Production Bar” output file, and is designed to output information regarding well volume information. When read by a GIS viewer, this output file should generate a series of vertical bars, corresponding to the last month production volume. The higher the vertical bar, the more attractive the completion, the lower the vertical bar, the less attractive the completion. Vertical bars are comprised of red and green regions, the red region signifies gas production, the green region signifies oil production. The bars are designed to be comparable to one another on a Btu equivalent basis. An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS viewer, can be seen in  FIG. 20 , in this case  2001  is pointing to a particular well with gas (red bar) production. 
         [0088]    As shown in  FIG. 19 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  1901 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The production volumes will be displayed as distinct vertical bars, the formats of these bars are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of vertical bars are available to it (in this case red and green). The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  1903 . 
         [0089]    As shown in  1904 , a recordset is selected from  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest and wells from a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections and wells in an area of interest enables the method to loop through each well in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest.” Once the recordset has been created, as represented by  1904 , this method then checks whether the end of the recordset has been reached  1907 . If the end of the recordset has not been reached, the method utilizes the information in the recordset (same data structures as  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15 ) to write to an output file, such that this information can then be represented in a GIS viewer. The information written in  1906 , is from the recordset which contains data in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15 ,  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15  contain information on latitude, longitude, gas production, and liquid production. This enables a GIS viewer to accurately reflect the production volumes of wells. The process of checking whether the end of the recordset has been reached, the writing of information to the output file, and moving to the next record is represented by  1908 ,  1907 , and  1906 . 
         [0090]    Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  1906 , then the output file is closed  1908 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0091]    Land Activity Output File 
         [0092]    This process is initiated by a user clicking on  335 . As shown in  FIG. 21 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  2101 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The land activity will be displayed as distinct polygons (representing pooling), the formats of these polygons are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of polygons are available to it. For the case of the “Land Activity” file, the colors that will be used are the company color codes that the user has identified in  320 . Any information that is output will be based off of these user preferences. In the event that activity occurs without a designated color to map to, the polygon is shaded gray. An example of the output being viewed in a GIS viewer in  FIG. 22  shows the land activity polygons. As shown by  2201 , pooling/land activity is represented by polygons of various colors. 
         [0093]    As shown in  2104 , a recordset is selected from the data of  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” and check whether there is any activity in that section by querying “Pooling Data” shown in  FIG. 14 . The querying of the pooling data of  FIG. 14  is designated as  2106 . If this query is null, that is, if it is at the end of its recordset, then the method proceeds to move on to the next section to see if there is any pooling activity in that section, this is identified as  2109  and  2105 . Alternatively, if the query that is returned is not null, then the method proceeds to write to the output file. 
         [0094]    The information that is written to the output file is based on the user preferences in  320  (the color coding) and  1403  (company name), the latitude and longitude coordinates specified in  502 - 505 . In the case that a pooling document has been filed, then coordinates for square is written to the output file (centered on  502 - 505 ). Colors are also written based on the user preferences in  320 , the company name  1403 , as designated by the styles written in  2103 . The writing of the polygons to the output files is all conducted in  2108 . 
         [0095]    In the event that there are multiple pooling documents filed in a particular section, the method in  2108 , writes a time stamp based on  1404 , so that if a time lag feature is available in the GIS viewer, then the viewer will know when to display the polygons of interest. As shown indicated by  2107  and  2109 , each record of land information is looped through for a particular section, until the end of the recordset is reached. 
         [0096]    Based on the processes identified in  2105 - 2110 , each land record in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest” should be cycled through, enabling this information to be written to an output file. Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  2110 , then the output file is closed  2111 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0097]    Vertical Section Production Bar Output File 
         [0098]    This output file/process is described in  FIG. 23 , and is initiated by  336 . This output file is the “Vertical Section Production Bar” output file, and is designed to output information regarding cumulative section production information. When read by a GIS viewer, this output file should generate a series of vertical bars, corresponding to the cumulative production in a particular section. The higher the vertical bar, the more production, the lower the vertical bar, the less the production. Vertical bars are comprised of red and green regions, the red region signifies gas production, the green region signifies oil production. The bars are designed to be comparable to one another on a Btu equivalent basis. An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS viewer can be seen in  FIG. 24 . In this example  2401  is a section with oil (green) production. 
         [0099]    As shown in  FIG. 23 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  2301 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what it is reading. The production volumes will be displayed as distinct vertical bars, the formats of these bars are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of vertical bars are available to it (in this case red and green). The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  2303 . 
         [0100]    As shown in  2304 , a recordset is selected from  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections in an area of interest enables the method to cycle through each section. Once the recordset has been created, as represented by  2304 , this method then checks whether the end of the recordset has been reached  2307 . If the end of the recordset has not been reached, the method utilizes the information in the recordset (same data structures as in  FIG. 5 ) to query the production data to aggregate cumulative production information for the section from  FIG. 15 , as represented by  2306 . Information from  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 15  are then written to an output file, such that this information can then be represented in a GIS viewer. The information written in  2303 , is from the recordset which contains data from  FIGS. 5 and 15 ,  FIGS. 5 and 15  contain information on latitude, longitude, gas production, and liquid production. This enables a GIS viewer to accurately reflect the production volumes of wells. The process of checking whether the end of the recordset has been reached, the writing of information to the output file, and moving to the next record is represented by  2305 ,  2307 , and  2306 . 
         [0101]    Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  2307 , then the output file is closed  2308 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0102]    Land Boundary Output File 
         [0103]    This process is initiated by a user clicking on  337 . As shown in  FIG. 25 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  2501 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The land boundaries will be displayed as distinct polygons, the formats of these polygons are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of polygons are available to it. For the case of the “Land Boundary” file, the interiors of the polygons will be transparent, and the borders of the polygons will be white (for sections) and yellow (for townships). An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS editor can be seen in  FIG. 26 . In this example  2601  signifies a section (transparent polygon, white border), and  2602  signifies a township (transparent polygon, yellow border). 
         [0104]    As shown in  2504 , a recordset is selected from the data in  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” and write section latitude and longitude coordinates  2506 . The looping continues until all of the sections in a user&#39;s area of interest have been exhausted, and the end of the recordset has been reached  2507 . 
         [0105]    After all the section&#39;s in a user&#39;s area of interest have been written to an output file, the township and range polygons are then written to the output file. To undertake this process township and range information is selected from a user&#39;s area of interest by selecting a recordset from  FIG. 5 , such that the section portion of  501  is left out, and the latitude and longitude information is aggregated. Information is then written to the output file, such that township&#39;s can be displayed when it is read by a GIS viewer. In order to cycle through all township&#39;s in a user&#39;s area of interest the process in  2509 ,  2510 , and  2511  is undertaken, until all township&#39;s in a user&#39;s are of interest have been cycled through. 
         [0106]    Once this task is completed, after all sections and townships have been cycled through ( 2507  and  2511 ), then the output file is closed  2512 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0107]    Section Info Output File 
         [0108]    This output file/process is described in  FIG. 27 , and initiated by a user clicking on  338 . This output file is the “Section Info” output file, and is designed to output information regarding production information, pooling information, drilling information, and leasing information. When read by a GIS viewer, this output file should generate a series of placemarks corresponding to sections, which contain information regarding aggregate production by formation, pooling records, and drilling records. An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS viewer is  FIG. 28 , where  2801  is an example of detailed section information being displayed. 
         [0109]    As shown in  FIG. 27 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  2701 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what it is reading. The section information will be displayed as distinct placemarks, the formats of these placemarks are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of placemarks are available to it. The writing of styles to the output file is signified by  2703 . 
         [0110]    As shown in  2704 , a recordset is selected from the data in  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections in an area of interest enables the method to loop through each section in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest.” Once the recordset has been created, as represented by  2704 , this method then checks whether the end of the recordset has been reached. If the end of the recordset has not been reached, the method utilizes the information in the recordset (same data structures as in  FIG. 5 ) to write to an output file information regarding aggregate production information, which is queried from D 1 . Then the method proceeds to check whether and pooling and spacing documents have been filed in the section by selecting a recordsets from  FIG. 14  and  FIG. 29 . Through the process described in  2708 ,  2709 , and  2710 , the method writes all pooling and spacing documents to the output file which are related to a given section. Then the method proceeds to check whether any drilling documents have been filed in the section by selecting a recordset from  FIG. 14 . Through the process described in  2712 ,  2713 , and  2714 , the method writes all drilling documents to the output file which are related to a given section. Then the method proceeds to check whether any leasing documents have been filed in the section by selecting a recordset from  FIG. 16 . Through the process described in  2718 ,  2719 , and  2720 , the method writes all leasing documents to the output file which are related to a given section. 
         [0111]    Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through  2715 , then the output file is closed  2716 , and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0112]    Not Held by Production (Non-HBP) Output File 
         [0113]    This process is initiated by a user clicking on  338 . As shown in  FIG. 30 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  3001 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The Non-HBP sections will be displayed as distinct polygons, the formats of these polygons are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of polygons are available to it. For the case of the “Non-HBP” file, the formats are written for transparent polygons, with orange borders. A section identified as Non-HBP (Not Held By Production) indicates that all wells in a particular section have stopped production, and that a well in that particular section is not plugged. An example of the output, when viewed by a GIS viewer, can be seen in  FIG. 31 , with  3101  being a Non-HBP section. 
         [0114]    As shown in  3004 , the contents of  FIG. 32  are deleted, and the data of  FIG. 15  is inserted into the data of  FIG. 32  such that only records in  FIG. 15  that are in a user&#39;s area of interest in  FIG. 5  exist in  FIG. 32 . At this point the data of  FIG. 32  consists of all the wells in a user&#39;s area of interest. As shown in  3005 , a recordset is selected such that the date of last production of all wells in a section is identified. Once this recordset is identified, all sections with production in the last 2 years are deleted from  FIG. 32  ( 3006 ). Then all wells in  FIG. 32  that are plugged (as determined by data in  FIG. 33 ) are deleted from  FIG. 32 . The resultant data structure contains wells in sections with no production in the last 2 years, and which are not plugged. 
         [0115]    As shown in  3008 , a recordset is selected from the data in  FIG. 32 , this recordset is comprised of all Non-HBP sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the section. Through the method represented by  3009 ,  3010 , and  3011 , non-HBP sections are written to a user&#39;s output file when they are in a user&#39;s area of interest as represented by  3011 . The recordset in  3011  also contains latitude and longitude information from  FIG. 5 , to enable an accurate geographic representation when viewed by a GIS application. 
         [0116]    The method continues to cycle through all Non-HBP sections until the end of the recordset is reached ( 3010 ). Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through ( 3009 ), then the output file is closed ( 3012 ), and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0117]    Leasing Activity Output File 
         [0118]    This process is initiated by a user clicking on  339 . As shown in  FIG. 34 , the first step identified in this method is to open an output file for editing  3401 . Once the editable file is open, file headers are then written into the file, this enables GIS software to properly identify what is reading. The leasing activity will be displayed as distinct polygons, the formats of these polygons are written to the output file so that the GIS software will know what colors and styles of polygons are available to it. For the case of the “Leasing Activity” file, the colors that will be used are the company color codes that the user has identified in  320 . Any information that is output will be based off of these user preferences. In the event that activity occurs without a designated color to map to, the polygon is shaded gray. An example of the output being viewed in a GIS viewer in  FIG. 35  shows the leasing activity polygons. As shown by  3501 , pooling/land activity is represented by polygons of various colors. 
         [0119]    As shown in  3404 , a recordset is selected from the data of  FIG. 5 , this recordset is comprised of all sections in a user&#39;s area of interest. Selecting all sections enables the method to loop through each of the sections in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest,” and check whether there is any activity in that section by querying “Leasing Data” in  FIG. 16 . The querying of the data of  FIG. 16  is designated as  3406 . If this query is null, that is, if it is at the end of its recordset, then the method proceeds to move on to the next section to see if there is any pooling activity in that section, this is identified as  3409  and  3405 . Alternatively, if the query that is returned is not null, then the method proceeds to write to the output file. 
         [0120]    The information that is written to the output file is based on the user preferences in F 1 - 13  (the color coding) and D 7 - 3  (company name/grantee), the latitude and longitude coordinates specified in D 2 - 2 , D 2 - 3 , D 2 - 4 , D 2 - 5 . In the case that a leasing document has been made of record, then coordinates for square is written to the output file (centered on D 2 - 2 , D 2 - 3 , D 2 - 4 , D 2 - 5 ). Colors are also written based on the user preferences in F 1 - 13 , the company name D 7 - 3 , as designated by the styles written in  1203 . The writing of the polygons to the output files is all conducted in  1208 . 
         [0121]    In the event that there are multiple leases made of record in a particular section, the method in  3408 , writes a time stamp based on  1604 , so that if a time lag feature is available in the GIS viewer, then the viewer will know when to display the polygons of interest. As shown indicated by  3407  and  3409 , each record of leasing information is looped through for a particular section, until the end of the recordset is reached. 
         [0122]    Based on the processes identified in  3405 ,  3406 ,  3407 ,  3408 ,  3409 , and  3410 , each leasing record in a user&#39;s “Area of Interest” should be cycled through, enabling this information to be written to an output file. Once this task is completed, after all sections have been cycled through ( 3410 ), then the output file is closed ( 3411 ), and ready to be viewed by a commercially available GIS viewer. 
         [0123]    Overlays 
         [0124]    One of the primary benefits of this method is that each individual type of data is represented by an “overlay,” enabling a user to view the aspects of data they are interested in. For example someone interested in drilling and leasing data, only needs to overlay Drilling Activity (generated as shown in  FIG. 6 ), Drilling Completions (generated as shown in  FIG. 10 ), Section Info (generated as shown in  FIG. 27 ), and Leasing Activity (generated as shown in  FIG. 34 ). There are multiple permutations and combinations that may be relevant to a user. The process described here is applicable to all permutations and combinations of the previously mentioned overlays. One example of an overlay is shown in  FIG. 1 , here the “Land Boundary,” “LandActivity,” “Vertical Well Production Bars” are all overlaid. 
         [0125]    As can be seen from the above discussion, the embodiments provide a system, method, and displays for an area of interest which is selected by a user using an input device connected to a computer. The user selects an area of interest, companies, and a type of information related to oil and gas by marking, clicking, selecting, or otherwise from an interface having selectable text, buttons or input regions. The area of interest selected by the user refers to, for example, a county or area for which the user desires to generate an output file which can be input into a geographic information system. The user makes selections using the input device of a particular color to represent each of a plurality of companies. Based on the selected area of interest, section information and latitude and longitude information are obtained and stored in a storage in the computer. The user selects a type of an output file to generate based on the type of oil and gas related information desired which may include a drilling activity output file, a drilling completion output file, an open acreage output file, a well information output file, a vertical well production output file, a leasing activity output file, a land activity output file, a section production bar output file, a land boundary output file, a section information output file, and a not held by production output file. Information based on the selected type of output file is then stored in the storage in the computer. An output file is generated based on the selected area of interest, companies, and the type of information desired. The output file may be a Keyhole Markup Language file (KML), KMZ file, or any other type of output file readable by a geographic information system or other system for displaying geographic related information. The output file is input into the geographic information system and a corresponding overlay related to oil and gas information is displayed in the area of interest on a two-dimensional, quasi-two dimensional, or three-dimensional map using the geographic information system. 
         [0126]    The embodiments provide a system, method, and displays which integrate public, third party, and proprietary data which, as an example, may be related to the state of Oklahoma and the laws governed by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the government entity responsible for oil &amp; gas exploration and production for Oklahoma. However, the embodiments may be modified to integrate information from any state government entity such as the State of Arkansas Oil &amp; Gas Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Louisiana Office of Conservation, etc. Thus, the data may be from any government entity, any third party source, any proprietary source, and may be related to exploration, production, and pipelines from any state. 
         [0127]    The system of  FIG. 2  also includes permanent or removable storage, such as magnetic and optical discs, RAM, ROM, etc. on which the process and data structures of the embodiments can be stored and distributed. The processes can also be distributed via, for example, downloading over a network such as the Internet. 
         [0128]    The many features and advantages of the embodiments are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the embodiments that fall within the true spirit and scope of the embodiments. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the embodiments to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the embodiments.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6