Contact email:mailto:ian.lang@hls.co.ukand website: http://www.assistum.com/
Date: 1st September 2000
Press Release
ASSISTUM
software used in drive to increase the value of UK Oil & Gas reserves
by £1 billion
A UK Government-backed initiative to increase the value
of declining North Sea oil and gas reserves by £1billion is focusing on
collaboration and the sharing of best practice throughout the industry.
One of the key projects that emerged
was the development of a best-practice methodology to increase the value
of development wells.
Assistum’s knowledge management tools were chosen to help in the development, and as a result of a successful prototype, Assistum was asked to complete a full production version of the decision model, Well Decision Navigator. Work has now begun, using Microsoft VBA for customisation and integration with the Intranet systems of companies involved in the scheme.
The prototype had to be developed rapidly and at low cost. Assistum was approached because its knowledge management tools create an ideal framework for managing the questions which the group had defined, and has the ability to capture and store knowledge for sharing throughout the industry.
The
advantages in using ASSISTUM was
that it was easy to use, and was backed by developers flexible enough to
further enhance and customise the product to meet the needs of the application,
and it was able to create the
prototype decision model that would ensure all the right questions are asked
in the early stages of planning wells.
The
project is being managed for LOGIC
by Edinburgh-based decision analysis and knowledge capture specialist TMX
Limited.
ASSISTUM model enhancements
and VBA extensions are being subcontracted to Assistum Limited.
Steve Brady of Conoco, Co-Chairman of the Steering Group, says that his company is already benefiting from valuable insights gained from the demonstration version.
Well
Decision Navigator
The
decision model aims to increase the value of oil and gas development wells
by ensuring that all the right questions are asked in the planning stage
through the involvement of all the right people. As new questions are identified
through evolving best-practice, then these will be added to the decision
model. In this way the industry expects to propagate higher quality design
decisions targeted at maximising the total lifetime value of an oil well.
The
aid incorporates the special facility of ASSISTUM to manage and structure
sets of key planning questions, as well as connecting with resources from
across the oil industry's supply chain through links to each other’s websites,
databases, and information on best practices.
The
prototype application includes a framework of over 100 questions focused
on well planning, and documents why various design decisions were made,
not just what was decided.
Since
June several workshops have been held, getting very positive feedback from
over 40 participants who could see some early business benefits.
Based
on this, the LOGIC team formed a Steering Group to decide whether, and how,
to convert the demonstration version to a full production version. In August, they agreed to go ahead and
raise the funds for this purpose.
ASSISTUM
versatile tools
“The application is
the largest and most comprehensive undertaken by ASSISTUM,” said Managing Director,
Ian Lang: “Our feedback is good because although it is very powerful
software, it is easy to use. Although
we developed ASSISTUM primarily for decision-making and knowledge management
in business, it is now proving a versatile tool adaptable to many different
situations and capable of large-scale use.”
About
ASSISTUM
Assistum
Limited is a privately funded software development company based in Liphook,
Hampshire. It creates and supports Assistum knowledge management tools,
now being used by many well-known UK and overseas blue-chip companies, to
help them improve their decision-making processes and optimise the value
of their knowledge assets. Clients also include
small companies, business consultants and solution providers, universities
and colleges, and technology companies.
Its
product range includes the Assistum Viewer and
the Assistum Knowledge Editor.
The
Assistum
Viewer allows
users to consult, either alone or in groups, knowledge bases relating to
the issues, relationships and sources of information needed to support a
business decision. When used in a decision-making process Assistum Viewer
points out any inconsistencies in the conclusions reached, but leaves the
user to make the final decision. The conclusions and reasons for them can
be documented for future review.
A number of off-the-shelf
knowledge bases are available. They cover areas such as: Innovation
capability, business strategy, pricing, outsourcing, and project prioritisation.
The
Assistum
Knowledge Editor
enables the easy creation and modification of customised knowledge bases.
It is invaluable to a learning organisation because it can easily capture
and store new insights for future use. Microsoft
VBA extensions enable the core Assistum functionality to be customised
to individual customer requirements and integrated with customers systems
including their Intranet.
The corporate decision-making framework encapsulated by Assistum can empower
employees close to the action to make instant decisions within that context.
Therefore, it speeds up decision-making, saves time and money, and improves
the quality of decisions and the commitment
to act on them.
The
Enterprise
Edition of the ASSISTUM Knowledge Editor, with Microsoft VBA
extensions costs
GBP 5,000 or USD 7,500 per user licence and includes a number of business
knowledge base templates.
CONTACTS
Originator of Press
Release: Ian Lang, Managing Director, Assistum Ltd
ASSISTUM:
Ian Lang
ian.lang@hls.co.uk
+44 (0)1428 722938
www.assistum.com
TMX:
Robert Johnson
R_Johnson@tmx.co.uk
+44 (0)131 4457528
www.tmx.co.uk
LOGIC:
Alistair Punt
alistair.punt@logic-oil.com
+44 (0)1224 853422
-ENDS