| Petroleum Industry Appreciates Value
Digital cartographic data provides users with ease-of-use and cost efficiencies
By Doug Lierle A prominent Denver-based seismic data brokerage company is preparing for intense competition in the 21st century by securing an arsenal of high tech tools that may fuel a rise to the top position in the business.
American Geophysical Corporation (AGC) is enhancing its competitive edge by utilizing customized digital cartographic data in conjunction with integrated database management, mapping, and analysis software.
Founded in 1983, AGC continues to expand into the Texas, Gulf Coast, mid-continent, and Alaska markets. The firm is the only active brokerage company in both California and Wyoming, offering a complete range of 2D and 3D seismic data marketing, storage management, and accounting services.
AGC currently has a total of three storage vaults in Denver and Casper, Wyoming, and routinely coordinates with many major storage facilities throughout the U.S. Operating from offices in Colorado, California, Wyoming, and Texas (including Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and Tyler), AGC services over eighty "prime" marketing and storage accounts, including Texaco, Conoco, Union Pacific Resources, and Marathon Oil Company. The company's use of technologically advanced tools is critical to efficient data management, customer service, and the development of accurate maps in a quick, cost-effective manner.
"We essentially act as a liaison between two oil companies, providing a service similar to the real estate industry's Multiple Listing Service," says Catherine E. Wittrock, president and CEO of AGC. "One of our primary functions is to continually update composite maps for our clients. To do so more effectively, we are beginning to utilize digital cartographic data acquired from WhiteStar Corporation in conjunction with the GeoGraphix Exploration System (GES), a state-of-the-art database management, mapping, and analysis system.
"Prior to these advanced tools, our maps were all painstakingly hand-drafted," she continued. "Today, using digital data from WhiteStar, we are able to make corrections and changes to the maps quickly and easily. And because GES includes an attached database, we will be able to include a wealth of information with each seismic line."
American Geophysical uses WhiteStar's 1:100,000 scale Public Land survey for the Rockies and the company's Enhanced Culture Database. At AGC's request, WhiteStar customizes the digital data to suit specific needs or desires, such as removing un-named water bodies.
"We can not be competitive in the future without this technology and digital information," says Penny A. Newman, financial manager and corporate secretary for AGC. "Service to our clients has been enhanced considerably, and our communication skills have significantly improved. Using digital data and GES also saves time and reduces staff requirements. The key is having all the data in the computer. We can continuously update the information because we now have one seamless database, and WhiteStar's data is the most cost-effective solution to our data requirements."
WhiteStar's Public Land survey is a digital file of the Congressional Survey System, used for spotting wells in much of the U.S. The company offers four different products at a variety of scales, including the BLM 1:24,000 grid, and the USGS 1:100,000 scale. The Public Lands Survey can be integrated with other WhiteStar products, and all databases are compatible with the GeoGraphix LeaseMap software module.
WhiteStar's Enhanced Culture Database incorporates data from numerous sources to produce a comprehensive, cartographic county database with such details as city boundaries, county boundaries, roads, railroads, hydrology, and miscellaneous transportation features like airports, pipelines, and power lines.
WhiteStar also offers a Texas Land Survey and Digitized Contours, including edge-matched Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with a user defined coordinate system.
Brand new products include the CartoBase¨ Gulf of Mexico Digital Database, a compilation of data from the Mineral Management Service, the Texas Railroad Commission, the USGS, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bathymetry data sets, including custom digitized maps.
WhiteStar's new CartoBase Statewide Culture Digital Database is designed to assist with infrastructure planning, oil and gas exploration, pipeline system inventory, plus many other applications. This statewide culture includes multiple and current 1:100,000 scale data sources; city and county boundaries as closed polygons; plus major roads, water, and railroads. A Vivid Picture
WhiteStar's digital cartographic data is assisting oil and gas companies and consulting firms across the country in dramatic fashion. For example: at Relucent Exploration Technologies, Inc., of Burleson, Texas, company President Sam Reeves is using WhiteStar's digitized Texas Railroad Commission data to achieve extraordinary results.
"We measure the relucent effect of hydrocarbon molecules flowing out of the ground over oil and gas fields," says Reeves. "Using WhiteStar's data, we recently completed a comprehensive prospect development study on a 3.4 million-acre area in west Texas. Digital data helped paint a very vivid picture of this vast region, and it was completed quickly and efficiently. WhiteStar's data helps create a very descriptive, clear presentation for our oil exploration clients."
At Taurus Exploration, Inc., of Birmingham, Alabama, Ken Carnes, the company's petroleum technology specialist, has been using WhiteStar's land grid and contours for nearly five years.
"We are producing land, lease, and geologic maps for exploration and exploitation purposes," says Carnes. "WhiteStar's data helps us effectively develop prospects in New Mexico, south and west Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, North Dakota, and off shore in the Gulf Coast. We can create instant base maps with a high degree of accuracy, saving a great deal of time and money in the process. The data integrated perfectly with our existing database. It's a great tool." Back |
