Accounting At the Property Level

Last week we noted the determination of profits in oil and gas was subject to different methodologies in terms of how the firms assets were depleted and hence earnings were reported. I suggested that producers had bloated balance sheets as a result of capitalizing all of the activities in the field. And this bloating was enhanced further by the slow process of depletion when using the reserve base as the method of depleting those assets. Overall this having the effect of over reporting profits for the industry. I also suggested that this was systemic, large and unreasonable. Today I want to continue with the accounting theme and look at the individual properties of the producer. And why the producer is unable to determine which properties are not producing a profit.

The main culprit is overhead. The producer has no ability to determine what the overhead of a property is. Many might consider this to be an immaterial amount, however, when you consider what the gross G&A of a producer is, you'll see that the amounts become material to the determination of the properties profitability. The other aspect is the amount is hidden and only recognized as an overhead allowance that is chargeable to the joint account. These allowances are too small to recognize the real costs associated with the overhead of the property. Therefore the property is over reporting their profits. And the majority of the G&A that is reported on the Income Statement is only the net, after capitalization of the majority of the overhead occurs.

If you look at most annual reports you will find a determination of the netback prices showing that the producer is providing positive margins on their operations. And they are. However you can also see that these calculations only include the costs of royalties and production costs. And they are averages. Included in those averages are a few properties that are wiping out all of the profits of the producer. If you include the actual gross overheads and a reasonable depletion based on, lets say the decline curve, you will find that not every property within the producers portfolio will continue to report a profit. This is only reasonable. It is People, Ideas & Objects suggestion through use of the Preliminary Specification that the producer shut-in those properties that are unable to produce a profit, based on an actual accounting of the properties costs.

This can’t be done with the current bureaucratic systems and procedures. They are using accounting policies that were designed in the 1960’s that were involved in the introduction of computers. They are stuck with allowances and estimates, accruals and a whole lotta fudge to make their systems work. To get an accurate accounting of the costs of the property would require them to reorganize the industry around different parameters. Much like what our decentralized production model does.

And the focus that we provide the producer brings two new elements in terms of increasing their profits. One is the focus on specialization and the division of labor. Two economic principles that have been responsible for all of the economic growth that we have realized since the 1790’s. The ability to focus on these principles does not currently exist due to the fact that each producer needs to build the administrative and accounting capabilities within their organizations. And there is no current opportunity for them to share in these capabilities with other producers. When each producer has to be Sarbanes Oxley compliant, each producer has to hire Sarbanes Oxley compliance people. Therefore the administrative and accounting requirements of the producer firm are a constraint and limit to the speed and capacity to grow. With the Preliminary Specifications development of an industry wide administrative and accounting capability, these speed and capacity to grow constraints are removed and the issues do not arise. By having a Sarbanes Oxley compliant service provider specializing in the legislation and providing their services across the industry.

The second element that we provide is for the producer to be a price maker in the oil and gas commodity markets. As we noted above, the ability to shut-in production at the property, when available across the industry will provide the following advantages.

• The producer actually increases their profitability by reducing their production. 
• Under the decentralized production model there will be no overhead incurred by the producer on shut-in production. Overhead becomes a variable cost based on production.
• The commodity prices will rise as there will be less product on the market. 
• And the overall cost to produce will remain lower due to the fact that you won't be adding the losses of the property as additional costs to be earned in the future. 

The fact that Exxon is borrowing money to fund their negative cash flow. And it is expected that $100 billion will be needed to fund the negative cash flow of the shale formations. People, Ideas & Objects rational story about determining profits and acting on the outcomes makes sense to me. The bureaucrats are too conflicted to be involved in our software developments. We eliminate them from the scene. And the investors are cutting and running. Looks to me like an industry that has to experience the phenomenon of creative destruction in order to make the changes to the Preliminary Specification.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Back To Our Priority and Focus

Our planned diversion away from our focus on the user community ended late last week when we realized that the oil and gas investor was too passive to involve themselves in People, Ideas & Objects. They are employing a cut and run strategy away from oil and gas and from the look of most stocks, who can blame them. One of our favorites, in that we mentioned them here late last year is Penn West Petroleum. They had the misfortune of having to restate their financials for a number of quarters based on the fact that they had previously capitalized royalties. Anyway, at the time their stock was as high as $10.19 last year with a market cap of approximately $5.1 billion. Last week the stock touched $1.30 with a market cap of $650 million. Thats a loss of $4.5 billion, or 88%. I have held to a principle in the stock market that if a company loses half of its value in an “event,” then that company can effectively be seen as dead. There is no return for a firm that has taken a hit of that calibre to its stock. The event that has hit Penn West of course is the decline in oil prices and there does not seem to be the resources or capabilities, as far as the market is concerned, for Penn West to survive. I wonder how many other half dead producers there are out there. It is clear to me that we are involved in a disintermediation of the oil and gas business based on the creative destruction of the current infrastructure.

Anyway our priority and our focus is the user community and its involvement in providing the oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. We need to refocus on this priority as this is our means of being involved in the development of our product the Preliminary Specification. If we had our budget in the bank today, our priority and focus would be on the development of the user community and therefore we are not wasting any time now as a result of being unable to fund our budget. The ability of our message to be broadcast across the industry exists due to the capabilities of the Internet. And the ability of like minded people to communicate and collaborate exists when our budget funding does come into play. For now spreading the word and thinking about how the Preliminary Specification impacts your areas of the oil and gas industry are things that we can and should be doing. This gives us the time to be creative and put some energy, and the necessary quality of time that is needed for a high quality user community based product to be developed. Rebuilding the industry from the ruins that are starting to show, and as noted above, is very exciting from this side of the fence.

Most producers are now starting to make cuts to their staff. Such that staff were the problem that caused the profitability issues the producers are facing. We have been hounding the producers for over a decade about the work that we are doing here. Trust me the failure of the industry is the bureaucrats fault. They have provided less value to their shareholders than if the investors had put their money in the commodity markets. A sad commentary on the performance of the industry over the past ten to fifteen years. Those that are being let go from the producers should find hope that they can be seen as valuable again by joining this community and being part of this revolution. Thats a good word for what we are doing here.

To have the Preliminary Specification operating in the oil and gas industry would provide a lot of value for everyone involved. Those that participate in the user community are the main benefactors and will hold a special seat in the way that the revitalized oil and gas industry operates. Through our user community vision it is the user who has control of the business model that is contained within the software that operates the industry. If there is need for a change in the business model it is the user community that has the power to make those changes. It won’t need to ask anyone for permission or consent. And the user community will have the software development capabilities of People, Ideas & Objects available to implement those changes when they are required. This is a new way of running an industry. One that if you read the current business literature, is becoming somewhat the prototypical organization of the future.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

A Revelation in how our Budget is Funded

A few days ago we asked if we could afford failure. Failure in the oil and gas industry itself. Now I want to ask it in terms of People, Ideas & Objects and the development of the Preliminary Specification. Clearly we are engaged in a battle with the powers that be, the bureaucracy who hold little regard for us. And that makes our task difficult in terms of succeeding when you are in a protracted battle with your customer. However, our appeal, based on our value proposition, has been to address our message to those that are directly affected by the difficulties in the industry, the oil and gas investor. And it is here that we have specifically addressed 386 blog posts. The time has come to evaluate that approach, and ask if its reasonable at this point to assess this as a failure. Clearly the investor, and board of directors who represent them, are too detached from their investment in order to make any fundamental change. It is for them a passive investment. It is therefore fair to assume that our appeals have fallen on deaf ears. Our ability to cobble together a coalition of like minds in this area and fund our budget is a non-starter. And we need an alternative means in order to address our budget needs.

What we have is a value proposition that is in the trillions of dollars. What is needed to achieve this value is the software necessary to identify and support the organization to realize that value. Our budget is the key to establishing that organization. The organization consisting of People, Ideas & Objects, our user community and the service providers. These service providers will have the $40 to 60 billion in overhead that is incurred by the industry today, as the source of their revenue stream for tomorrow. Identified and controlled by the software that they participate in developing. The oil and gas industry generates several trillion per year in terms of its revenues with North America being a large subset of that.

How does disintermediation work? We certainly have identified the needs of the user community and service providers as necessary to make up the changes within the industry. Changes to enable the Preliminary Specification. However is that enough change in order to ensure that society's energy needs are met in the long term? Certainly we have identified the bureaucracy as a redundant form of organization within the People, Ideas & Objects ecosystem. However, is it appropriate to ask if the passive investor model of ownership of the oil and gas industry is also past its usable life? If they too are uninterested in the long term of their investment. And are willingly walking away from those investments. Who are we to argue?

What we therefore need to do is to identify new candidates for interested parties willing to disintermediate the oil and gas industry. In other industries that have been disintermediated the shareholders and directors of the “old” industries did stand by and watched as their investments were fundamentally destroyed. This is the model that fits in every example that I can see. The value of Apple has assumed the value of the industries that they disintermediated. Where are the shareholders in those “old” businesses and industries today?

Which leads us to the logical conclusion that we have for who we can approach to fund the disintermediation of the oil and gas industry. We can not only provide them with the upside in terms of our value proposition. A means in which to operate the industry in the most innovative, dynamic, profitable and successful manner. But also the disintermediation of the existing producers revenue stream which are being willingly given up by the investors and shareholders of the current producers. Who are the natural candidates for this approach? Two off the top of my head are Apple and Oracle.

So here is the revised plan for our development. We are sticking with the January 2017 software development start date. And user community developments are our priority for the period of time up to that point and always. However we will be actively looking to people who are interested in disintermediating the industry as sources for our budget. Passive investment is something that came into play when the merchant organizations became too big to manage by the founder. Disintermediation is a means of exercising the value away from the uninterested passive investors.

What disintermediation has proven time and again is that Information Technology is disrupting current business models. Its only now that I am realizing that one fundamental business model that is being disrupted is the passive investor model. Action is the last thing that comes to the mind of the investor in terms of what to do with their poor performing stock. The first thing they do is sell it. The trick will be not to hold any oil and gas stocks when the pain is realized in the marketplace. Not to involve yourself in fixing things. Therefore our plan will be implemented immediately with a return to our focus on the development of our user community come Monday. Over time we will figure out the funding requirements and ensure that society's energy needs are met in the long term.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

My Oil and Gas Overvalued Hypothesis

The book value of a firms assets are not particularly relevant to the day to day operation of the business. Particularly when the business is a public company with shares traded on an exchange. The market value of those shares will provide the real value of the company based on the markets perception of its value. The book value is what concerns the accountants and is of relatively little concern other than it has significant impact on the firms profitability. And that is determined in the matter of how the assets of the firm are depreciated or depleted in the oil and gas industries case. It is my hypothesis that the oil and gas industry is carrying excessive asset values on their books. These are a result of the SEC’s requirements to follow either successful efforts or full cost accounting requirements in the determination of those assets. This overvaluation of assets. Which I suggest is systemic, large and unreasonable. Leads to material overstatement of profits in the reporting of producers earnings. These are the differences between what I claim the industry, on a wholesale basis, is losing money, vs. the average producer continuing to report earnings in this low commodity price environment.

If producers were to recognize a reasonable depletion of their capital costs. A method that is closer to what a traditional business would use. Their depletion expense for each year would be higher than what is currently reported. By assigning all of the costs involved in the producers capital costs to the asset base of the producer, this inflates the assets on the high side. Traditional businesses who are involved in elements of research are required to expense all research expenses incurred in the current period. Any unsuccessful operations would also be expensed in the current period, however that is not the case in oil and gas. The other aspect of oil and gas capital costs that causes them to bloat the balance sheet and over report earnings is the fact that the capital costs are deducted across the reserves base. In many cases the reserves base is continually expanded from year to year. And the reserve life index of the firm in most cases exceeds a decade. Leaving the situation where most producers are deducting far less than 10% of their assets within a reporting year. This seems inconsistent when the costs to maintain that reserve base and deliverability can and does usually cost upwards of 30% of the asset value of the firm on an annual basis. This would appear to me to determine that the capital costs of the producer should be depleted over a three year term.

Clearly this overvaluation is the SEC’s fault and the accountants at the audit firms accept this thinking as it makes them feel cool and hip in the eyes of the engineers and geologists of the producer firms. Something that they are not generally known for. The problem is that the engineers and geologists are not trained in the accounting requirements and are unaware of the distortions within the balance sheet and income statements that they are producing. They think their activities which are building the firm and its profits are moving the firm in the right direction. Whereas a more conservative evaluation of their asset base would instill a more conservative use of their discretionary cash flow and earnings. If there were any. The net effect of a more conservative depletion methodology would be a more focused industry. In my opinion.

What we have now is the fire alarm ringing and producers running about spending money on the shale based plays that are the place to be. Expanding their productive capacities, building their asset bases and destroying the commodity marketplaces. The continuation of these activities in the face of such losses is not evident to them. Even though they are having to finance their negative cash flows, which on an industry wide basis are projected to be negative $100 billion just for shale. A ludicrous and incoherent manner in which to run an industry.

Clearly the bureaucrats are unable to change. But the incentives and the requirements of being in business are being distorted by a methodology of accounting that doesn’t recognize the real cost of the business. Until a new business model, the Preliminary Specification, and the user community and service providers are able to provide the industry with these kinds of appropriate accountings the industry will be run in this distorted manner. Remember the SEC defines the upper limit of what can be recorded as assets. That doesn't necessarily mean that everything has to be reported as an asset or that the upper limit has to be reached. In an industry that expects to spend the money the oil and gas industry does in the future. Estimates vary and range in the many trillions of dollars over the mid-term. Its important to put those costs in the proper context. Are they assets, or should they be written off in an appropriate time table. One that leads to systemic, large and unreasonable industry wide losses.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Can We Afford Failure?

In most businesses or industries the results of the bureaucracies failures occur with little to no interest from the general public or other concerns. The demise of the record store, Nokia or Blockbuster Video is met with a shrug or a general lack of concern about a way of life that has past. In other industries such as banking, intervention by governments to ensure that the systems that maintain the daily economic requirements of our way of life are maintained is now commonplace. These banking interventions are into their seventh year and there doesn't seem to be any clear direction of a return to normal operations any time soon. Which category does the oil and gas industry fall under. Is it something that we can ignore and idly watch itself destroy its value and capabilities over time. To the point where it can no longer provide for the needs of its customers. Is that the point where wind and solar, tidal and nuclear energy will magically be capable of replacing “dirty” oil and gas? Can we rely on the radical environmentalists to show us the errors of our ways? Or is it something that we should be cautious of and ensure that the capabilities and capacities of the industry are maintained for the need of society? Altruistic questions, but maybe they should be asked.

In mid February I noted the effect of shale based reserves on the oil and gas production markets. These were reflected in the following two graphs. (Sources eia.gov and econbrowser.com)

Note the prolific nature and characteristics of the shale based reserves on deliverability. They have literal hockey stick implications to the continents productive capacity. Here is an updated version of the econbrowser.com graph for the month of February.

Notice any trend from the one that was published in November 2014? This productive capacity increase occurred during a time when the producers announced there would be an approximate one third drop in capital expenditures for the calendar year 2015. Although it might be too early to tell, the announcement itself certainly didn't have an effect on the increases in production. It remained on its upward trajectory. And I think it is reasonable to assume that the actual decline in capital spending will have the same effect. The current motivation for the producer, any producer, to achieve those increases in productive capacity will not cut those shale based capital programs. Why would they? The bureaucrats focus will be on reducing the costs associated with drilling, completion, equipping and operations. Also the overhead in the head office will have to be rationalized further in order to ensure that the producer becomes profitable. If that will ever be possible in this pricing environment.

That is the logic that is the state of affairs in the oil and gas industry. What the bureaucrats are being educated on today is the elasticity of supply and demand of the commodity markets. Their ability to reduce costs to produce a profit will never be achieved because of the effect of continued overproduction in the market. Now this isn't news to anyone is it. However, we see the industry stuck in a business model that it can’t, won’t, will never and does not change. Its demise and eventual destruction of its capabilities would therefore be a follow on process.

Bureaucracies don't change. People do however. And that is why we need to move to a new business model. The Preliminary Specification with its decentralized production model provides a solution to this overproduction by allocating production between producers based on profitability. If the property can be produced profitably based on the current commodity price then it will be produced. Otherwise it remains shut-in. But to do that we have to make some serious changes to the industry and they won’t be made by the bureaucrats. They fight change, like they fight People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification, our user community and the service providers.

Therefore to answer the bigger question of whether we should be concerned about the demise of the oil and gas industry. I suggest that we should. Like banking, oil and gas provides us with everything that makes up our modern lives. Without it we are reduced to prehistoric capabilities. Not a pleasant thought. Should we just wait and leave this up to the bureaucrats to determine the outcome. Or should we act and ensure that the industry continues on in a healthy and prosperous manner for all concerned. I know which side of the fence I’m on.

And just as it was evident that the U.S. housing market was not a place to put your money. The oil and gas industries difficulties are plain for everyone to see. The fact that the U.S. housing crisis stewed for decades probably shows how long we'll have to wait for someone to act in our oil and gas interests. However, we need to remember there is no “Fed” to flood the market with deliverability when things do fall apart.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Why We Need All of our Budget

People, Ideas & Objects has a big job to do which provides significant value to everyone involved in the oil and gas industry. It is as a result of our value proposition that our expectations might seem a bit odd. And as a result they can be taken out of context quite easily. One of these expectations is in regards to our budget and the expectation that it will be fully funded before any work is undertaken. The reason for this is detailed in this post and is as with all things with People, Ideas & Objects, related to our users.

Clearly we have a powerful bureaucracy who are well aware of this project and have chosen not to support it. This can be assumed to continue and that steps will be taken against People, Ideas & Objects and those that willfully participate in either the user community or the future service providers. Protection for these people during the critical period in which they are exposed to the antics of the bureaucracy must be provided. That protection is the assurance that during the transition period that we are building the systems. The revenues they will need to make this software and establish their organizations for the future oil and gas industry. Will be there in the form of the user community fees paid by People, Ideas & Objects during development.

There is significant career risk to those individuals who chose to decide to join the user community and service providers. The bureaucrats will list these people on their “do not hire” list that is shared amongst the bureaucrats at their lair. This will be a permanent change in the users life, there will be no going back to the old ways. However, people who are making the commitment to the industry in the long run. Who are tired of the losing ways of the industry. And chose to join People, Ideas & Objects. Those that are committed to providing the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. Why are they required to take any financial risk in the transition of the industry in order to provide the industry with the $5.7 trillion value proposition?

They aren't being asked to do that and they won't be asked to do that. They will have the financial resources necessary to leave their place of employment in the industry and participate in the user community, and seek to establish a service provider firm for the future of the industry. This will be done on the basis of the work that they do for the user community, the People, Ideas & Objects developers, and will be well compensated for out of the budget of $667 million for user community participation.

If we think that the industry will fund the development of the People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification, user community and service providers on an annual go forward basis. This would be a foolish approach to take with the likes of the bureaucracy lurking in the shadows waiting to poach responsibility for that annual payment. They would most certainly come up with some reason to terminate the funding, or cut the funding, or tie the funding up in some way. I could go on but I’m sure that it is understood that they would try to do something. It is therefore incumbent upon us to ensure that our users and service providers are protected, and the overall viability of this project meets its successful conclusion. Having all of the funds at the beginning of this process is what is required to deal with the personal risks of the user community participants and the inability of putting this project back to together again if there were a temporary disruption. We must begin, continue without disruption and successfully build without the disruptive influence of the bureaucracy. They have shown themselves to be untrustworthy and unreliable. And that is how this unreasonable and odd expectation of having our budget fully funded has been developed.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Oil and Gas Operations in the 21st Century

Last week we highlighted the ways in which People, Ideas & Objects would enable a successful oil and gas industry. One that was dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful. This is detailed in the Preliminary Specification and is what is required for the industry to move forward in the 21st century. Currently the bureaucracy provide no future other than the financial demise of the industry. Theirs is a form of operation that is consistent with how things were done in 1960 or 1935. The need for change is evident based on the earnings of the producers and the changes they have implemented to deal with their financial losses. And that is, they have done absolutely nothing. Sure they have cut their capital budgets, but as we are all learning that does little if nothing to deal with the issues at hand. It is 2015 and we offer a means in which to operate the industry up to 2040. That only seems to me to be a reasonable approach to the way we should be operating the industry.

Change of this scope, led by Information Technology, is occurring in every industry. In every industry the entrenched status quo is fighting to maintain their archaic ways of business. This is the situation in oil and gas. It won’t be the oil and gas producer, led by the bureaucracy, that stands up and says we need to adopt People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification. They have fought long and hard to ensure that we don't see the light of day. What is needed is for those that will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the changes that are made when the system is implemented. And that is the oil and gas investor who are being abused by the bureaucracy as badly as we are. It might be wise to have the investor direct the producers to fund People, Ideas & Objects from their savings in the reductions of their capital budgets.

If we continue on in the manner that we have in the oil and gas business things are only going to get worse. And does it surprise anyone that there is no response from the bureaucrats? This summer its reasonable to assume that storage facilities for natural gas will reach capacity. What this will do to prices for the years to come is certain to be bad news. Recently I read that Canadian producers who were unhappy with the prices for their oil production were shifting to drilling natural gas targets. Bureaucracies are incapable of doing anything but meeting the prime directive. And that is, increase productive capacity and produce. After more than five years in the natural gas business their behavior should have changed. Clearly it hasn't, and it never will. Nor will it change on the oil production side of the business. Surely investors can see that the trend is there. In many ways the oil and gas industry is not a business. Its an engineering exercise.

Who can instill the business discipline that is necessary in the oil and gas business? Only those that are affected by it. There can be a strike by the investors and they can refuse to invest in the industry. This has essentially been happening since 2008, and still these problems exist. The bureaucrats found willing junk bond markets to fuel their needs. And now that that avenue is closed. The reduction in capital expenditures will enable them to continue on without less difficulty. However, you will see continued overproduction, and increases in production in both oil and gas in North America for at least ten more years. The only thing that will stop them is the end of the shale based reserves. Which in natural gas is 50 years. In oil its as little as 10. And that is the Saudi’s game plan. Let the shale based producers, their investors and junk bond holders suffer with losses and financial destruction for the 10 years that shale based oil exists in North America. And then they will have both market share and pricing power again.

Or maybe someone will come up with an idea that makes this nightmare go away. Provide the producers with commodity price making strategies like People, Ideas & Objects does. And we can skip the financial destruction that in my opinion is only really beginning.

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

Will Be Off This Week

Returning Monday March 16, 2015.

How We'll Be Successful Part IV

People, Ideas & Objects capital structure also provides for its success. There is a long history of venture capital groups involvement in oil and gas ERP systems. And its not a beneficial one from the point of view of the venture capitalists. The number of oil and gas companies makes for a very small market. What the venture capitalists have learned is to avoid small markets as there is no way in which to leverage an investment without large volumes of sales. And that is the example that has been proven time and again in the oil and gas ERP software marketplace. The market is too small and the producers are able to “negotiate” with the ERP vendor to the point where the ERP vendor is selling their products well below cost. They are subsequently told to make it up on the next sale. Only to find the same movie playing.

We have skipped the venture capital chapters of the People, Ideas & Objects history book. I control 100% of the firm. We are structured much like a utility where the revenue stream that we earn from the producers has an element of profit included in the price. This way there is no confusion or conflict as to who’s money is who’s. The user community and software developers will be provided with the resources that they need for the budgeted year. Our costs to the producers will then be adjusted for the profits of the firm and the Intellectual Property royalties that are due.

It is in this way that I will be able to monetize the investment that I have made in People, Ideas & Objects and ensure that the priority of the user community remains the focus. If, in the traditional manner of monetizing an investment, I would have to sell the shares in order to achieve that. With the shares in other hands the decisions as to how People, Ideas & Objects capital structure and revenue flow could change. And the conflict between the shareholders and the user community, as a priority, may come into play. The oil and gas industry needs the user community to be the priority and that will be the case with the capital structure as is defined here.

These are academic ramblings that imply there is value in People, Ideas & Objects down the road. To define these points are important to determine what our priorities are when we are operational. And how we will in turn ensure that the user community, the service providers and the oil and gas producers are able to successfully build off of this initiative. We have spent the past year emphasizing the importance of, and focusing on the user community. This is the only manner in which the oil and gas producers are going to be able to deal with the issues and opportunities that are presented to them in the next 25 years. How we structure ourselves is an important element of how that is achieved and the success of all concerned.

It is also academic to state that I had the option of accepting venture capital funds. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my years of working on this project many have been approached, oddly enough just as many have said no. The scope and scale of what I was doing was beyond what they thought could be approached in a commercial environment. A diplomatic way of saying you're crazy. A classification, as you know, that I have come to appreciate. If I did take any of the money from the venture capital groups it would not have brought us any further towards our goal of building the Preliminary Specification. The need for the oil and gas investors to step up and direct their oil and gas producers to fund this project are clear. No one is going to do the job for them other than themselves. The bureaucrats are too conflicted. There is no money in it for anyone to invest in. And they have the benefit of the value proposition flowing from the producers bottom line onto their pocket book. Its really that simple. Besides what are you going to invest in today, another gas well?

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here. 

How We'll Be Successful Part III

One of the reasons that we will be successful is that we will enable the oil and gas industry to balance the short and long term perspectives of their business needs. This assumes that we are provided with a stable and consistent revenue stream in order to support the work that needs to be done. A criticism of the industry today, and it would apply to all industries, is that it is too focused on the short term and needs to balance this against its longer term needs. Selling today’s production for whatever it is worth would certainly fall into this category. With People, Ideas & Objects providing the dynamic, innovative, successful and profitable oil and gas producer with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations. We have provided the optimal short term perspective in which to operate. The need therefore is to continue to address the issues and opportunities of the business in order to ensure that when things change, the producers business model and mode of operation will change as well. With software taking such a key role in defining and supporting our organizations. This is a permanent software development capability that the oil and gas industry must support and financially commit too.

With our budgeted resource implementations of thousands of man years that are needed for the development of this software, and thousands of man years within the user community. This capability will have one source of funding in order to ensure it continues to provide this capability to the oil and gas industry. Through the licensing, that source of funding is from People, Ideas & Objects and that means our revenue stream has to be supplied consistently from the oil and gas producers. This software development infrastructure provides the means of which the industry will operate profitably. Currently the bureaucrats are determining its future by not funding it. We can not be subject to this type of thinking now, or in the future. Our value proposition is only valid if we are operating successfully in the marketplace. Any disruptions to our revenue stream will affect the realization of that value proposition by the oil and gas producers. But will also create permanent damage to the capabilities of the software development team, user community and elsewhere. A shortage of funds requires the stoppage of work. I am not of the opinion that this type of software development capability can have an on/off switch for the industry to use.

The type of destruction that would be caused would be the laying off of people who are working on long term projects that require a constant, determined and consistent application of their time. Those that are focused on the long term that are required to “wander through the woods” in order to determine the next decentralized production model or other innovation. Innovations that are necessary so that the oil and gas producers maintain their most profitable means of oil and gas operations. Alternatively we could implement extreme measures, as if there was a funding cut, prioritizing which expenses were cut first. And it would be in that instance that we could address higher priority areas such as the costs of the cloud computing infrastructure. The point is not to threaten, it is to emphasize the need for an approach to the development of this capability that is inconsistent with the current bureaucrats method of doing business.

This is not only counter to the methodology of the bureaucrats today. It is raising the point of how important software is in society. Since the meltdown of the Tech industry in 2000. People have generally disregarded Information Technologies importance overall. And that reflects the manner in which change is reflected in society. Change is always overestimated in the short term, and underestimated in the long term. We are now clearly in the long term orientation of the changes brought about by Information Technology. The need for industry to develop the requisite software development capabilities is a key part of People, Ideas & Objects value proposition. This capability needs to be funded and provided for in a secure manner so that the development of this capability meets its full potential. And what that full potential is probably can’t be measured in a traditional software development firm. It needs a new commitment from the sponsoring industry in order to ensure that it meets that potential successfully

The Preliminary Specification and user community provides the oil and gas producer with the most dynamic, innovative, profitable and successful means of oil and gas operations. People, Ideas & Objects Revenue Model specifies the means in which investors can participate in these user defined software developments. Users are welcome to join me here. Together we can begin to meet the future demands for energy. And don't forget to join our network on Twitter @piobiz anyone can contact me at 403-200-2302 or email here.