Career Risk for the User

Members of our user community have exposure to significant career risk as a result of being associated with People, Ideas & Objects. The bureaucrats have identified this project as being counter to their best interests. That is because we are working diligently to remove the bureaucrats from the landscape in the oil and gas industry. Therefore anyone who would be clearly identified as being associated with this project would be subject to the same warm and fuzzy feeling that I get each day from our good friends. Therefore the people who are associated with this project are kept confidential and are not exposed for any reason. Their career risk is significant and not something that can be mitigated. The bureaucrats, like elephants, have long memories.

This is also the key reason that our budget needs to be funded in its entirety. No one is going to commit to the level of career risk necessary to make this project viable without a viable going concern in which to move to. Since the only way that People, Ideas & Objects can be a viable going concern is to have the software developed, the user community developed and the service providers organized. The budget to bring those resources into being is necessary before we will be able to solicit the numbers and quality of user community participation to make this project a viable going concern. Classic issue in a modern manifestation.

To expect that people would volunteer for a project such as this is something that the bureaucrats would expect. They sit on a primary industry where the revenues are generated from oil and gas. And look down their nose at everyone of the tertiary industries that depend on the oil and gas industry for their revenues. What the producers need to begin to realize is that the ability for them to generate the oil and gas revenues depends on the members of the tertiary industries. Their behavior of turning on and off the tertiary industries revenue stream when oil and gas prices are up or down is a detriment to their own best interests. When prices were high they complained bitterly that the service industry was lazy and too expensive. Now with the prices being low they can't cut the flow of funds to the service industry fast enough. What will be the bureaucrats complaint next time oil and gas prices are high and people don’t want to work in the cyclical oil and gas industry? You really do reap what you sow.

The bureaucrats also have the attention span of the current quarter’s financial performance. Our project unfortunately spans a few of those quarters and therefore will be subject to the wandering minds of the bureaucrats. If we proceed on a pay as you go basis, once we are in full software development mode, the bureaucrats attention will no doubt turn to other “more pressing issues” and cut the funding to this development. Our ability to recover from a funding cut and resume developments would never exist. Its different when you have a physical asset like a drilling rig as the asset that you can idle for a few months. Our asset is our user community and software developers. Their Intellectual Property. Once this is stalled, it can not be restarted in my opinion. Therefore we must have the entire budget funded before their is any development work done.

The point about the boom / bust cycle and its impact on the service industry is something that we address in the Resource Marketplace module of the Preliminary Specification. There has to be a means in which the service industry can rely on the oil and gas industry to fund them. This method of turning off and on the taps is causing too many difficulties in terms of the service industries ability and capabilities that the oil and gas producers need. A dynamic, profitable and innovative producer needs to have the service industry innovating at the speed at which they are innovating. It doesn’t help to come up with the next great earth science innovation when all the rigs are idled, or, when all the rigs are contracted and you can't find a qualified crew. Tomorrow we will discuss the Resource Marketplace module in more detail in our “Our Solution” series.

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. 

Change is in the Air

We see that there is an aptitude and an appetite for change in people’s acceptance of the status quo. The Progressive Conservative party in Alberta is no more. With the former Premier, Jim Prentice quitting the cabinet, quitting the leadership of the party and quitting his just elected seat in the legislature. No one will ever vote for a Progressive Conservative candidate again. Thankfully we have the Wild Rose Party which is the upstart that will probably form the next government. People had to vote for the socialist New Democrats as they were the only other choice they could vote for, and get rid of the bureaucracy. I find the change dynamic parallels to what we are doing here in People, Ideas & Objects with our Preliminary Specification to be very strong. People are looking for better ways in which to be governed, better ways in which to be organized in their businesses and their careers. We might just be timely in our approach to the market!

We've also seen the devastation that low oil and natural gas prices have done to the income statements of the producers. Many are reporting losses, however, everyone is definitely feeling the effect. If producers only provide the upside from the increases in the commodity prices, why take the risks of investing in them at all. Why not just buy the commodities on the commodity exchanges and trade those instead. If you think the bureaucracy is there to build value beyond the increase in the commodity prices. You have the past fifteen years to convince you otherwise. Our suggestion is, that the book value of the producers are significantly bloated for no other purpose than to support high debt levels. This bloating of the asset value of the producers also allows them to report higher earnings than what would otherwise be possible.

With the Preliminary Specifications decentralized production model we are able to calculate the appropriate costs of capital in determining the total costs of each property. As we have documented here before the bureaucrats are calculating the margins on their properties and leaving out the overhead costs and the cost of capital in determining their properties overall costs. This miscalculates the prices needed to produce the commodities. Leaving the producers reporting some profits, however with large asset balances on the balance sheet with little or no cash or working capital being generated. With the Preliminary Specification adding the costs of overhead and capital into the properties costs, and pricing mechanism the producer will be able to earn the cash flow required to return the investors their investments and an element of profit as well. This is how we are able to provide the industry and oil and gas producers with the most profitable means of oil and gas operations.

Oil prices rallied this week for some unknown reason. I think it was on the basis of hope that the U.S. shale producers were soon to see their production decline. As I have stated before, the natural gas side of the business will show us the way in terms of what we can expect the oil deliverability from shale will be. And that is continued production increases and overproduction. The bureaucrats are using the high throughput production model. Which requires full production at all times to offset the high overhead costs of their operations. There is nothing but full throttle production as the means of operations. And for the bureaucrats to discern what is profitable and what is not has never been necessary or possible in the industry before. This current method of industry organization needs to change to the decentralized production model. Where every property is subject to the determination of the full costs of operations and if those costs can be covered profitably by the current commodity price it will continue production. If the prices don't cover the costs then the property can be shut-in until the prices rise to the point where they do cover all of the costs and provide for a profit. And if the producer has an inventory of shut-in properties they will be more profitable than they would be under the current high throughput production model.

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. 

Our Solution Part XIV

With the Research & Capabilities module developing the capabilities for later deployment within the various Joint Operating Committees that the producer has an interest in. We need a module, the Knowledge & Learning module, that is used within the Joint Operating Committee that has a view of those capabilities and will enable the deployment of them. The significant point of the Knowledge & Learning module is that it will have a view of each of the producer participants capabilities within that Joint Operating Committee. Therefore enabling the selection of the best capabilities for the needs of the Joint Operating Committee. This is done with the understanding that each producer will be focused on developing their own specific earth science and engineering capabilities on a specialization and division of labor basis.

There are limited numbers of earth science and engineering resources available at any time in the industry. With the demands of more science and engineering effort per barrel of oil, these demands will not subside anytime soon. It is therefore necessary to resolve this mid to long term shortfall with the tools of specialization and the division of labor. That way more throughput can be achieved from the same resource. There are also demands for these resources from the way in which the producers are structured. Each producer firm is attempting to build the capabilities necessary to fulfill their commitments at any and all times. This requires them to cover off the entire scope and scale of earth science and engineering needs within the organization. With any further specialization and division of labor within the sciences and engineering professions themselves. The scope and scale of the demands on the producer to obtain and maintain their capabilities in the manner that they do today may exceed what is commercially obtainable. The size of their teams will exceed their budget capabilities. Therefore specialization within the producer firm itself is not an option.

However specialization and the division of labor when applied across the industry is able to solve this issue. What the issue is is that each producer has unused surplus capabilities resident within their organizations. These are used for just in time instances where a specific properties demands for resources may peak. Taken across the industry these unused surplus capabilities incur substantial unused and unusable resources. Therefore in addition to specialization and the division of labor being applied within the professions. It is also necessary to apply these principles to the producer firms themselves. Where one producer will specialize in one area and another producer covers off another area. Where the needs of the property can be obtained through a pooling of the capabilities from the members of the Joint Operating Committee. And if there are further shortfalls, other producers who have those capabilities can be hired to fill out those requirements.

This pooling requires that each producer is able to charge their resources to the various joint accounts. And that the producer firm has two distinct sources of revenues. Oil and gas revenues, and revenues from the development and deployment of their capabilities. It will be in this way that the industry can meet the shortfall in these critical professional resources. Specialization and the division of labor are the only proven methods to resolving resource shortfalls. Hoarding these resources within each of the producer firm only leads to further shortfalls on an industry wide basis. As the retirements of the brain trust occurs in these professions. An answer to the way in which the industry will deal with them has to be answered by the ERP system that the industry selects. By designating operatorship to one firm producers have been reliant on other producers capabilities from the beginning of the industry. Few companies will have the budget to fund the scope and scale of an operation that will support the full science and engineering capabilities that will be demanded in the future. The Research & Capabilities and Knowledge & Learning modules are the solutions provided by 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. 

Our Solution Part XIII

For today’s post I went into the Research & Capabilities module to a get a quick refresher of some of the elements within that module. I have to say that I could not select which module is my favorite. Maybe my favorite will always be the last one I read. Anyways, the value that this module provides the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producer is not as quantifiable as the other areas. It will however have a significant impact on the performance of the oil and gas producer. The elements that I want to point out are the key issue that it resolves in the oil and gas industry. And the detail regarding the two major processes of innovation.

There are two material processes that the Research & Capabilities module controls. The first is to divide the labor between research and development and the execution of those resulting capabilities. This process is separated into the Research & Capabilities and Knowledge & Learning modules. The other material process is to move the knowledge to the area where the decision rights are held, the Joint Operating Committee. Professor Richard Langlois notes in the following.

The question then becomes: why are capabilities sometimes organized within firms, sometimes decentralized in markets, and sometimes coordinated by a myriad contractual and ownership arrangements like joint ventures, franchisees, and networks? Explicitly echoing Hayek, Jensen and Meckling (1992, p.251) who point out that economic organization must solve two different kinds of problems: "the rights assignment problem (determining who should exercise a decision right) and the control or agency problem (how to ensure that self-interested decision agents exercise their rights in a way that contributes to the organizational objective)." There are basically two ways to ensure such a "collocation" of knowledge and decision making: "One is by moving the knowledge to those with the decision rights; the other is by moving the decision rights to those with the knowledge." (Jensen and Meckling 1992 p. 253). p. 9

The Research & Capabilities enables the movement of knowledge to where the decision rights are held. The Joint Operating Committee is the operational decision making framework of the industry. There is a major conflict occurring in the industry when the Joint Operating Committee's decision rights are attempted to be moved to the producer firm by the bureaucracy. This conflict, or rights assignment issue, is unresolved in the current industry structure. By the Preliminary Specifications aligning the compliance and governance frameworks of the hierarchy with the Joint Operating Committees legal, financial, operational decision making, cultural, communication, strategic and innovation frameworks. We resolve the many conflicts and problems, such as the rights assignment issue, that exist within the industry.

We also define what a “capability” is in the Research & Capabilities module. Professor Carliss Baldwin of Harvard University states that “knowledge begets capability and capability begets action.” Professor Richard Langlois defines it as the “knowledge, experience and skills of the organization.” To which we have added “knowledge, experience, skills and ideas.” It is the capture of the firm's capabilities that is achieved in the Research & Capabilities module. However, only the explicit knowledge, the tacit knowledge of the firm is deployed through the Job Order system that we will be developing.

The producer firm through its interactions with the service industry develops new and innovative capabilities that are captured and documented in the “Dynamic Capabilities Interface” of the Research & Capabilities module. The interactions with the service industry are through a variety of interfaces in both the Research & Capabilities and Resource Marketplace modules. Using the football analogy the Research & Capabilities module is the practice field where the team is developing new and innovative plays to be worked on and perfected before game day. Game day is when the capabilities are published in the “Dynamic Capabilities Interface” which enables them to be deployed in all of the Joint Operating Committees that the producer has an interest in. This process enables the producer firm to eliminate the unnecessary “trial and error” learning from being repeated in each and every Joint Operating Committee. The learning can be done once, and limit the cost of the innovation by reducing the unnecessary repeated experimentation. As I stated this is the primary process of innovation.

If there was a secondary or optional process of innovation in the Research & Capabilities module it would be based on the following. This is from Professor Richard Langlois’ paper “Innovation Process and Industrial Districts.”

Innovation is based on the generation, diffusion, and use of new knowledge. p. 1

Opportunities do occur at times and in places that are not planned for. Innovation is something that frequently falls within this description.

While it is possible to conceive of a firm that is so hermetic in its use of knowledge that all stages of innovation, including the combination of old and new knowledge, rely exclusively on internal sources, in practice most innovations involving products or processes of even modest complexity entail combining knowledge that derives, directly or indirectly, from several sources. Knowledge generation, therefore, must be accompanied by effective mechanisms for knowledge diffusion and for "indigenizing" knowledge originally developed in other contexts and for other purposes so that it meets a new need. p. 1

These are the highlights of the Research & Capabilities module. There are many other aspects of the module that are of interest and more specifically the modules makeup in terms of its software configuration. With a revised organizational structure where the C class executives, earth science and engineering resources, some land and legal, and support staff are the stripped down, lean producer firm. They will be able to focus on their key competitive advantages of their earth science and engineering capabilities, and their land and asset base.

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. 

Our Solution Part XII

I have a few ideas lurking in the background that need to be discussed. These ideas don't warrant an entire blog post of their own and seem to be orphaned from the conversation to this point. I thought therefore that I would dedicate a paragraph to each one and ensure they didn't fall through the cracks.

The first is the discussion of the service providers and how they will support themselves. One look at our budget and it is noticeable that the user community is fully supported within our budget, however, People, Ideas & Objects provide no funding to the service providers. Each of the service providers generate their revenue from the services that they provide to their clients, the oil and gas producers. They are replacing the administrative and accounting resources that are present in the North American oil and gas industry. These resources currently cost a large percentage of the $40 to 60 billion in annual G&A costs of the producers. It will be a reallocation of these G&A costs to the service provider firms as their source of revenue. The user community participant will have a financial interest in these service provider firms. They are the key individual we are looking too to establish these firms. They will also be generating revenues from their work with People, Ideas & Objects software developers. Therefore having two distinct sources of revenue.

It may have been confusing in terms of discussing the investments made in oil and gas. And my assertion of how the investors have not been able to make any money in the business. This has been my point in the discussion regarding bloated balance sheets and the fact that none of the capital costs are considered in the calculations of the prices of oil or gas. I have asserted that the investor is being short changed in terms of their investment by the bureaucrats in this scenario. However, as many are able to point out, many individuals, as investors, have been able to earn large returns on their investments in oil and gas. And that is most certainly the case. What we need to do is to separate the investor who is building the business and is making the long terms investments necessary for that purpose. And those investors who are trading in equities on the stock exchanges. What I am focused on is the investors who are investing in the business of the oil and gas business not the traders of stocks. The best analogy would be to state that used car salesman can always make a living, that doesn't make GM profitable.

There are 5,000 man hours in terms of mechanical leverage in every barrel of oil. The 130 million or so barrels of oil and natural gas that we use each day therefore provides us with approximately 382 million man years of physical work per day. That’s 140 billion man years of work that we benefit from each year. Twenty times the world's population. What would we do without the oil and gas industry? Do the bureaucrats, and their zeal for the biggest cottage, understand the responsibility they have to ensure society continues to have these resources available to them at all times? Are we dependent on oil and natural gas? Yes, and Tesla batteries will not do a thing about this. They need oil and gas to fill them just as everything else does. We might like to think of oil as “icky” and “dirty.” However there is really nothing that we can do about this situation. The oil and gas industry has constructively approached the environmental situation at every turn. What we need to consider is the possibility that we are focusing on the wrong issues of alternative energy initiatives and not on the most important issue to us. Maintaining our capabilities to keep the 140 billion man years of effort going forward. There are no alternatives to our use of that much energy. So if that energy costs $100.00 or $300.00 per barrel. People will know that it truly is the deal of the century. We have a job to do, lets do it profitably.

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. 

Our Solution Part XI

People, Ideas & Objects argument that bloated balance sheets don’t provide any value to anyone may miss the essential point for their existence. Large balance sheets can more easily support inordinately large amounts of debt. That is, the large debt will look less out of place if there are assets, and plenty of them, to offset them. The primary benefactor of the large debt balances would of course be our good friends the bureaucrats. Not being able to generate real profits, the money that fuels their machine has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is either the debt or equity markets. Since 2008 the equity markets have not been friendly to the oil and gas producers. That is to say it wasn’t fueling the party the way it used to. The movement to debt instruments was the logical choice, and hey, look at those interest rates.

The lessons that were being dished out in 2008 were related to the volumes of debt that were being created. Too many people were buying too many houses they could not afford. Mechanisms in which to finance the probable defaults became innovative and this party carried on for a decade or two to long. The solution of course was to drop interest rates to zero and ease the burden on those who were indebted. This would buy them the time they needed in order to repair their financial position and then the economy would continue on. Well its been six years and the problem is that no one is repairing their financial positions. For example the Chinese who entered the great recession in pretty good shape have quadrupled the amount of debt that the governments, industries and people now owe. Just in six years. Oil and gas producers have to have a strong source of capital in order to fund a capital intensive industry. But when they run it with the commodity prices so far underwater, then they really need money. So debt is what has fueled the party for the past six years. But remember its at low interest rates!

And here we are today. The bureaucrats cabin is in fine shape. Able to handle the retirement years of the average bureaucrat in the style of a king. The only real concern to their retirement plans is what will it cost to fuel the boat? If you believe that the bureaucrats are going to be sticking it out through the disaster that they've created then you have a higher opinion of them than I. If they could have fixed these problems in the past, don't you think that they would have? The fact of the matter is that change is not their forte and they are being forced to perform now, or will be soon. And that’s hard. Don't assume that the situation that exists today will last much longer and for them to be able to deal with the outcome. Here is a comment from the Wall Street Journal regarding the Fed and the ability to deal with the poor performing economy.

It’s heresy to say so, but maybe after six years of zero-interest rates, and long after the financial crisis ended, the Fed should wonder if its policies haven’t become an impediment to faster growth. Maybe letting markets begin to set interest rates again would lead to a better allocation of capital and less economic uncertainty. At the very least the Fed should start analyzing why its forecasts have been so wrong for so long.

If interest rates do rise. Something that is a given because they certainly can’t go down. Those with bloated balance sheets, whose purpose is to hide the high levels of debt. Who have not been honest with the total costs of what it takes to produce. Have been overproducing for many years. With that overproduction being undertaken to cover the cost of the overhead of the huge bureaucracy. It should be clear to most that this is the brick wall that is a few feet away from the bumper of the speeding vehicle. We should have made the changes in our velocity a while ago, but their was also the cottage that needed many, many things.

2008 was a wakeup call for everyone regarding the debts that they were carrying. Time was provided through quantitative easing and other antics to deal with our debts, not to incur more. How much longer will low interest rates go on for is the question. Its kind of like during that game of musical chairs that we played when we were younger, anticipating when the music would stop. Has anyone told the investors and bankers that there are no chairs? If anyone expects the bureaucrats to come with a plan, a vision or an excuse, don't wait too long. It doesn't matter what the bureaucrats do. These forces are well in play and will have them removed from, or see them leave, the scenery. What we need to do is to continue to focus on the development of our user community, and then to rebuild the industry around 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. 

Our Solution Part X

People, Ideas & Objects service providers are the sub-industry that we are developing in our ecosystem that will provide for the oil and gas producers administrative and accounting functions. These will be in replacement to the internal capabilities that the producer has currently developed. Making the change from a reliance on these internal capabilities to a reliance on an industry wide administrative and accounting capability. As we have mentioned this is a key element in our ability to provide the value proposition that we are able to provide the industry. And it should be noted here that the scope and scale of the processes that are managed by the service providers would include those that fall under accounting, land, production and exploration administration domains. Some have argued that this would never work. That the broad scope and scale across the industry would be too difficult to undertake. I would point to our value proposition is well within the trillions of dollars and that the service providers have as their competitive advantages several tools that are not otherwise available to the current producers.

Take for instance the principle of specialization. Most producers do not have the scale in terms of their processes management that can use this principle in their organization. What may be required is a production accountant for the new property and the work required by that property would total 1200 man hours per year. You would naturally assign that work to one individual and there would be no means in which you would be able to apply specialization to any of those processes involved in the position. Whereas with the service providers, we can take each element of a producers accounting and administration and strip it down to the basic elements and design them to be managed by one specific service provider. That service provider will then staff that process in the manner that provides the most effective and efficient means of processing the industries transactions and data. The service provider isn't manually processing these transactions and data, they are applying the most advanced management sciences to reduce the costs and increase the quality of the information that they provide. Specialization and the division of labor are the two principles that are responsible for all of the economic growth that we have experienced in the past 250 years. Constraining ourselves by using just the capabilities of the producer provides us with no capacity to improve the performance of the administrative and accounting capabilities. By establishing the service providers we are able to apply the principles of specialization and the division of labor to the administrative and accounting processes. And in so doing, increase the throughput of the industry.

Currently computers are used within the oil and gas producer to assist in the management of the processes that they are responsible for. Up to this point in time they have been of great assistance in helping people to do their work. However, they have never really been able to have an impact on the productivity of the people that are employed in the industry. In many ways the people who are working in the industry are doing the same things that were done in the industry in the 1960’s and 1970’s. To make any changes requires a wholesale investment of time and money, like what People, Ideas & Objects budget requirements dictate, in order to achieve the differences that are required. These investments in software development and process definition have been too expensive for one producer firm to undertake on their own. There has also never been an initiative that undertakes to raise the funds and organize these developments across the industry until People, Ideas & Objects has. The service provider who works to enhance the process they manage with specialization and the division of labor. Who also has the software development capabilities, and user community of People, Ideas & Objects permanently available to them. Has a new and robust environment in which to conduct the constant development of their processes.

It is harder for me to see how the industry continues on in the fashion that it is. The ability to develop software for each producer's individual administrative and accounting capabilities has quite obviously failed. As there is no one who is successful in the business. There are limited scope and scale applications available to the producer firms, however none that provide an overall vision or value proposition such as People, Ideas & objects. What is expected from the existing software developers is that producers will cobble together the works of several independent software developers in order to cover off a reasonable amount of the scope of the producer. So that it is impossible for People, Ideas & Objects, given our budget and value proposition, to put together the process management of the industry with the help of our user community and our service providers. However, it is expected that each producer does this within their own shop with their limited budgets, out of applications that have no shared vision or value proposition. It sounds to me that the arguments that are against People, Ideas & Objects, our user community and service providers are coming from bureaucrats who are defending their own turf! Not some reasoned explanation as to why our solution won't work.

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. 

Our Solution Part IX

To provide the software for the next generation of ERP systems. There is one aspect that can not be overlooked. The method in which they are developed. It is with that understanding, with the scope of what we are undertaking in People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification. And my personal belief that systems that are developed with close user involvement are far superior to those that are not. That we are user community based software development. Our primary focus is the development of our user community. Spreading our message throughout the industry and connecting with like minds who know that there is a better way in which to operate the oil and gas industry. It is the user community that we are developing who will have the power and capabilities within the new environment to affect the changes in the oil and gas industry. It will be the user community that will remove and replace the bureaucracy and put them in their retirement homes.

The mechanism that the users have to make this change is detailed in the user community vision. The mechanism itself is the Intellectual Property that is contained within the Preliminary Specification and any of its derivative works. When change needs to occur within the industry it will be the user community that has the capabilities to make the changes to the Intellectual Property. The People, Ideas & Objects software developers will only look to the user community for their development direction and details. They take orders and directions from none other than the user community. If a producer wants to see a change in the way that the system operates within their firm, it is the user community that they will need to discuss this with. No one else has the power or capabilities to make any changes to the Intellectual Property or to the software code itself. Only the user community.

It is the user community participant that is also the principle in the sub-industry of service providers that is being created. The service providers are the replacement organizations to the producers current administrative and accounting resources. In the environment where the Preliminary Specification exists, the prototypical producer is reduced to the C class executives, the earth science and engineering resources, land, legal and some support staff to enable their focus on their key competitive advantages of their earth science and engineering capabilities, and land and asset base. The service providers will focus on a specific process and have the entire industry as their client base. Therefore focusing on their competitive advantages which include the principles of specialization, the division of labor, automation and many others. It will be through this window of their service provider operation that the user community participant will see the actions and interactions of the producer firms. It is the service provider who is the ultimate user of the software that they have developed in the user community. And they will be able to bring new value and efficiencies to the dynamic, innovative and profitable oil and gas producers.

It is this ecosystem of our software developers, the user community participants and the service providers that will provide the means in which the oil and gas industry has their administrative and accounting needs handled. This will be an industry wide administrative and accounting based capability. Freeing up the individual producers from having to develop the administrative and accounting capabilities themselves. Consider that today, each producer has to develop their administrative and accounting capabilities in order to function in the industry. Each producer replicating the same administrative and accounting capabilities as each of the other producers. Yet none are able to share these capabilities in the current environment. This inability to share these capabilities is a major impediment to the profitability of all producer firm’s today. It will become an even more difficult impediment in the future as the government regulations and requirements continue to expand.

It is this industry configuration that provides the producer with the flexibility in terms of their production deliverability. If a property isn't profitable at the current commodity price the producer can shut it in. And in so doing they will reduce their operating costs, royalties and the overhead costs of their operations. That is because none of the service providers will receive any of the input variables from a shut-in property. Therefore they will have no work to conduct on that property and hence no billing will be generated to that producer for that property. Enabling the producer to realize a null operation, which will increase their firm's overall profitability. It will also save their reserves for the day in which they can be produced profitably. It removes the marginal production from the commodity marketplace, placing upward pressure on prices. And keeps the capital costs of their reserves lower, as a result of not having to add the losses on operations that otherwise would have occurred.

The user community is the critical resource that enables the business model of the oil and gas industry to be employed and deployed. If changes are required it will be able to implement them. This is what the industry needs for the 21st century. The capacity for change. With People, Ideas & Objects we provide a software development capability that includes the user, the service providers and that critical capacity.

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. 

Our Solution Part VIII

We have been highlighting the major points of difference between the Preliminary Specification and the status quo bureaucracy in a series entitled “Our Solution.” Today I want to have a look at the Partnership Accounting and Accounting Voucher modules Material Balance Report which is a critical process / document within the specification. The purpose of the Material Balance Report is to balance the production and flow of products within a Joint Operating Committee. It is also designed to balance the production of the industry by using the information within each Joint Operating Committee as the inputs for an overall industry wide balancing. By doing so, the information that is contained within each Joint Operating Committee will become unimpeachable in terms of its accuracy. This system balance, as we call it, will provide each producer with the understanding that their production is accounted for accurately.

There are many sub-processes that are derived from the information that is contained within the Material Balance Report. These include all of the production accounting, revenue and royalty accounting, nominations, marketing data, inventory and many others. Since we will have balanced the Joint Operating Committee with the “system balance” across the industry. We will have also balanced the production, inventory and sales volumes across the partnership with the “partnership balance.” And have balanced the material with the “material balance” that deals with the allocation of production of by-products back to the individual Joint Operating Committees. This will provide an integrity in the value of the information contained within the Material Balance Report. This integrity enables the next step of the module, automation of the follow on business processes.

First, everyone knows that these volumetric values are subject to what seem to be an endless stream of amendments. And there is little that can be done to change the number of amendments throughout the process. What we can do however, is automate the processes based on the volumetric values that are processed at any time. Understanding that at the ultimate end of the process the accuracy of the volumetric information will be there, all of the information that was processed up to that point in time can be automated. Therefore all of the processes that use volumetric information within the Joint Operating Committee, producer firm and the industry can be developed with the understanding that they are automated based on these assumptions.

What we will be doing is removing the work that people are currently doing that is best suited to being done by computers. Now everyone fears that computers will be taking over, and that fear has been proven false many times over in our history. The fact that so many man hours are consumed in the processes that are involved in the Material Balance Report. This time could be better used elsewhere which is part of the larger point that we are undertaking in People, Ideas & Objects. We are leaving the work that is best suited to computers, the storage and processing. And enabling the people to do the value added work that involves the leadership, issue resolution, decision making, creative, collaborative, research, idea creation, design, planning and thinking. In essence we are making the computers work for us as opposed to the current situation where we are working for the computers.

Automation of these key business processes will eliminate a large and difficult franchise of the bureaucracy. Those that are part of the bureaucracy will probably leave the industry through retirement or other means. Those that find this to be the appropriate direction to be taking in the industry will join People, Ideas & Objects user community and establish themselves as a future service provider in one of these many processes. Does anyone believe in this day and age that these processes should be managed in the manner that they are today? Is this how we move forward in this industry? We all know there is a better way. And the moment we are freed from this cumbersome and time consuming burden, then we can begin to develop the potential of what this industry can do.

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. 

What Our Tactics Are Part II

There are two major trends that People, Ideas & Objects are capitalizing on in order to make the necessary changes within the oil and gas industry. The first has been the focus of most of the discussion that has taken place here on this blog. That being the unsustainable business model of the current bureaucrats in the industry. With them there is no future, no plans and no vision. Just more of the same losses and nothingness. The other trend that is as strong and is accelerating each and every day is the impact that Information Technology is having on our lives. People are experiencing change at a rapid pace in their personal lives. What could not be done a few years ago can now be done by the average four year old. It is truly remarkable. To disregard technology, which has been the attitude of many people, is now a dangerous position to put oneself in.

The effect of Information Technology in the business environment over the past ten years is of course a different story. The unchanging bureaucracy know that if they adopt the new technologies they lose control of their dominance and their desired form of organization. They need to stay in control and the way that they do that is to ensure that no technologies enter the organization that will ultimately render them even more obsolete.

So where do we stand in terms of the overall Information Technology horizon. I think that to state up to this point, the whole exercise has been a great exercise. The technologies have not been mainstream or powerful enough to make the promised changes. They have needed to mature and round themselves out in order to deliver on the promises that have been made. This history is one of the main reasons that people point to them as being irrelevant in the current marketplace. I think they are wrong. But its not too late. Now is the time in which to get on board and ride this train to its ultimate destination. Industries such as oil and gas will be fundamentally different as a result of the Information Technology revolution. And People, Ideas & Objects, I think, is the beginning of this trend.

When I began this journey in 1991 there was no way in which to implement the vision in any manner. The Internet was still a half decade away. Oracle’s technology was as dominant then but it was unable to carry the load. And computers, servers for that matter, were no better than what we have in our phones today. Probably most importantly was the problem of the user. How would they fit in? Its different today. I don't need anything more from Oracle other than for them to continue in their innovative ways. The Internet is more than capable. Computers and servers can do what we need in no time. And on that point there is an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal on where we are headed. And lastly the user is well educated and capable in the use and application of technology for their needs. I have what I need to implement the Preliminary Specification within the oil and gas industry. Something that until very recently I was unable to state.

So where do you fit in? Do you think the oil and gas industry needs to change? Is Information Technology an enabling capability to where you think it can go? Do you have ideas on how to improve the way in which we work? What will you do about it? I expect the bureaucrats to self select in the overall process. Either through the implementation of People, Ideas & Objects Preliminary Specification or not. They will retire from active employment in the oil and gas industry. Why do you think they have been spending so much of their money on their cabins these past few years? Either they will leave the industry to us, or they will leave it in shambles, they don't care. Their pensions are vested with the insurance industry. The point should be, what actions will you be taking as a result of this opportunity?

If we look at the Wall Street Journal article and understand the consequences of Information Technology in the workplace. Where can the individual go to implement these technologies and ideas in their business and realize the opportunities that are intimated in that article. In oil and gas people can move with People, Ideas & Objects. A vision of how the industry could operate captured in the Preliminary Specification. One that has as its primary focus the user and the importance of their role in the industry and the software that they develop and use. Its an exciting time to be alive. The next 25 years in oil and gas, and what that means in terms of the application of Information Technology, is as interesting as I think it gets.

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.