Leveraging Data Science and ERP for Enhanced Project Management

The business operation team is essentially a combination of industry experts in the upstream oil and gas sector, proficient in data science and ERP development—a skill combination that undoubtedly leads to creating value in key business operations.

The primary objective of this team is data-driven management of engineering and operational processes within the ERP framework. By adopting a data-driven approach to project management, the team not only expedites routine reporting, but also enables advanced and comprehensive analyses across various domains, including operations, management, engineering, human resources, procurement, and more.

A significant outcome of effectively utilizing the analytical insights derived from this framework is the reduction of costs in future projects.

In simpler terms, our team aims to create specialized modules within our organization’s ERP system for each corporate key business. These modules effectively capture input data from the business and automatically generate the desired outputs for improved project management and strategic planning. This dynamic automation enables better project management and facilitates the strategic planning needs of senior managers. Additionally, it provides the capability to integrate and manage data across the organization seamlessly.

To date, two distinct modules have been developed for the Geophysical Services and Drilling Operations, named ‘Geo Operation’ and ‘Drilling Operation,’ respectively. The following sections provide a brief overview of these two modules. 

Geo Operation Module

The Geo Operation module, designed specifically for our Geophysical Services business unit, functions as an ERP-based reporting platform for seismic projects.

This module covers daily in-house and client reports (in several geophysical disciplines including HSE, survey, LVL, UXO, Camp, Transportation, Road Clearance, QC, Project Control, Recording, and Drilling), engineering data analysis, Lost time interpretation, and accurate project controlling/monitoring. It ensures quality control for seismic data entry, enhancing reporting accuracy. Simultaneously, it promotes time efficiency and reduces human error by enabling faster and more precise reporting. Furthermore, the system aids in monitoring and controlling various resources, including human resources, vehicles, fuel, and employee performance. Additionally, it plays a key role in managing subcontractor invoices and securing project incomes through the generation of daily client reports.

Drilling Operation Module

One further achievement of the team has been the Drilling Operation module. To expand accessibility to all essential data, we are now creating a user-friendly platform that makes it easier to enter daily data for drilling operations.

The data, previously generated as reports (DDR, DGR, DMR, DMLR, etc.) by field specialists during operations and provided to both the headquarters and the client, is now integrated, transferred, transformed, and analyzed using the ERP software platform.

We aim to enhance the precision and effectiveness of our analyses, enabling data-driven decision-making in critical situations through the implementation of integrated data management. This is significant progress, especially considering that drilling projects rank among the most expensive endeavors in upstream corporate operations. The potential to save a substantial amount of money—potentially millions of dollars—and expedite technical work is achievable by eliminating time-consuming and old-fashioned processes and optimizing these operations.

Ramin Barzegar
Senior Upstream Data Analyst
Business Excellence Department