The Technology of Oil Exploration

ExxonMobil uses a global deployment of SAP to run the majority of its standard business operations, but relies heavily on proprietary applications for finding, tapping and producing oil and gas.

APPLICATIONPRODUCTSUPPLIER
Complete suite of enterprise softwareMySAP.comSAP
Database for SAPDB2IBM
ProcurementAriba Spend ManagementAriba
Purchasing analysisAriba Supplier Performance ManagementAriba
Desktop and server applications, developer toolsOffice suite, server products, SQL Server, Visual Basic, MS AccessMicrosoft
Customer relationship managementSiebel for Oil and GasSiebel/Oracle
Business intelligenceHyperion IntelligenceHyperion
Service-oriented architecture development toolWebLogicBEA Systems
Seismic technology for locating oil and gasExxonMobil 4-D SeismicExxonMobil proprietary
Reservoir simulator for optimizing oil and gas reservesEMPowerExxonMobil proprietary
Real-time analysis of drilling operationsExxonMobil Fast Drill ProcessExxonMobil proprietary
Interpretation of data from drilling activitiesGeoFrameSchlumberger
Earth modelingVoxelGeoParadigm
Oil-field project databaseOpenWorksLandmark Graphics
Geological interpretationStratWorksLandmark Graphics

HARDWARE: IBM SUPERCOMPUTERS, MAINFRAMES AND CLUSTERS, AMONG OTHER MACHINES

Story Guide:
Straight shooter: CEO Rex Tillerson Doesn’t Play Games

  • Big Oil’s Big Challenge
  • R&D Like Launching a ‘Moon Shot’ Every Decade
  • Exxon’s Balanced Methodology
  • Virtual Drilling: Exxon’s Technology Edge
  • Business Intelligence Guides Exploitation of Oil Resources
  • Oil in the DNA: The Exxon Culture
  • ExxonMobil Base Case
  • The Technology of Oil Exploration

    Context:

  • How Big Oil Uses XML
  • Roadblock: Getting Oil Business Managers on Board
  • Gotcha: Don’t Let Grid Computing Trip You
  • Vendor Profile: A Look at IBM’s Supercomputers and the Oil Business