Simply explained, information management (IM) is collecting and managing data from disparate sources and distributing collected information in a usable form to various user groups.

The process sounds pretty basic but, in fact, the challenges are enormous.

An SMi-sponsored conference, “E&P Information & Data Management 2010,” held in London in early February, served as a forum for discussing IM challenges. Specialists at the conference talked about the issues their companies are facing and discussed some solutions that have been implemented to address those challenges.

Although access to data is critical to operations, the sheer volume of data available is an impediment to extracting the greatest value from the information at hand. Companies create and gather huge amounts of data, but IM experts agree that people spend too much time looking for information, identifying it, and preparing it and too little time putting quality data to work.

David Lloyd, IS program manager for operator GDF Suez E&P UK, spoke at the conference about how his company is facing IM challenges. “Staggering technologies are being developed,” he said, but the industry needs to evaluate how the solutions being developed can be applied most effectively. “It’s not just about delivering technology; it’s the way we deliver it,” he said, explaining, “What we need to do is adopt and adapt.”

Patrick Dineen, business development manager for Schlumberger, talked about the difficulties faced by companies that have large data repositories.

“Data is a key enabler,” Dineen explained, “but without the right data, we can’t make the right decisions.”

If people aren’t aware that information exists, cannot find it, or do not trust that the information in front of them is reliable, it does not matter how great the data are.

Getting the best value is “a cocktail of people, technology, and process,” Dineen said.

Where technology is concerned, continuity is the biggest challenge. “Disconnected technologies” pose hurdles, Dineen explained. “We need to be able to fix stuff on the fly. We need to be able to leverage what has been done in other industries. We have to automate where we can.”

According to Dineen, workers need to be able to “find, trust, and share” data. He and others believe efficient IM is a critical component of the solution to meet these simple but critical needs.

Solutions need to give broad access to relevant data that is viewed in the context in which the data are to be applied. The data have to have a known source or provenance that delivers comparative quality so users have confidence regarding its reuse. And there has to be a way to capture data and milestones so feedback can go back into the system.

In short, the oil and gas industry needs to embrace the new user paradigm, which recognizes the value of sharing, collaboration, virtual teamwork, and access to information.

As fields are developed in more remote locations that require more advanced technologies, the industry will have to adapt to changing demands for data and develop new methods of collaboration. More and more, development projects will require tight integration, robust processes, multi-technology databases, and reliable documentation.

Undoubtedly, finding IM solutions will facilitate collaboration that will move E&P efforts more rapidly into what is now “the unknown” and will play a critical role in the more rapid development of oil and gas reserves.