Software Technology Briefs
DOUBLE-DIGIT REDUCTIONS IN US NATGAS TRADING
From 2013 to 2014, the major US natural gas exchanges experienced double-digit reductions in the number of contracts traded, according to a new report published by Cornerstone Research. The report, insights from FERC Form 552 submissions as of May 16, 2015, shows that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) volume declined by 22% from 2013 to 2014, while natural gas products volume for the CME Group Inc. decreased approximately 12%. These decreases extended a multiyear trend of falling trading volumes during a time of increased natural gas production in the US.
The volume of trading as measured by FERC Form 552 submissions also fell slightly in 2014. The trading activity reported in Form 552 submissions for 2014 totaled 118,901 tBtu, a decrease of 1.4%, transacted by 656 companies.
"This past year the volumes of physical transactions reported to the FERC declined slightly at the same time that the major natural gas exchanges, ICE and CME, reported double-digit reductions in the number of trading contracts. These decreases in trading volume in combination with the increase in US natural gas production mean that the average molecule of natural gas was traded fewer times during 2014 in its path from producer to consumer," Dr. Greg Leonard, vice president and Head of Cornerstone Research's Energy and Commodities Practice.
"The US natural gas market remains an unconcentrated industry. The industry continues to transact the largest portion of its transactions as next-month, index-price transactions."
Key findings
The volume of reported transactions indicates that, on average, a molecule of natural gas was traded through approximately 2.4 transactions from production to consumption.
The US natural gas industry remains unconcentrated, with a large number of diverse participants. Of the 20 leading companies last year, 18 of them were also among the top 20 in 2013.
In 2014, the base of transactions used to set the price indices relative to the transactions that relied on the indices continued to shrink. The volume of transactions dependent on the indices was almost seven times larger than the volume of transactions that formed the indices.
The volume reported to price-index publishers decreased for the third consecutive year.
Of the 656 Form 552 respondents in 2014, 112 (17%) reported transaction information to the price-index publishers for at least one affiliate. While the majority of Form 552 respondents did not report, the reporting companies tended to be larger than average.
Reporting to price-index publishers was inconsistent across industry segments in 2014. Integrated-upstream firms reported index-price transactions more than any other industry segment.
OILDEX ACQUIRES ADP'S PROCURE-TO-PAY BUSINESS
Oildex, a service of Transzap Inc., has acquired the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) business of Automatic Data Processing Inc., combining two technology providers in the financial supply chain automation sector.
The combined company will operate as Oildex and boasts over 1,100 customers, a network of more than 50,000 suppliers and key operation centers in the US and Canada.
The combination of Oildex solutions and the OpenInvoiceTM AP automation solution brings together technologies to manage the financial supply chain and support financial documents and transactions, including invoices, payments, royalty check stubs, joint interest bills, run tickets, gas plant documents, etc.
Accell-KKR, the technology-focused private equity firm and majority owner of Oildex, will make an incremental equity investment to help facilitate the acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
IBM SIGNS DEAL WITH COLUMBIA PIPELINE GROUP
IBM has signed a five-year IT services agreement including cloud, mobile, analytics and security technologies with Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.
On July 1, CPG completed the separation of its natural gas pipeline, midstream and storage business from energy infrastructure company NiSource Inc. As a stand-alone, publicly traded company, CPG is expanding its operations with net asset investments expected to grow from about $4.6 billion in 2015 to about $13.5 billion by 2020.
Under a technology agreement valued at $180 million, IBM will deliver a range of services to provide technology infrastructure to CPG. The agreement calls for IBM to move CPG's IT infrastructure and business applications-including human resources, billing and finance, pipeline operations and IT management-from NiSource's data centers into a private cloud in an IBM data center in Columbus, Ohio. IBM will separate CPG's networks from NiSource and manage CPG's integrated IT environment. The solution includes the core data center and IBM Cloud infrastructure, network services, help desk, end user services, intelligent security platforms, mobile device management, and operational analytics.
The solution will include IBM's QRadar Security Intelligence Platform, providing a unified architecture for integrating security information and event management, log management, anomaly detection, incident forensics and configuration and vulnerability management.
ORISSA SOFTWARE REPORT SEES STABLE REMOTE CAMP INDUSTRY DESPITE DROP IN OIL PRICES
Orissa Software Inc., a provider of accommodation and guest management solutions, recently released its Workforce Accommodation - Quarterly Industry Watch, which examines year-over-year trends observed in the remote camp industry. Orissa manages tens of thousands of rooms for some of the world's largest oil companies, camp operators and caterers, and was recently acquired by Gemstone Logistics.
Drawing on data from over five million resident days and 15 different camp installations, Orissa's report was the first of its kind to analyze the correlation between oil prices and camp behavior. The report noted that large camp operations (1,100+ man) remain steady despite the drop in oil prices, pointing to an industry-wide increase in the length of stay and reservation activity in Q1. While the decline in WTI was universal, the data shows regional differences in the timing and size of its impact, with some regions showing very little to no negative impact.
LFM INTRODUCES TECHNOLOGY FOR ACCESSING, ADDING INTELLIGENCE TO LASER SCAN PROJECTS
LFM Software has launched enhancements to its laser scan technology portfolio with new releases of LFM NetView and LFM Server. The introduction of new 3D mark-up functionality to both products allows users to add, access and share asset intelligence in the form of tag identifiers, attributes and comments as well as links to associated documents and information. The release includes improved access to massive laser scan projects, supported by cloud and tablet enablement.
LFM NetView 4.0 provides on-demand access to laser scan data via company networks or the internet. The BubbleView™ interface has been designed using the latest web technology allowing in browser, 'plug-in free' global access to visualize on-site conditions. Tablet enablement and the facility to take data 'offline' and synchronize later enable remote use for inspection tasks and on-site reviews. LFM Server 4.3 provides the data backbone for LFM NetView 4.0 by providing a live link to a master dataset.
SPACE-TIME INSIGHT, ENOVATION PARTNERS COLLABORATE ON REAL-TIME VISUAL ANALYTICS
Space‐Time Insight, a provider of next-generation situational intelligence solutions, is teaming with Enovation Partners, advisors to the energy and infrastructure industries, to provide advanced visualization and predictive analytics to natural gas transmission and distribution operators. Space-Time Insight combines data from many different pipeline sources to provide real-time spatial analysis and help companies anticipate system problems and maintenance.
IKON SCIENCE COMBINES COVIZ LITE VISUALIZATION SYSTEM IN NEW ROKDOC RELEASE
Ikon Science has released RokDoc platform version 6.2.3, which includes the combination of a license of CoViz Lite, developed by California based Dynamic Graphics Inc., with the RokDoc 3D package, delivering a new RokDoc visualization system.
CoViz Lite is an add-on 3D visualization system for RokDoc featuring select capabilities derived from the original CoViz 4D software that has been used by asset teams for over a decade. The beta version of RokDoc 3D 6.2.3 has been previewed at numerous trade shows and customer events these last 2 months. Martyn Millwood Hargrave, CEO of Ikon Science, said users commented on the "rich toolset and gorgeous rendering of the CoViz Lite system that helps the eye gain insights into intricate reservoir systems and their complexities." The company expects RokDoc version 6.3 to be released in the fall of 2015.
EKA SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES COMMODITY ANALYTICS CLOUD
Eka Software Solutions, a global provider of Smart Commodity Management software solutions, has launched the general availability of Commodity Analytics Cloud, an analytics solution for commodities companies in the agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and metals industries. With Commodity Analytics Cloud, traders, risk managers, analysts, supply chain/logistics managers, IT specialists, back office personnel, and executives gain previously unavailable insights into key business areas and can take action before competitors.
Harnessing data from internal systems, such as ETRM, CTRM, ERP, CRM, and spreadsheets, and external sources, such as market curves and weather data, Commodity Analytics Cloud brings data together in one place.
Eka has created a series of apps specifically designed for the commodities markets. Providing an end-to-end analysis of the entire enterprise, these apps span multiple categories including positions, P&L, trading, risk, credit, finance, supply chain, reconciliation, counterparties, and more.
Eka's revolutionary next-generation technology, Pace, processes millions of data entities in seconds. Users can mix and match data sets and perform real-time analysis on large volumes of data. Available on both smartphones and tablets as well as desktops and laptops, Commodities Analytics Cloud can be deployed on-premise in an internal company network or externally on a public cloud.
Commodities Analytics Cloud is part of Eka's Smart Commodity Management suite and can be used stand-alone or combined with Eka's InSight CM platform, which supports the entire commodity transaction lifecycle including trading, risk, compliance, procurement, supply chain, operations, logistics, bulk handling, and processing.
NEW INDUCED SEISMICITY MONITORING NETWORK IN THE DUVERNAY ZONE
Nanometrics has introduced a new frac-monitoring subscription network in the Duvernay zone near Fox Creek, Alberta. The induced seismicity monitoring (ISM) network uses the same technology used by regulators.
The Duvernay ISM network helps subscribing operators comply with AER Subsurface Order No 2: to monitor for seismic activity near frac operations by following a traffic-light protocol, and to alert operators of yellow-light conditions so they can prevent earthquakes of 4.0 ML or greater from occurring while fracking. The magnitude (ground motion) data from the ISM array also helps subscribers/operators understand the impact of induced seismicity on infrastructure, well sites and near-by communities.
Each operator can view earthquake events and notifications through a private customized web portal. The data include magnitude estimates using Local Richter (Ml) magnitude scales and event cross-references to regional and National Resources Canada (NRCan) event postings. Seismic data from regional networks is also captured and used.
Athabasca Oil Corp. was the first operator to subscribe to the Duvernay ISM array.
ISEMGAS IMPLEMENTS FLOW-CAL'S ADVANCED MEASUREMENT APPLICATION SUITE
Flow-Cal Inc., a provider of measurement data management for natural gas and petroleum liquids, has been selected by SemGas for gas measurement solutions. SemGas will implement Flow-Cal's Client/Server version with TESTit and CALCit field products, providing field and office personnel with advanced tools for automation, equipment testing and verification, as well as gas flow measurement calculations.
SemGas, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the US segment of SemGroup Corp. that concentrates on the gathering and processing of natural gas.