As technology advances, the oil and gas industry is also beginning to use new technologies. However, some technologies, including the geographic information system (GIS), require expertise, training, and software know-how.
Companies looking to take advantage of GIS can do so either in-house or by outsourcing this service to a GIS expert. You can easily incorporate GIS mapping into your gas and oil business, either with a consultant or by taking just a few hours out of your workweek to learn your GIS software.
What is GIS?
GIS is computer software that analyzes spatial and geographic data and then displays that data visually. Can monitor rare plants or endangered species, streams, rainfall levels, or resource management. It gives it a specific geographic location with data you want to know more about. It gives it an exact geographic area with data you want to know more about.
When GIS software first emerged, it was prohibitively expensive for most companies. Luckily, there are now many cheaper options, and even a few open-source resources are available, too.
How Do Gas and Oil Use GIS?
Spatial and geographical data are crucial to every stage of development for gas and oil. That’s because companies need to know where there are likely resources, the geographic and environmental impact, where precisely they should start drilling, and where they should dig next.
GIS is vital for each of these phases. It may take some time to learn how to use GIS software. However, after learning how it works, you can visually map data to understand your options better while making decisions.
Production reports can be long and technical, making them hard to understand and follow. However, maps more concisely show those who less intimately appreciate your company’s day-to-day decisions and the factors that influence those decisions. Additionally, GIS mapping is useful when presenting detailed information to various stakeholders.
Advantages of GIS
GIS mapping can help minimize risks and maximize payoff for gas and oil. If your company doesn’t already use GIS or is looking to maximize how efficiently it uses it, consider the following GIS uses for gas and oil:
- Explore and map existing sites and potential sites.
- Determine which areas are most likely to result in successful digs.
- Manage the risks of existing and potential sites.
- Visually anaAnalyseatistics related to acreage rankings, petroleum leases, and more.
- Analyze production ratings using nearly real-time data.
Outsourcing GIS
If you currently don’t have GIS software or your staff isn’t trained to use it properly, you can hire a consultant to help you start. Smaller companies with a limited workforce can also consider outsourcing this task completely, just as you can with other back-office duties, like land management.
Outsourcing back-office work for oil and gas companies or hiring a consultant can help ensure you’re taking the fullest advantage of GIS without spending without spendingtraining your staff or learning how to use GIS technology.
Managing GIS In-House
If you believe your company would use GIS regularly, you have the workforce to manage it internally, and you can afford the technology, you could handle GIS in-house. Most companies that don’t have an h GIS consultant use land ministration software to take GIS.
Even if you chose this route, you could still hire a consultant to get you started, train your staff, and help you decide which software is best for your company. After an initial consultation, you can switch to managing GIS yourself.
No matter if you decide to use a consultant or not, it’s also worth noting that GIS mapping software is less expensive and more easily accessible than ever before. The U.S. Department of the Interior even has a list of maps and GIS data that can help track where companies have rigs and where leases are active. You can use this data along with your own to plan future expansions without interfering with existing leases.
GIS Mapping for Oil and Gas
As technology changes, so too do how oil and gas companies make decisions. Now, GIS mapping technology is more readily accessible, and there are even free options, which means it’s easier than ever for gas and oil companies to take advantauselogy.
With just a few hours of training, you and your staff can use GIS mapping to visually display and keep track of your current, future, and past digs. If you’re new to GIS mapping and want help navigating it, there are plenty of consulting agencies you can use to help you navigate GIS mapping.
