Journal of Petroleum Technology July 2012 : Page 41
he oil and gas industry tends to be resistant to marketing fads. If a software phenomenon such as the app cannot help get oil and gas out of the Earth safer, faster, and more economically, then the industry will not use it. This may be why, of the hundreds of thousands of apps now publicly available, only a few dozen are devoted to the industry. T WHAT IS AN APP? Basically, “app” is short for “application.” Apple is the largest facilitator of app sales, which are achieved through its App Store. All App Store apps must meet Apple software develop-ment kit standards, and Apple gets a certain percentage of the sales of all apps marketed through the App Store. There has been some discussion about calling shortened applica-tions “widgets,” but “app” seems to have prevailed. All apps, except those that come with the device, are downloaded from the Internet onto various types of mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart-phones, and tablets. There are four types of apps. The key differentiator between them is their relative reliance on Internet access. Those that, once downloaded, can function completely on the mobile device without access to the Internet This type of app has limited power and scope and is installed in its entirety from an app store onto a mobile device. Such apps can be “short forms” of programs such as Office or Photoshop—often representing only one aspect of such a program, much as one song can be downloaded rather than an entire album. Such miniprograms may require mobile device features such as a built-in camera. Further exam-ples of such apps are books or games that require a small amount of storage space. Those that rely on intermittent Internet access for peri-odic downloading This type of app links to an Internet site and cannot func-tion without accessing data from the site from time to time. Such apps depend on information that is periodically updat-ed. These would include newspapers, magazines, or compa-ny marketing brochures. Those that cannot perform any function without access to the Internet This type of app comprises two subtypes, both of which upon launching take users directly to an Internet location: ◗ The first subtype users must sign up for and requires access through a username and pass-word. Such apps are personalized gateways—to locations such as Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, or Netflix—rather than actual applications. ◗ The second subtype does not require access through a username and password. It does behave like an application, one that relies on constant updating, such as a stock index, rig count, or inter-active map. Apps Developed for the Oil and Gas Industry None of the online app stores has a separate category for the petroleum industry. Oil and gas apps are primarily housed under app stores’ business, education, productivity, or reference headings. While an app must meet certain software standards to be included in an app store, the actual content receives no vetting. So, beyond the name and reputation of the company or person providing the app, no assurance is provided on the accuracy of the app’s information, mathematical formulas, or simulation parameters. Oil and gas industry apps comprise the following five categories: Those devoted to marketing materials — These marketing collateral materials take the place of printed catalogs, annual reports, brochures, and data sheets. While companies have made such materials available on their websites ever since the Web began rising in prominence in the early 1990s, the primary advantage of accessing them via a smartphone or tablet lies in the greater portability of the devices themselves, as well as the ability for updated material to be added at any time. For example, Aker Solutions recently implemented a smartphone app for its wireline tractor catalog. On a tablet, this is downloaded as a portable document format (PDF) file that is accessible through a book library app. In another example, Tenaris has created its own TenarisLibrary, featuring a complete and integrated package of its available marketing literature and videos. These appear in a variety of languages, and access can be tailored to individual interests. Calling it a “dynamic library,” Tenaris writes, “Each user is invited to create their own customized library to navigate the material once disconnected from the Internet.” Those that supply computations— Designing a drilling program and constructing, drilling, and completing a well demand input of a huge number of variables that can be manipulated using mathematical formulas and computations. Each variable rests upon a solid foundation of physical reality, including measured depth, pipe inner and outer diameter, downhole pressure and temperature, azimuth, mud weight, rate of penetration, and weight on bit. Some computationally based apps— including Halliburton’s eRedBook and eChartBook and Schlumberger’s Smith Bits Quick Calc Hydraulics—are of use in the field. Others—such as Wellcontrol.com.br’s Well Control, Leak-Off Test, and Drilling simulators—are useful as educational tools. The eRedBook app includes most of the table information found in the printed version of Halliburton’s RedBook Cementing Tables. The tables go back to 1929, when Halliburton hired W.D. “Bill” Owsley to perform tests on the Portland cement used in oil well cementing operations. Owsley began compiling the calculations for the tables, which have been relied upon over the decades by scientists JPT • JULY 2012 41
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