Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 2001-14
2000 Digital Petroleum Atlas Annual Report

Problems Encountered

The Digital Petroleum Atlas was designed to be a dynamic product with the constant addition of new information and ideas. Within this changing environment defined tasks of the year three DPA were completed. In using the DPA, oil and gas operators and the interested public proposed many of the ongoing changes and additions. The prototype DPA project was completed within budget and cost sharing was in excess of 20%.

Recommendations for Future Work

Results from the year four of the Digital Petroleum Atlas Project have met expectations. We continue to expand the breath and depth of plays, fields and reservoirs covered, enhance the included petroleum technology, expand the geographic coverage, and improve the navigation and technology for online access to continuously updated relational databases. Work is progressing to provide interactive programs that can interact with relational databases to provide online tools to map fields, and display and analysis data (e.g., log and production data).

Conclusions

As the fourth year of a longer-term effort, the Digital Petroleum Atlas (DPA) has developed an improved new methodology to provide efficient and timely access to the latest petroleum data and technology for the domestic oil and gas industry, public sector research organizations and local governmental units. The DPA provides real-time and cost-effective electronic publication of materials typically found in published paper oil and gas atlases. The latest technologies and information are continuously "published" electronically when individual project components are completed, reducing the lag and expense of transferring technology using traditional paper publication. Additional information and technology are constantly being added and older information updated to the DPA increasing its scope and detail. Active links, graphical user interfaces and relational database search mechanisms provide a published electronic product with which the operator can interact in ways that are impossible in a paper publication. Contained in the DPA are forms of publication that can only be displayed in an electronic environment (for example, animated exploration histories through time, and special queries). Through complete and flexible user access to technology, interpretative products and the underlying geologic and petroleum data, the DPA changes the relationship between interpretative result and data, between technology generation and application. Improved access to petroleum data and technology represents one of the best and cost-effective options that available for maintaining domestic production.