Groundwork: Layering OO & GIS on the PPDM
Wesley Baird
Cquay Inc.
Suite 300, 405-5 th Ave. SW
Calgary Alberta
T2P 0T9
Overview
The emergence of a common data model for the oil and gas industry has been
accomplished through the adaptation of the Public Petroleum Data Model (PPDM). This
relational data model has been in existence for over 10 years has been successfully
implemented in Oil and Gas companies worldwide. Covering many disciplines, ranging
from Business Associates, Wells to Land/Contracts. It is a continually evolving model
that bases its success on the active participation of its members and adaptation of the
model by said members. With the rapid advancement of the Internet and its continuing
drive to change the face of businesses, efforts have been made to add the ability to
‘locate’ oil and gas data. We are actively pursuing this ability to add GIS functionality
effectively and inexpensively to our existing data stores. This paper explores the
possibility of how to add GIS and Object capabilities to existing relational data models,
extending the life of these systems.
Introduction
Object databases; OO programming; Object-Relational systems; and RAD
methodologies. We hear about them, we wonder how or even if they will benefit us; and
furthermore what these tangible benefits for us are. Lower operating costs? Increased
productivity? Are they necessary or even beneficial to our industry? Where and how can
we reap those benefits? The common view is that object technology allows the creation
of a more accurate business model. This is certainly true because of the re-usability of
defined objects, the inheritance and the methods associated with these objects. A major
roadblock or hesitation that companies have in developing in object technology is the
invested time and effort that resides in existing legacy systems. Companies are looking
to maximise the return on investment (ROI) over the longest period of time, redeveloping
systems can at a cursory glance look less than a sound investment. What is needed is
to find a methodology that can marry our existing data sets / applications with the new
technologies emerging today. For this purpose, Oracle provides a technology called
object views. These views have been designed to allow the introduction of an object
layer (model and methods) into a company’s information systems with minimal impact;
this is accomplished through initially replacing only the application layer. Thus when a
workflow review is done and changes are anticipated, the impact of these changes can
be minimised. Most systems are designed to present data in a tabular format, such as
reports. Requiring the geoscientist to make the mental translation from a data report to a
map view when working with the information. Certainly it would be better to present
these data sets, (all of them) in a visual context first (maps-on-the-fly), and secondly
create text based reports at the users request. This is a natural progression of computer
systems, to displaying information graphically, on-demand.
