ACADEMIA
Microsoft Expands Partner Ecosystem with New Upstream Oil & Gas ISVs
Helping engineers in oil and gas tackle growing volumes of data, Microsoft announced at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition that it has added three upstream independent software vendors (ISVs) to its growing high-performance computing (HPC) partner ecosystem. The new ISVs — Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMG), Roxar and SPT Group — have recently converted their reservoir simulation software solutions to run on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 to help deliver more accessible HPC capabilities to the upstream oil and gas industry. In fact, more than 80 percent of oil and gas industry experts surveyed early this year found that more ready access HPC capability could increase oil and gas production. 
“Amplifying the impact of professionals across asset teams is of critical importance to oil and gas companies today,” said Craig Hodges, U.S. energy industry solutions director at Microsoft. “By building their reservoir modeling solutions to run on Windows Compute Cluster Server, these partners provide engineers and geoscientists with accessible high-performance computing resources — at the division, workgroup and desktop levels — and empower them to more easily submit and run jobs, and analyze and gain insights to make better reservoir management decisions faster.” Built to easily integrate into a firm’s existing Windows environment, Windows Compute Cluster Server-based HPC makes it quick and easy for engineers and geoscientists to deploy compute clusters, submit simulation jobs and monitor their status. Windows Compute Cluster Server-based reservoir simulation software solutions are easy to use and integrate with existing infrastructures, quickly and more accurately than ever before. New industry partners with reservoir simulation software solutions that run on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 are the following: • Computer Modelling Group is a computer software engineering and consulting firm engaged in the development, sale and technology transfer of reservoir simulation software and one of the largest independent reservoir simulation software providers in the world. CMG offers six core products on 64-bit Windows Compute Cluster Server: IMEX, which simulates conventional oil and gas reservoirs; GEM, used to model gas condensate and volatile oil reservoirs and CO2 enhanced oil recovery and Sequestration; STARS, which provides analyses of heavy oil and tar sand reservoirs, chemical flooding and geo-mechanics; WinProp, software for fluid property phase behavior analysis; Builder, a Windows pre-processing application used for creating the models; and Results, which provides four-dimensional visualization and animation of simulation results. • Roxar’s Tempest 6.4 provides a cost-effective simulation and parallel processing solution for reservoir engineers. While other solutions may be priced out of reach, the Windows Compute Cluster Server-based Tempest provides a full-featured and economical tool for black oil, compositional and thermal simulation projects ranging from multicomponent coal bed methane to tight gas reservoirs and enhanced recovery operations. The HPC solution runs on industry-standard x64 computers, is easy to deploy, and operates and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and tools. • SPT Group is a leading provider of dynamic modeling tools for the oil and gas industry. Its MEPO suite of productivity tools for interactive history matching, uncertainty quantification and production optimization has revolutionized reservoir engineering and is now used by oil and gas companies worldwide. The new Windows Compute Cluster Server-based MEPO helps improve project performance while saving engineers time, resulting in more efficient well placements, better reservoir management and increased confidence in field development decisions. These partners join existing ecosystem members Landmark, a product service line of Halliburton, with its Nexus reservoir simulation software, and the Schlumberger Information Solutions ECLIPSE HPC platform for subsurface modeling, both of which are also available on the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 platform. The enhanced seismic processing and reservoir simulation capabilities enabled by Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003-based solutions ultimately help oil and gas operators get oil and gas from the ground to the pump faster and more efficiently and safely. “With MEPO, SPT Group has a vision of helping the oil and gas industry utilize state-of-the-art computer technology to solve reservoir engineering challenges more efficiently,” said Stig Selberg, MEPO executive vice president at SPT Group. “Our partnership with Microsoft has made us capable of delivering the MEPO technology fully prepared for operation on the Windows Compute Cluster Server platform. This proves to be a cost-efficient solution with impressive performance.” Meeting the challenges of global energy supply and demand depends on integrated business processes, breakthrough innovations and rock-solid business relationships. Together with its partners, Microsoft delivers game-changing solutions that help people in the oil and gas industry make better decisions faster. More information about Microsoft in the oil and gas industry is available at www.microsoft.com/oilandgas. More information about Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is available at www.microsoft.com/hpc.
“Amplifying the impact of professionals across asset teams is of critical importance to oil and gas companies today,” said Craig Hodges, U.S. energy industry solutions director at Microsoft. “By building their reservoir modeling solutions to run on Windows Compute Cluster Server, these partners provide engineers and geoscientists with accessible high-performance computing resources — at the division, workgroup and desktop levels — and empower them to more easily submit and run jobs, and analyze and gain insights to make better reservoir management decisions faster.” Built to easily integrate into a firm’s existing Windows environment, Windows Compute Cluster Server-based HPC makes it quick and easy for engineers and geoscientists to deploy compute clusters, submit simulation jobs and monitor their status. Windows Compute Cluster Server-based reservoir simulation software solutions are easy to use and integrate with existing infrastructures, quickly and more accurately than ever before. New industry partners with reservoir simulation software solutions that run on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 are the following: • Computer Modelling Group is a computer software engineering and consulting firm engaged in the development, sale and technology transfer of reservoir simulation software and one of the largest independent reservoir simulation software providers in the world. CMG offers six core products on 64-bit Windows Compute Cluster Server: IMEX, which simulates conventional oil and gas reservoirs; GEM, used to model gas condensate and volatile oil reservoirs and CO2 enhanced oil recovery and Sequestration; STARS, which provides analyses of heavy oil and tar sand reservoirs, chemical flooding and geo-mechanics; WinProp, software for fluid property phase behavior analysis; Builder, a Windows pre-processing application used for creating the models; and Results, which provides four-dimensional visualization and animation of simulation results. • Roxar’s Tempest 6.4 provides a cost-effective simulation and parallel processing solution for reservoir engineers. While other solutions may be priced out of reach, the Windows Compute Cluster Server-based Tempest provides a full-featured and economical tool for black oil, compositional and thermal simulation projects ranging from multicomponent coal bed methane to tight gas reservoirs and enhanced recovery operations. The HPC solution runs on industry-standard x64 computers, is easy to deploy, and operates and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and tools. • SPT Group is a leading provider of dynamic modeling tools for the oil and gas industry. Its MEPO suite of productivity tools for interactive history matching, uncertainty quantification and production optimization has revolutionized reservoir engineering and is now used by oil and gas companies worldwide. The new Windows Compute Cluster Server-based MEPO helps improve project performance while saving engineers time, resulting in more efficient well placements, better reservoir management and increased confidence in field development decisions. These partners join existing ecosystem members Landmark, a product service line of Halliburton, with its Nexus reservoir simulation software, and the Schlumberger Information Solutions ECLIPSE HPC platform for subsurface modeling, both of which are also available on the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 platform. The enhanced seismic processing and reservoir simulation capabilities enabled by Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003-based solutions ultimately help oil and gas operators get oil and gas from the ground to the pump faster and more efficiently and safely. “With MEPO, SPT Group has a vision of helping the oil and gas industry utilize state-of-the-art computer technology to solve reservoir engineering challenges more efficiently,” said Stig Selberg, MEPO executive vice president at SPT Group. “Our partnership with Microsoft has made us capable of delivering the MEPO technology fully prepared for operation on the Windows Compute Cluster Server platform. This proves to be a cost-efficient solution with impressive performance.” Meeting the challenges of global energy supply and demand depends on integrated business processes, breakthrough innovations and rock-solid business relationships. Together with its partners, Microsoft delivers game-changing solutions that help people in the oil and gas industry make better decisions faster. More information about Microsoft in the oil and gas industry is available at www.microsoft.com/oilandgas. More information about Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is available at www.microsoft.com/hpc.