New Technology Magazine

"ONE" Of A Kind

From production accounting to trading and budgeting, Entero unifies data and business processes
[Print Article: June 2009, by Gord Cope] The petroleum industry invests a great deal of research and development into exploration software; vast resources are dedicated to integrating seismic, geology and drilling into fast and efficient geoscience suites.

But what happens after the petroleum comes out of the ground? An equally concise system is needed to keep track of who owns what, how much they own, what it's worth and where it's going.

Mike Flaman, a team lead for marketing and sales at Entero Corporation, a Calgary-based software developer, recalls his father wheeling and dealing as an energy trader in the early 1990s. "Back in those days, you recorded trading and marketing on spreadsheets, but it might be just the back of a cocktail napkin," he says. "It was very hard to audit and keep track of data, and errors were also common. It could be something as simple as the name of the counter-party; accounting might use the name Shell on its account, but logistics might use Shell Limited."

In an effort to revolutionize midstream business reporting in the oilpatch, Steve Remmington and Wes Bot founded OmniVision (now Entero Corporation) in 1994. Their first energy industry software package was called EnteroVision, consisting of evTM and evFM.

The evTM component focused on trading and marketing, and operations and logistics; all deal-related contracts and operations were captured and made available to appropriate personnel in one central location so that they could be efficiently used for inventory, risk management, terminal operations and reporting.

The evFM component focused on financial management and accounting; detailed deal information was readily available including all financial, volumetric and account coding details, allowing personnel to manage credit, cash flow and fixed assets. "Our product eliminated confusion over inaccurate data," says Flaman.

Encouraged by positive industry response, Entero added production accounting and allocations (evPA) to complement its existing software. The evPA component allowed operators to view facility balance by owner, product or source -- or any combination. Features included the ability to calculate and invoice the fees for services such as gathering and processing, as well as incorporating automation.

"A lot of production information is observed, in the sense that someone inputs it off a chart or external document," says Flaman. "Our software is adept at data interface, however, such as a flow meter at a truck-loading rack. That eliminates data error."

In order to beef up the reservoir component of its software, Entero merged with software company MOSIAC Integration in 2003. "The Entero MOSAIC application takes the same cross functional view of everything Entero does and supports reservoir evaluation, capital budgeting, operations and A&D [acquisition and divestitures] evaluations," says Flaman.

EnteroONE

The company's latest product evolution, the EnteroONE platform, was launched in the winter of 2008, bringing key Entero systems onto a shared platform. "This is a complete rewrite of the former EnteroVision functionality on a new, more flexible platform, with the addition of production accounting and plant allocations," says Flaman.

"Once energy is produced, EnteroONE tracks it from the wellhead through the gathering systems, doing production allocations, production and revenue accounting, managing trade deals, logistics and risk management. It also does financial accounting, such as invoicing for shipments made by any transportation mode, and a full general ledger. It eliminates multiple spreadsheets; you enter the data once, and it's there for everyone who needs it. It's also very fast; literally, as fast as you enter the data."

Entero software was initially developed for local companies, but soon found a ready market all over North America. "Our clients range from a five-person trading shop to large international companies with hundreds of users," says Flaman. "We have over 120 clients in Canada and the U. S., and they operate around the world. Our clientele are E&P companies, trading and marketing companies, and midstream operators involved with product movement and processing; 30% of the top 100 Canadian E&P companies are Entero clients."

Part of the company's success is related to ease of installation and training. EnteroONE, which is priced competitively to client needs, is installed at a client's office in one or two days, and instruction for any given application can be accomplished within one week. "It's an intuitive system -- very user friendly," says Flaman.

Entero says its software also has a breadth of functionality. "There are several other major software providers, but most competitors are limited in their scope of functionality -- they might do production accounting or midstream only," says Flaman.

EnerMarkT* is an energy commodities marketing company based in Texas (*some details have been altered to preserve client confidentiality). It acquires and delivers a large range of oil, natural gas liquid and biofuel feedstocks to its industrial clientele throughout the U. S. Over the course of a month, its conducts hundreds of trades and organizes the logistics to deliver commodities by road, rail and waterway right to the loading dock. Prior to acquiring Entero software three years ago, EnerMarkT's trading and marketing, operations and logistics, and financial management functions were conducted on spreadsheets and disparate applications.

"The more I work with Entero, the more I realize the superior service and software functionality they provide," says Mary Johnson, operations manager for EnerMarkT.

The future

Like most software firms, Entero invests heavily in product R&D. The 85-staff company is currently focused on increasing the functionality of its products. New workspace enhancements and reporting customization in EnteroONE Financial Management are expected to make

troubleshooting, audit reporting and reconciliations more efficient. A new integrated field data capture system in EnteroONE Production Accounting will comprehensively link field information to production accounting -- eliminating time-consuming interdepartmental reconciliations. A new order, scheduling and nominations workspace for EnteroONE Trading & Marketing will pull all relevant decision-making information (including profitability) into one view, for consideration when moving product.

In addition to the enhanced calculation performance of Entero MOSIAC 2009, client-driven features being introduced over the next year include capital scheduling, international economics and a generic production importer. "Within the next five years we will incorporate the MOSAIC functionality onto the EnteroONE platform to offer the oil and gas industry the most complete business software solution available," says Flaman.

In the meantime, Entero hopes to continue growing at 25% annually, primarily through word of mouth from satisfied customers. "We've recommended Entero to others," says EnerMarkT's Johnson.

CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mike Flaman, EnteroONE Sales & Marketing,

Tel:(403) 538-5930,E-mail: [email protected]

• A CLICK AWAY Left: EnteroONE Production Accounting 2009 shows all operational locations and product flows. Click on any location to see all associated owners, contracts, volumes, components and fees.
• The Entero MOSAIC 2009 evaluation workbench includes best-in-class decline tools.