Implementing Knowledge-Management Systems: Collaboration Tools Create Efficient and Synergistic Operations Between Oil-Service and Energy Companies

Abstract

In today's world, the success of a corporation is closely linked with the success and health of the industry itself. In the oil and gas industry, achieving long-term technology and performance goals is dependent on the synergistic sharing of efficient "cost savingsdriven operations" through knowledge collaboration between global oil-services and energy companies. Knowledge-management systems (KMS) are a great tool to collaborate and integrate a knowledge base between global oil and energy and service companies. In the global marketplace, considering the bleak outlook for the economy, successful oil-service companies must tailor their business models to continually increase efficiency for proven revenue-generating processes by reducing costs associated with operations, while increasing the service quality to the global energy companies. On the other hand, both the oil-service and the energy companies can benefit from the knowledge-sharing of the technology/services and logistics.The concept of knowledge management (KM) has been implemented in global oil-service and energy companies by creating KM communities in various service segments. By implementing KMS, the scope of KM teams has expanded from the original intent to where the KM portals are the first choice for collaboration in diverse projects on a daily basis to bring together different ideologies and functionalities within a company to achieve the business objectives discussed above.This paper discusses the need, importance, benefits, and implementation methodology for a shared KMS platform between a global oil-service company and a global energy company. It discusses, in detail, the required setup on both sides for successful project initiation and implementation. Additionally, the key stages for this joint KM mechanism to work are also discussed: (1) the initiation stage, (2) development stage, (3) implementation stage, and (4) expansion stage.