Spatially Enabling the Public Petroleum Data Model: Migrating from a Standard E&P Industry Database to a Geodatabase

Executive summary Spatial data is an inherent part of Exploration and Production (E&P) petroleum enterprises. Spatially enabling business information provides the ability to display and query spatial and non-spatial data in a Geographic Information System (GIS) using map based user interfaces. The Public Petroleum Data Model (PPDM) Association has developed a methodology to enhance an existing PPDM relational database with the spatial functionality of a Geodatabase. A PPDM version 3.7 database can store data in any or all of 25 different business and support modules. These modules can be spatially enabled as required to provide a spatial extension to the database. This allows Geoscientists access to the data in a manner that ultimately provides a better and more efficient way to conduct subsurface modelling, surface mapping, searching or analysis by integrating the existing relational business database with the spatial extensions provided by a Geodatabase.