Veratix Technologies Ltd.



	Russian-English Program Translates Into Success


	APEGGA - August 1994 By Norma Ramage

	Ken Lowe, P.Eng., of Calgary is helping to bring the Russian oil and gas industry into the computer age.

	Mr. Lowe has designed a dual language PC-based technical database program in the English and Cryillic (Russian) alphabets, which is believed to be unique in the energy industry."Production Track" handles production and operational data for the oil and gas industry in an easy to understand format that allows the user to enter text data in both languages.

	"There is not a comparable program available that can handle production/operational data and is so easy to use" says Mr. Lowe.

	After he left his reservoir engineering position with Amoco Canada in 1991, Mr. Lowe started his own consulting company, Lowe and Associates, specializing in petroleum evaluations and technical application applications for the energy industry. Over the last three years, Mr. Lowe has consulted domestically and internationally for a number of energy companies.

	When Canadian engineers first went to Russia, they found their Russian counterpart did not have any exposure to the computing tools that we take for granted. Upon arrival in Russia in 1993 with a Canadian joint venture to teach a petroleum engineering program, Mr. Lowe discovered many of the Russians involved were not PC literate and were intimidated by the existing computer programs. As a consequence, much of the operational data were only captured on paper. The production data were handled by spreadsheets, but had to be transposed so the Canadian engineer could do field analysis and generate relevant reports.

	"This was time-consuming and prone to error. This situation was exacerbated by the language barrier and a lack of technical interpreters who could translate engineering situations accuately," Mr. Lowe explains.

	He was convinced that he could find a software solution and in three months Production Track was completed. In addition to creating a program that accepts both English and Cyrillic - alphabets with virtually no letters in common - Mr. Lowe had to create a user-friendly program.

	"I needed to create a program that was easy to use for people who had limited exposure to PCs, but which could also handle very complex analysis of technical data. My design philosophy has always been that programs should be designed to be intuitive so that someone off the street can sit down and begin using it."

	As a result, Production Track is very visual and not intimidating to even the most neophyte user. Based on a Windows platform, the software utilizes a mouse and button driven menu system. Allscreens have been configured in both languages making it easy for both the Canadian and Russian engineers to use.

	The program will store and manipulate highly detailed technical data, generate comprehensive reports in both languages and interface with spreadsheet programs (Excel, Lotus) and OGCI's Production Analysis Program. Data analysis can be performed internally by Production Track or externally by third-party programs. "Canadian engineers do not have to continually ask the Russians about well status and production; its all on the screen."

	Mr. Lowe's background is as remarkable as the software he created. A graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Alberta, he had limited formal training in programming, but he was able to develop a highly sophisticated analysis package.

	"With a petroleum engineering background, I could relate easily to these data problems in Russia. Even with our data systems, we also have similar problems getting access to data in Canada. When I started this program, there were no existing design paradigms to restrict me and there were some new programmingtools that just became available making my job easier," he says. "

	"I took an engineering approach to the program design, first understanding the problem and then developing a solution that was outwardly simple to the user."

	As the first dual-language technical database developed for the energy market, Mr. Lowe is convinced that sizable opportunities exist for Production Track. The PanCanadian/Fracmaster Joint Venture has been using the program and feedback has been very positive. Synergy has improved not only between the Canadians and Russians, but also among the Russian operating groups because information is available on a common system. Although the current version of the program is English /Cyrillic, it can be configured for any language.

	Several other Canadian and US oil and gas companies have expressed interest in the program and future plans include English / Spanish and English/French versions. There is a need for this type of system. Once people see it they get quite enthused about it, says Mr. Lowe, who hopes to eventually give up consulting to form a company to market his own engineering software.