According to a press release dated April 11, 2017, the OPEC Secretariat and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Energy announced the launch of the first phase of the Oil and Gas Big Data Project which is described as a “sophisticated, comprehensive and easy-to-use multi-dimensional big data tool for analyzing publicly available oil and gas data.” According to the release:
The platform will consist of a set of high standard analytic tools, employing data-driven approaches, optimization and statistical analysis techniques, as well as interactive maps, charts and data tables, which will be presented on a user-friendly IT platform. The facility will initially be linked to publicly available relevant oil market databases and will have the capacity to display raw figures, cross-comparing time series between countries, flows and products. Future planned expansions of the project will introduce advanced information technology, web and text mining techniques, as well as statistical, econometric and optimization methods…The Oil and Gas Big Data Tool has the potential to fill the existing data analytics gap, placing available oil and gas data at the fingertips of market stakeholders and becoming the go-to analysis platform for comprehensive, well-presented, user-friendly and transparent oil and gas-related information.
The results of the first phase will take place during the 3rd GCC Petroleum Media Forum in Abu Dhabi on 19–20 April 2017. The second phase will be launched in November 2017.