In current years, many companies in Oil & Gas industry apply ERP for their company, such as: Chevron, Exxon Mobile, Petrobras, Petrolimex.... We found that SAP provides a specific version for Oil & Gas Industry with many additional functions that we don’t have in SAP standard. Have more than 4 years experience in consult ERP in Oil & Gas industry, I want to share my experience in this field, and provide information to all member here to breaking ice with its.
Normally, we can separate this into some big part base on module: part one is FI (financial)-CO (controlling)-CS (consolidate) module, part two is MM (material management) – SD (sales and distribution) – TR( transportation). Almost companies in a country execute the same function and solution with FI, because it depends on regulation or policy of this country. However, business process is different from companies and also industry. Therefore, I will discuss deeply on logistic function. In this document, I also introduce some function that different between SAP standard and SAP Oil& Gas (for downstream).
If you go to configuration, you will see that there are many functions. However, which one usually be use for a company and which one should be use for companies. Below are list of function and different:
Firstly, in Material Management module: In material master data, it will have a tab use for Oil & gas only, you must active it, it call “Oil-specific data” tab, that include data as Parallel inventory management and excise duty processing, ex: Base unit, UoM group (Unit of Mearsure Group (Oil, Natural Gas,...). The unit of measure group allows inventory management in multiple units of measure for a material. Conversion Group (Oil, Natural Gas,..). Oil and gas is special material that it can be converted from Kg to Liter, Liter at 15 cel, M3... and its volume can change depend on temperature, density... To keep this type of stock, you must use tank and transport by special type of truck, not be use normal type of container... Moreover, this is easy to evaporate or leak (lost of stock). That is the reason why in this industry, they always set the tolerance, and the average temperature – density. The lost might be in stock keeping in plant, lost in transit... to determine the conversion between relative measurement, they provide QCI (quantity conversion interface). You can put the temperature, density and volume of a material, and it can give you information about Liter, Liter at 15 Cel, M3, MT, TO...To sum up, you should concentrate to material and inventory management here. The will be many problem and requirement related to lost management here.
Secondly, in Sales and distribution module: For selling price, they have fix price and floating price. As you know, oil price in the world change day by day, it effects the selling price. They can set a fix price for customer in a period of time or specific of contract by create condition record at Tcode VK11, for floating price, as Platts price (Price of oil get from Platts magazine), it can be 2-1-2, 5-1-5 add premium... SAP oil and gas provide place to set up and create record for this kind of Floating price. I want to add more function call exchange assignment. When you goods issue, system apply this function, the system will call to goods receipt transaction and execute it before goods issue. This function only exits in SAP Oil and gas, not in standard version.
Thirdly, in Transportation: they provide a specific program use for transportation in Oil and Gas version with different transaction code, more detail in data management and also development program. It also can manage goods in transit, lost...
In addition, I want to introduce the integration system. In this field, we use some outside system and should be integrated with SAP as Pumping system, integration with retail station system that help information update to SAP real time, ensure the correct of information and get report to managers.
That’s so difficult to tell all about a specific industry in one document and I hope that this will help you break ice and come closer on that.
