e-business for Energy Briefing
Wednesday 6 September 2000
Issue 10


Contents:

        EDITORIAL
- Editors introduction - Teaching an Old Industry new tricks via the
Internet

        NEWS ROUND UP
- A selection of e-commerce news from the energy industry

        CASE STUDY
- Spare plant parts become manageable with Sparesfinder.com

- Deregulation and the consumer

RELATED INDUSTRY NEWS
- A selection of news on E-business projects within related industries

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Editorial - TEACHING AN OLD INDUSTRY NEW TRICKS VIA THE INTERNET

The concept of &E-learning8 is basically an old idea that has come back into
vogue with the never-ending possibilities offered by the World Wide Web.
From training employees to collaborating and sharing information with
business partners and suppliers, today,s businesses are utilizing web
technology to broaden their share of the market.

Uday Om Pabrai calls E-learning the Internet,s &next killer application.8
Pabrai is a longtime web-watcher, having founded Net Guru Technologies in
1992, and having created the first webmaster certification
standard-Certified Internet Webmaster. He is now chairman of the AIP
Certification and Accreditation Council.

The energy industry, though cautious about utilizing the web, is scrambling
to take advantage of this next big thing.  Recently, several top companies
have taken the plunge to hire Internet professionals to develop their own
virtual training programs.

Equiva Services LLC, a joint venture company formed by Texaco Inc., Shell
Oil Company and Saudi Refining, Inc, ABB Vetco Gray, and Columbia Gulf
Transmission Company, have all recently jumped on the e-learning bandwagon.
All three companies have created web-based platforms or e-commerce hubs that
enable employees to quickly and conveniently get necessary training from
pre-selected suppliers.

&This type of innovative application of information technology will help us
to work smarter and faster for our internal clients,8 said Mari Duarte,
senior human resources generalist for ABB Vetco Gray.  &We expect to lower
costs and improve efficiency by reducing the time of administrative
transactions related to registration and by improving reporting of
information related to training activities to management.8

For the energy industry, E-learning can involve both the automation of
training management systems as well as the transmission and delivery of
learning to individuals through use of the Internet.  Through this
technology, training information previously available through classroom
instruction can be delivered directly to employees, desktops in different
forms, ranging from basic presentation-style courses to highly interactive
courses with digitized video transmissions and on-line discussions.

&E-learning can encompass training employees and it can be used to share
important knowledge across the organization and with outside business
partners,8 said Dennis McMullin, energy industry consultant at Proxicom, a
leading Internet consulting firm in Houston, Texas.  McMullin says that more
companies are increasing the amount of training they offer online to help
employees stay current on market trends and personal skills.  &There can be
a significant cost savings involved in using technology for learning, but a
company,s success ultimately depends on how effectively it can bring the
technology into the organization and how well they use it.8

E-learning technology can also ease the administrative burden on an
organization,s human resources department and lower the per-unit cost of
training employees.  Additionally, management has the ability to better
analyze training needs and how to best deploy the information.  &Web-based
training is extremely flexible and offers employees convenience in
scheduling courses when they need and want them,8 said McMullin.  &It also
allows them the opportunity to go back and revisit course material if the
need a refresher or a resource.  It is a self-teaching method that lets
individuals learn at their own pace and based on their own needs."

Internet companies such as VerticalNet, Inc. in Horsham, PA, offer companies
the ability to manage training programs through an Internet interface that
directly links the company with training suppliers.  Taken one stop further,
VerticalNet,s &Training Intelligence Portals8 enable companies to centralize
their personnel training programs and literally outsource administration and
other back-office transactions such as invoice management, utilization
reporting, course evaluation and quality assurance.

According to Walter Rogers, VerticalNet,s eBusiness training services senior
director and general manager, the energy industry is becoming more
aggressive in moving from office administration and classroom learning to
web-based technology for training.  &We,re seeing a lot more demand from the
energy sector for e-learning technology,8 said Rogers, whose firm is
currently working with several large energy companies.  &We,ve found that
the energy industry doesn,t typically lead the way in the use of technology.
It tends to want to see it working and proven in other areas before they try
it.  But now they are getting more involved.  Since the industry is driven
to reduce operating costs, it finds this technology to be very cost
effective.8

In addition to hiring Internet experts to develop and manage a training
site, Dennis McMullin points out that there is a large variety of existing
training opportunities for on-line learning.  &Most of the technology
companies offer on-line training for technical products, while numerous web
sites offer free information and opportunities for e-learning,8 he said.

In the end, however, McMullin believes that acceptance of the Internet is
more than a technological issue for many companies, rather it requires a
cultural adjustment.  &It really is an issue of adjusting the company
culture to accept and benefit from Internet technology.  It requires
companies to be more open and less fearful of sharing information.  Energy
companies could really benefit from effective use of the Internet if they
use it as a median to share more knowledge throughout their organizations
and with suppliers.8



NEWS ROUND-UP


DUKE SOLUTIONS USING B2B MARKETPLACE TO REDUCE CLIENT BILLS
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml>#news1

TS HUB: A NEW OFFERING FROM FT ENERGY
 <http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#news2>

GE POWER SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES OFFER TO ACQUIRE SMALLWORLD PLC
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#news3>

OPENLINK EXPANDS EUROPEAN OPERATIONS
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#news4>

PARKER DRILLING CONSIDERS INTERNET OPPORTUNITIES
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#news5>

POWERTRUST.COM APPOINTS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#news6>

******************************************************
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October 7-9, 2000  Singapore
Learn how the e-business explosion is changing the Asian Pacific energy
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http://www.eyeforenergy.com/asia-pacific

INTRANET AND PORTAL STRATEGIES FOR ENERGY
October 17-19, 2000  Houston, TX
The premier annual US forum on internal e-business strategies for the entire
energy industry
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/ipse>

*******************************************************

CASE STUDY

Spare plant parts become manageable with Sparesfinder.com

One of the Internet,s most powerful features is its ability to make
information instantly available that once was virtually impossible to get.
That,s exactly the power behind sparesFinder.com, an Internet service that
allows chemical, petroleum and power companies to manage their own
inventories of factory parts and search the inventories of other companies
around the globe for needed replacements.

Click here for full article:
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#case1>


CASE STUDY

Deregulation and the Consumer

Conventional wisdom tells us to &build it and they will come.8 With over
$300 billion at stake in the U.S. energy market alone, it is not surprising
that the young-guns of the Internet world are homing in on the traditional
legacy laden utilities as deregulation tears away at their regional
monopolies.

Click here for full article:
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#case2>


RELATED INDUSTRY FEATURES
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#related>

REDMETEOR.COM CHOOSE SAGAVISTA FOR BACKEND INTEGRATION SOLUTION
 <http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#related1>
TRADIANT TEAMS WITH ANDERSEN CONSULTING TO BRING THE POWER OF THE WEB TO
GLOBAL SHIPPING INDUSTRY
<http://www.eyeforenergy.com/energy/newsletter060900.shtml#related2>

*******************************************************

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Email   : energynews-subscribe-request@peach.ease.lsoft.com
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e-business for energy briefing
Wednesday September 6 2000
Issue 10

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