15-05-00 EDS, Raytheon, The Information Store and Chevron announced the formation of UpstreamInfo.com, an independent company and a neutral, e-business information portal and applications service provider for oil and gas companies. This business-to-business (B2 b) portal will enable petroleum companies to reduce costs and have access to massive amounts of technical and business information and associated applications that support their operations world-wide.
UpstreamInfo.com combines the strengths of the four companies to create an Internet-based B2 b service that provides upstream petroleum companies, government agencies, and service contractors global and transparent access at anytime and anyplace to enable efficient business decisions.

George Steel will serve as the president and CEO of UpstreamInfo.com. Steel has more than 30 years of world-wide experience in the oil and gas and related technology service industries. He is the former chairman, president and CEO of Scientific Software Intercomp, which was acquired by Baker Hughes in 1998. Steel also served as vice president of Snyder Oil and as president of Halliburton Geophysical Services.

Petroleum companies today use very large volumes of information to determine where to find and produce oil and gas. This information continues to increase in volume and complexity and this trend is expected to continue as oil and gas becomes more difficult to locate. The upstream petroleum industry spends in excess of $ 50 bn annually on engineering and geo-science, much of which is used for gathering and analysing information.
"By reducing duplication, sharing facilities across multiple users, and leveraging economies of scale of information technology operations, UpstreamInfo.com can dramatically lower the cost of information management and applications in the petroleum industry," said Ian Miller, leader of EDS Energy Industries Group. "UpstreamInfo.com is a full-function e-business portal, providing timely and efficient access to critical business and technical information and applications on a global basis."
"UpstreamInfo.com will bring the right information to engineers and geo-scientists to make timely decisions in operations, to manage the acquisition and divestiture of properties, and to manage a host of other upstream activities. EDS, Raytheon and The Information Store bring together secure data access, information management and applications on a pay-for-use basis to provide oil companies and oilfield service companies with the services to cut cost and improve productivity," said Steel.

"This venture represents a revolutionary change for the exploration and production (E&P) industry," said Mike Keebaugh, vice president and general manager of Raytheon's Imagery and Geospatial Systems business unit.
"No other company offers a comprehensive, multi-function e-business service solution for the E&P industry. UpstreamInfo.com provides customers a wealth of secure, on-demand information and applications with a substantial economy-of-scale discount."
"UpstreamInfo.com is focused on one business, and that is to provide current and dynamic information and the associated application on demand from anyplace and anytime to make timely business decisions. In addition to reducing the cost of information and applications, UpstreamInfo.com provides a large value proposition by shortening the time to get oil and gas to the wellhead," said Glenn Breed, president and CEO of The Information Store.
"As a substantial investor and strategic partner, our participation in UpstreamInfo.com demonstrates our continued leadership in the development of and investment in the new economy," said Dave Clementz, president of Chevron eBusiness Development Co. "This will enable Chevron to reduce costs in our information management and improve our cycle time and productivity by capitalising on the power of the Internet."

Benefits:
Increases efficiency by eliminating redundant information within and across multiple organisations.
Reduces costs for the information owner and consumer.
Improves productivity through flexible on-demand access to information from a laptop, desktop or workstation.
Increases productivity by providing one information repository from which to find and acquire quality information.
Speeds collaborative decision-making across organisational boundaries.
Cuts intra- and inter-company transaction time through on-line markets

About EDS
EDS is a recognised global leader in providing E-business and information technology services to 9,000 business and government clients in about 50 countries around the world. Having founded the IT services industry more than 35 years ago, EDS delivers high value management consulting, electronic business solutions, business process management, and systems and technology expertise to help clients simplify complexity and achieve superior value in the digital economy.
The company brings deep industry practice knowledge to solve challenges in a wide variety of industries, including communications, energy and chemicals, financial services, government, healthcare, products and retailing, and travel and transportation. EDS reported revenues of $ 18.5 bn in 1999.

About Raytheon
Raytheon, based in Lexington, MA, is a global technology leader that provides products and services in the areas of commercial and defence electronics and business and special mission aircraft. It has operations throughout the United States and serves customers in more than 80 countries.