February 18, 2014 -- Exprodat, the UK-based provider of Esri-based petroleum GIS services, software and training, has become a member company of the Pipeline Open Data Standard (PODS) Association.

Started in 1998, PODS is a not-for-profit association that exists to develop and support open storage and exchange standards for the data that is critical to the good management of pipelines.

The PODS Pipeline Data Model is a database structure that stores vital information about a pipeline – for example inspection reports, the pipeline material condition and the location of high risk areas – and allows geospatial access to that data through a GIS such as Esri’s ArcGIS.

Exprodat staff combine an in-depth knowledge of Esri technology with real-world experience of oil and gas workflows; their membership of PODS will extend their capabilities from their traditional exploration and production domain into the downstream marketplace.

Managing Director, Gareth Smith explains more about why Exprodat decided to join PODS; “We see an increasing requirement in our client base to use GIS for managing and analysing pipeline and other engineering data. We aim to leverage industry standards wherever possible, so we felt the time was right for us to join PODS and integrate it in to our solutions”

In reply, PODS Executive Director Janet Sinclair welcomed Exprodat to the Association by saying; “We are excited to have Exprodat building their pipeline solutions based on the PODS Standard, and look forward to Exprodat’s contributions to the Association.   By leveraging the PODS Standard, Exprodat is able to develop applications that are easily used by multiple customers without customization, reducing the overall cost of development, and saving their clients money.”

To learn more about PODS visit: www.pods.org and for Exprodat visit: www.exprodat.com.