The metamorphosis from mainframes to PCs came at a most fortunate time for the natural gas industry. The advent of the open-access market produced a sudden, pressing need for current, accurate, and timely information. This information is required for the following functions:
Making decisions about buying and selling gas with Managing contracts for transport and sale . Monitoring the flow of gas as a month progresses Allocating gas to partners and/or purchasers Accounting for volumes and revenues Tracking and managing imbalances between all par-trading partners ties concerned
In response to these needs, the natural gas industry responded with the wholesale acquisition of personal computing hardware and s o h a r e .
Needing Personal Information Systems
Recognizing the need for automated information, the typical gas marketing department has developed the following line of reasoning:
If therc is a data processing department, they can help me with my information needs, but typically the wait is months or even years because of personnel shortages or other development priorities. We need help NOW! Either we already have personal computers, or the resources allocated to acquire them is small (typically $3,000 to $7,oIx) per unit, depending on speed,
Mark M. Willctt is senior vice president of Micro
Solutions, a company with offices in New Orleans and Dallos that has devrloped in formation-bmking system and others for the natuml gas industry. He has twenty years' experience designing systems for the energy and other industries. He holdsdcgrees inappliedmathematicsfrom the University of Illinois and Michigan State Univer-S i r y . processing power, and accessories). 3. We already have, or can easily develop, some inhouse expertise. Software for personal computers is readily available, and training on how to use it is available at the local computer store. Bookstores also have whole sections of how-to books. A few word processing programs are especially prevalent: WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and DisplayWrite. The most popular spreadsheets are Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel.