REDMOND, Washington and LONDON, November 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. and Energistics today announced that Microsoft has joined Energistics, a global, not-for-profit consortium designed to unite oil and gas industry thought leaders and to explore ways to facilitate exploration and production (E&P) information sharing and business process integration. This membership continues the momentum that Microsoft and its nearly 500 oil and gas partners have built in driving a common platform as the "unifying language" and a force for innovation across the industry.

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Microsoft, along with its ecosystem of partners, has proven experience in bringing technologies and solutions to the mainstream oil and gas industry. This expertise will be used to deliver the reference implementation of Energistics' standards such as the Wellsite Information Transfer Standard Markup Language (WITSML) and Production Markup Language (PRODML), enabling oil and gas companies to increase the implementation of standards while lowering adoption hurdles.

Energistics' founding objective was to unite the oil and gas industry and foster an environment of collaboration. Across multiple industries, Microsoft is the trusted advisor and go-to company for developing and implementing the use of a unifying language as a common platform, for example, as a founding member of OPC (OLE for Process Control). By joining Energistics, Microsoft adds this expertise in helping the consortium meet its goal of uniting people, issues and ideas to facilitate E&P information sharing and business process integration.

"E&P companies are relying on development of standards such as PRODML to provide a common set of definitions and thus improve data exchange and work process efficiency," said Catherine Madden, senior research analyst at IDC Energy Insights. "Companies that can help facilitate the development and deployment of open data exchange standards such as PRODML will play a vital role in ensuring the industry can maximize potential cost savings."

"The oil and gas industry is undergoing massive changes," said Albrecht "Ali" Ferling, Ph.D., managing director, Worldwide Oil and Gas Industries at Microsoft. "By helping the industry adopt standards, Microsoft believes the industry can drive down cost by improving interoperability and building a platform for collaboration and communication. Our customers benefit when standards are implemented because their software prices decrease, interoperability increases and adoption hurdles are lowered. As a result, they will be able to better execute their E&P information sharing and business process integration strategies."

"We are pleased to have Microsoft on board to help us to deliver the reference implementation for our standards," said Randy Clark, president and CEO of Energistics. "As a body which facilitates an inclusive user community for collaborative technologies, we are keen to draw on Microsoft's experience in the industry to help facilitate the development and deployment of open data exchange standards in addressing information challenges."

"Having Microsoft as a member of Energistics is very positive news for the oil and gas industry," said Jaap Van Ballegooijen, leader of Royal Dutch Shell plc's Smart Fields group. "Microsoft will be able to contribute its experience and expertise to help drive the adoption of Energistics' standards. Microsoft has demonstrated ongoing commitment and support of the Energistics standards through its participation and sponsorship of the latest PRODML specifications presentation at the Microsoft Global Energy Forum. Shell, Microsoft and Energistics also collaborated to explore new and innovative solutions through the software-plus-services approach by implementing a PRODML proof of concept utilizing Microsoft's Windows Azure platform."

In joining the Energistics consortium, Microsoft, together with industry partners, will continue to drive change in the oil and gas industry by providing IT solutions and expertise that offer companies a strategic edge in tough economic times. With a focus on standardization, cost savings, productivity, collaboration and innovation, Microsoft is helping oil and gas enterprises do more with less.

About Energistics

Energistics is a global, not-for-profit consortium uniquely designed to unite upstream oil and natural gas industry professionals in a neutral and collaborative facilitation environment to develop and deploy open data exchange standards and to address E&P information challenges. Membership consists of integrated, independent and national oil companies, oilfield service companies, hardware and software vendors, system integrators, regulatory agencies and the global standards user community. For more information visit our website at www.energistics.org

About Microsoft in Oil & Gas

Meeting the challenges of global energy supply and demand depends on integrated business processes, breakthrough innovations and solid business relationships. Together with its partners, Microsoft delivers technology solutions that help people in the oil and gas industry make better decisions faster. More information about Microsoft in the oil and gas industry can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/oilandgas.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.