WITSML and PPDM data movement: A simple process

By Peter Tuff, Senior Consultant.

You’ve just completed your new PPDM standardisation of the company’s E&P data.  You’re then asked to produce a data extract in the WITSML format.  What do you do?  How can you quickly and reliably extract the data?

At ETL Solutions we use our Transformation Manager software, which has built-in PPDM and WITSML models and the standard PPDM-to-WITSML transform.

“Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.”  Edsger W. Dijkstra

Transformation Manager’s easy-to-follow Simple Mapping Language (SML) documents the mappings from PPDM to WITML, allowing the user to easily customise the PPDM-to-WITSML transform.  This provides a simple and reliable method of data integration.

Simple mapping syntax

With Transformation Manager, the user can directly map between columns of the PPDM and XML properties of WITSML (fig 1).  Thanks to Transformation Manager’s modelling of WITSML, the transformed data will automatically be placed in a valid XML file.

Figure 1. Mapping with XML indexes

What if it’s not possible to directly map between PPDM and WITSML?  Don’t worry; you just add the programming logic to your SML (fig 2).  This allows you to customise the values used to populate the WITSML output.

Figure 2. Programming logic

Transformation Manager then effortlessly moves the data from the PPDM database to WITSML XML files.  The movement is repeatable and reliable.

Reliable process

Transformation Manager is a mature application and integrates with standard JDBC drivers.  When accessing PPDM, Oracle drivers are used, which provide exceptional reliability.

And, using  SML, we can introduce ways of validating data.  This allows validation issues to be highlighted during the data movement, halting it if required.

Figure 3. Error generation

In Figure 3, the SML will throw an error if PPDM is missing an important value when transforming the data.  The error is captured and logged (fig 4).

Figure 4. Thrown error reported

Once you’re happy with the transform mappings and validation rules, they can be reused.  Transformation Manager’s Migrator tool ensures that dynamic data movement statistics and analysis are provided.  This means that statistics regarding the output, such as rows extracted, may be compared with previous extracts (fig 5).

Figure 5. Transform output log

With Transformation Manager’s simple, yet powerful, SML, complex data movements are possible.  This is complemented by the use of standard JDBC drivers and customisable data validation, making Transformation Manager the perquisite for any reliable PPDM to WITSML data movement.

Further reading