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Streamlining processes for first purchasers

Tyrone Petrakis
2020-07-20

Many companies are not willing to take on the challenge and inconvenience of paying royalty owners and submitting tax and regulatory reports, so First Purchasing is not commonly used and there are limited systems built to support it. While the fundamental master data mirrors what an exploration and production (E&P) company would use, First Purchasers rely on the data and data quality from their partners, so they place an extra emphasis on setting up data quickly and succinctly.

Capgemini has incorporated First Purchaser functionality into its EnergyPath solution, a pre-configured SAP accelerator for Midstream and Downstream companies. Companies can now utilize SAP’s Production Revenue Accounting (PRA) configured and tailored for First Purchasers. Some key features of the solution include:

Automated master data set up

PRA is a solution built for the E&P companies with the scale and depth for some of the largest hydrocarbon-producing companies in the world. It’s the preeminent software solution for paying royalties to well owners and submitting the necessary reports to state and federal governments.  The same collection of master data that makes PRA so critical to E&P companies is streamlined for a First Purchaser. Capgemini has built and delivered a framework that automates the master data set up of contracts and leases, reducing the time spent on data not essential to the First Purchaser business.

Run statement flexibility

The run statement is akin to the joint interest bill or revenue check detail of the E&P world, which is the predominant means of communicating with a partner. The run statement solution in EnergyPath accounts for multiple layers of allocations, calculations, and detail, while also providing automated submission to third-party aggregators and portals.

Workflows and notifications

First Purchasers rely on other parties for accurate and timely division-order and tax data. Getting that data set up quickly and efficiently is paramount to their customer-service mandate. Using Salesforce Task Management and Service Cloud, Capgemini has built an automated workflow and notification tool embedded into the PRA framework. Workflows and notifications can be tied to business-partner changes or division-orders approvals. Tasks can be tracked in a tool that promotes cross-team communication and accountability.

The First Purchaser functionality of EnergyPath leverages the scale and strength of PRA and tailors it for the companies providing a customer service on behalf E&P companies. The addition of Salesforce on top of the solution tracks tasks, improves team efficiency, and provides management-level reporting. In a time when maximizing ROI is vital, EnergyPath delivers tier-one software for a niche industry in a consumable, preconfigured, and ready-to-go package.