The Best Oil and Gas Software
Oil and gas software streamlines operations across production, pipeline, land management, and oilfield services. We evaluated each platform based on features like production reporting, regulatory compliance, and asset management.
- Automated asset tracking
- Real-time monitoring of wells
- Dynamic analysis of well performance
- Highly scalable and customizable
- Comprehensive financial management
- Responsive customer support
- Supports nearly all industry specific equipment
- Offers several complete modules for inventory and rental management
Using our advanced review methodology, we’ve ranked our best picks for oil and gas solutions based on factors like key features, value for money, and ability to manage oil and gas operations.
- Petrofly: Best for Upstream Producers
- PakEnergy: Best for Accounting
- RTMS: Best for Oilfield Rentals
- Deacom: Best Process Control Tools
- Quorum: Best for Land Management
- SOGAS: Best for Small Businesses
- W Energy Software: Best for Midstream Energy Companies
- RigER: Best for Oilfield Services
Petrofly - Best for Upstream Producers
Why we chose it: Petrofly sets itself apart with capabilities tailored to the exploration and production phases of the oil and gas supply chain. These tools include automated asset tracking, real-time monitoring of wells, and dynamic analysis of well performance. This allows producers to identify underperforming wells, plan workovers, and optimize production strategies.
This suite integrates seamlessly with other operational aspects like royalty management, providing a full view of financial performance. For upstream producers, this means tracking the profitability of wells, managing accounts payable and receivable, and maintaining cash flow visibility, all within one system.
PakEnergy - Best for Accounting
Why we chose it: We selected PakEnergy (formerly WolfePak) for its complex financial management support. Its core modules include general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, deposit entry, and 1099s. It also handles audit trails, transaction histories, compliance reporting, and financial statements.
PakEnergy CDEX Data Exchange feature automates the entry of check stub data, significantly reducing errors and improving efficiency in financial processing. With its comprehensive modules for joint interest billing, revenue distribution, and production reporting, PakEnergy ensures accurate accounting for crude oil purchasers, CPA firms, and investors.
RTMS - Best for Oilfield Rentals
Why we chose it: We chose RTMS for its industry-specific features for the oilfield rental industry. It can manage a wide range of equipment, including drill pipes, wirelines, land drilling rigs, and any other oilfield rental. RTMS includes modules for tracking repairs and maintenance, fixed asset management, and equipment sales, making it a well-rounded solution for service, sales, and rentals.
RTMS also stands out for its ticket management system. Tickets can be created in the field or the office and allow users to log issues related to their equipment, such as malfunctions, maintenance needs, or service requests. Tickets are tracked from origination all the way to resolution of the issue or a tool was returned. It also stands out for its customer support and comprehensive training on the software. One downside we found was the requirement to talk with the developer for accurate pricing information.
Deacom - Best Process Control Tools
Deacom is best for manufacturing oil and gas products because it enhances process control, financial management, and operational efficiency in the oil and gas sector. The system provides accounting tools and document generation for shipping. The MRP system tracks the availability of materials like drilling supplies, safety equipment, and components for machinery maintenance.
Deacom handles real-time inventory control for crude oil, refined products, chemicals, and spare parts. It also acts as a warehouse management system with lot tracking. Its built-in CRM tools help negotiate contracts, handle orders, and address service needs. Additionally, it integrates with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) for data transfer and regulatory compliance support.
Quorum - Best for Land Management
Quorum Software provides a comprehensive suite of modules that manage operations across the entire oil and gas industry. One of its standout modules is its land management capabilities, which provide tools for managing land assets accurately and in compliance. Quorum allows users to track ownership, make land acquisitions, manage lease payments, and maintain accurate financial records, ensuring oil and gas companies handle their land agreements and operations.
In addition to land management, Quorum Software can also manage oil and gas production, accounting, and supply chain management. It offers BI tools to analyze data in real time and help make companies make decisions. We also found that Qurorum was made to scale with companies accommodating both mid-sized and large oil and gas enterprises. However, Quorum might not be the best fit for very small oil and gas companies as it has features that small enterprises might find too complex or costly.
SOGAS - Best for Small Businesses
SOGAS is a cost-effective option for small businesses or startups in the oil and gas sector. It provides essential features like production tracking and revenue distribution at a competitive price, making it a favorable option for companies with limited budgets.
SOGAS is specifically tailored to meet the compliance requirements of the U.S. domestic oil and gas market, including tax regulations and reporting standards, making it suitable for businesses in the United States.
W Energy Software - Best for Midstream Energy Companies
Waterfield Energy Software, now known as W Energy, is a solid choice for midstream energy companies. Its land management solutions include customizable land area reports, acreage calculations tailored to holdings, and efficient resource allocation. Companies can also streamline obligation management with a complete review of history workflow.
W Energy’s midstream accounting solutions offer advanced gas processing allocation and contract management. These capabilities are designed to optimize plant accounting processes, enhance financial visibility, and ensure accurate forecasting and budgeting. The platform also supports rapid month-end closings, easy scalability, and customizable formulas for contract terms.
RigER - Best for Oilfield Services
RigER is designed to streamline oilfield service scheduling, fleet dispatching, operational data management, and invoicing. The invoicing module includes Rental Services Agreement (RSA) integration. Each job in RigER starts with an RSA that includes all job parameters, like services, billing terms, rental equipment, and field tickets. RSAs then connect to invoicing by tracking equipment rentals and consumable usage, which means your final invoice will cover all parameters.
Additionally, the invoicing module supports flexible invoice types for complex billing scenarios:
- Service: Bills for jobs that solely involve services like drilling support, well testing, cementing, or hydraulic fracturing.
- Repair: Records expenses associated with repairing equipment on the job site due to unexpected breakdowns, regular wear, or client-caused damages.
- Rental: Bills for jobs involving rental equipment, like drilling rigs and generators, along with consumables like fuel or chemicals.
- Multi-Well Allocation: Specializes in jobs involving multiple wells, dividing the total costs based on each well’s share of work by usage, time, or percentage.
Additionally, RigERP automates invoicing based on predefined billing cycles, from daily to monthly, and can create bulk invoices in one click. This automated billing reduces delays and keeps your operations financially stable, which is useful for oilfield operations.
RigER is customizable with over 200 features. It also has mobile applications and extensive integrations with ERPs, accounting, billing systems, and business analytics tools.
What is Oil and Gas Software?
Oil and gas software is a digital tool that helps automate oilfield operations, including exploration, extraction, production, distribution, or customer sales.
This software covers the entire spectrum of businesses within the oil and gas industry, from the earliest oilfield discovery to end-consumer retail sales. Oil and gas software is commonly used by production, pipeline, and plant operators, equipment manufacturers, inspection services, and oilfield services. Software vendors offer a number of solutions that help streamline operations.
Common software features across most oil and gas business types include accounting to ensure profitability and asset management to maintain equipment. These features are intended to address the industry’s specific workflows.
Key Features
| Feature | Functionality |
|---|---|
| Accounting | Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable. Track joint billing between investors and owners. Manage taxes based on the product and sales location. Track Depreciation, Depletion, and Amortization (DD&A). |
| Oil and Gas Production Reporting | Field data capture systems provide production and operation reports on meter readings, well status, downtime, and more to improve performance management. |
| Asset Management | Track on-hand assets, including materials and equipment. Keep track of preventative maintenance deadlines to improve asset performance. |
| Regulatory Compliance Management | Manage compliance requirements from various state, federal, and international organizations. Examples include the EPA air pollution monitoring, the Bureau of Land Management Oil and Gas inspection and enforcement, and the Global Reporting Initiative oil and gas sector disclosures. |
| Document Management | Store permits, lease information, and other important documents in one system. |
| Quality Management | Perform tests throughout the extraction and refinement process to ensure the oil and gas products meet quality standards. |
| Land Management | Manage land purchases and leases. Land management systems typically include lease master records, land management inquiry subsystems, and contractual obligations systems to keep records organized. |
Top Benefits
- Maintain regulatory compliance: The oil and gas industry is one of the most tightly regulated in the world. Software helps you stay on top of constantly changing global standards.
- Streamline operations from start to finish: Automating processing along the entire process improves efficiency, allowing workers at every level to get more done.
- Improve high-level decision-making: Top decision-makers can determine the most profitable next steps by getting the latest, real-time information about the market.
Software Trends
- 3D Modeling: The rise in accuracy from 3D models has led to many within the industry adopting these visualization tools. These models can show the real-time location of assets or replicate oilfield conditions.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): According to a Science Direct study titled “Artificial intelligence in oil and gas upstream: trends, challenges, and scenarios for the future”, the oil and gas industry is utilizing AI and ML to create algorithms which help with “accelerating and re-risking processes” throughout the entire energy sector.
- Increased Blockchain: Blockchain’s security and transparency will increase its use in the oil and gas industry in years to come.
How to Choose So
While you could manage operations with a complete ERP system, there are many benefits to using an industry-specific solution. There are many standalone software systems geared toward the oil and gas industries. These solutions help you control costs, promote efficiency, and run a profitable operation. Many full-featured solutions allow you to add modules as your business grows.
Task-specific solutions are also available, allowing you to add functionality to your current system. For example, you can find production software to integrate if you’re a growing business with standalone oil and gas accounting software. The production software can help you monitor field operations, improve production data management, and more.
Integration Options
Full ERP systems can meet your needs, from operations management to back-office business processes. Oil and gas ERP software manages accounting, land leases, and production processes. The system can also handle HR functionality like hiring and onboarding, benefits management, and payroll.
Project management software lets you schedule your crews and subcontractors, ensuring you have the right people on board at all times and performing the work they should be doing. Job costing tools are another important part of construction work. You need to track your labor costs, machine and equipment costs, fuel costs and any contract labor. Tracking these costs will also help you better understand your cash flow.
If you are at the point where you are ready to find out which oil & gas software platform is right for you, we can help. Through a brief phone call, our software specialists will locate a handful of software solutions that can address the issues you are currently experiencing. [Get started today with free oil and gas software recommendations from our specialists.
Natural Resources Exploration Related Software Needs
Before you roll your first piece of equipment onto the property, there are a number of activities that need to take place first and these activities cost you money. Here is how software helps with every step of the process:
Forecasting Revenue and Expenses
Budgeting and forecasting software tools that allow you to quantify likely expenses and potential revenues are particularly important for companies involved in natural resources exploration. Forecasting revenue and expenses improves decision-making.
Obtaining Permits and Managing Documents
The process of obtaining permits for land exploration and extraction is incredibly complex. Document management software makes you more efficient by storing all your permitting documents in one place.
Oil and gas software will also manage other important documents like leases. Keep track of lease terms, payments, expiration dates, and more.
Environmental Impact Studies
Environmental studies are a major cost source. The permitting process can require approval from local, state, and federal agencies. Maintaining compliance and reaching approval is significantly easier and less risky with the help of software tools.
Typical Software Needs for Oil and Gas Production Work
If you are running an oil and gas production business, tracking operational costs is a central concern for your software to address. Managing costs associated with the operation of a mine or well can include labor costs, equipment and repairs, fuel, and transportation. Understanding where your money is going at this point in the process is critical.
Production Planning
If you are not producing enough to meet customer demand, you may need to hire more employees or subcontractors or bring in more equipment. Whatever the case may be, a production planning module will help you understand how much demand you have and how much material you are processing to keep up with customer demand.
Logistics and Delivery
The operational modules will also help you with the logistics and delivery of the items. Tracking the costs associated with transporting the materials to your customers is critical to understanding your profitability. The software will also help you analyze which mode of transportation is the best in terms of price and delivery time.
Fuel Retail Sales
Delivering products to the market involves another set of complexities. Customer relationship management software can greatly assist with identifying and tracking information related to buyers. This will allow you to manage contact information for each buyer, including typical purchases, the amount spent, discounts applied, and more.
