IHS Energy is a leading provider of oil and gas information, and related software and consulting services.
It offers critical information, products, solutions and services to governments and corporations in eight core industries in over 100 countries. The bulk of the company's revenues are derived from subscriptions.
IHS maintains comprehensive databases of their kind and employs proprietary processes and technology to collect, manage and deliver a vast inventory of information. The company is organised into two operating divisions -- energy and engineering.
The energy division provides a comprehensive suite of information services to the oil and gas industry -- from well and production data to economic and consulting products and services.
Energy division services and solutions support oil and gas professionals as they evaluate subsurface issues related to geology, technology, and reserves potential, and as they assess the economic impact of political, fiscal and environmental risks.
IHS says it helps customers make informed decisions quickly, while managing and understanding the risks associated with finding and producing oil and gas. With 17 technical teams positioned worldwide and proficiencies in 42 languages, IHS covers the petroleum industry in over 90 countries.
IHS Energy has signed an agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) of Cambridge to market a global biodiversity information module to the energy industry.
The module delivers desktop access to protected areas and other sensitive terrestrial and marine habitats, including WWF(r) Ecoregions - in context with IHS Energy's own comprehensive exploration and production (E&P) datasets and map-based analysis tools.
Integrating IHS Energy's comprehensive data on licensed areas, lease blocks, field outlines, basins, reserves, pipelines and other related E&P information with the biodiversity module's key information on national and internationally protected areas, habitats and ecosystems, will provide an "early warning system" for oil and gas companies to identify and consider the potential impacts of their activities on wildlife and their habitats at any stage of an oil and gas project's life-cycle.
The integration and development of such analytical tools creates a critical information resource for minimising, avoiding or mitigating environmental impact on sensitive natural areas, as well as serving as a useful assessment tool for monitoring company biodiversity performance.
Early access to this information will aid operators in evaluating new acreage acquisition or in project initiation. Companies will be able to work closely with communities, governments and biodiversity experts to address potential negative impacts on wildlife and their habitats before operations begin, as well as review ongoing drilling, transportation and pipeline operations.
Under this agreement, IHS Energy has exclusive rights to market and license the "Biodiversity Module," provided by UNEP-WCMC, to the oil and gas industry. The agreement also calls for a significant amount of the revenue generated through this commercial arrangement to be returned to UNEP-WCMC for use in updating the datasets and enhancing the quality of the biodiversity module to support critical decision-making and research.
UNEP-WCMC will also ensure that a proportion of the revenue is shared with its biodiversity data partner providers to assist with ongoing biodiversity data provision and management efforts.
“We are honored to be working with UNEP-WCMC to provide access to these critical biodiversity datasets," said Ron Mobed, president and chief operating officer of IHS Energy.
"Having widespread access to this integrated information is currently a missing link for many oil and gas companies. It will help fill the gap between their stated biodiversity goals and the necessary decision-support data for entire E&P teams. Combining biodiversity and E&P data in a map-based view creates a powerful, 'early-warning' resource for our customers, helping them understand the 'footprint' of planned projects and how any overlap with certain areas might impact sensitive ecosystems. With this information, operators can further their best practices for avoiding impacts to sensitive areas," he said.
"Such a product builds on our commitment to be a one-stop, integrated source for E&P teams needing to understand above-ground risks in frontier areas."
"When we looked at ways to expand the outreach to the energy industry and increase its use of the biodiversity data, it became clear that IHS Energy is the most respected and widely accepted provider of comprehensive E&P data worldwide. The company is a leader in managing and delivering integrated datasets and information services to the global oil and gas industry," said Tim Johnson, Ph.D., deputy director, UNEP-WCMC.
"The Centre seeks to ensure biodiversity data is made widely available to users that need it most - in relevant and useful formats. Combining the biodiversity module with IHS Energy's data and map-based E&P applications creates a unique tool to help oil and gas operators make informed decisions regarding issues of biodiversity and managing the world's growing energy demands.
IHS Energy's tremendous global oil and gas industry customer base, combined with its data expertise and reputation, made this agreement a logical step."
The number of protected areas being designated is growing worldwide (since 1962, the number of protected areas has multiplied 100-fold to more than 100,000, representing nearly 19 million square kilometres, an area the size of the US and China combined). As operators strive to meet growing demand for reserves, they are constantly evaluating "frontier" areas where the number, size and distribution of protected areas is growing rapidly, which makes the delivery of these biodiversity datasets in the context of E&P information even more essential to decision-making.
