Training

Quintus helps EBN gain more insight into energy projects

How information management by Quintus leads to more efficiency at Energie Beheer Nederland

Data is vital for Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN). The organization, a non-operating partner to nearly all gas and energy transition projects in the Netherlands, uses massive amounts of data to increase efficiency and create market value. In order to have access to all data and their smart aggregation, EBN relies on the expertise of Quintus. Manager Information Management Martin Hoff elaborates on this partnership.

EBN is active in the Dutch gas and renewable energy markets. The company provides policy advice to the government and shares knowledge with third parties, large actors in the gas and energy value chain. As non-operating partner, EBN participates in their projects. Most of the projects involve either the exploration, extraction and storage of Dutch natural gas, decommissioning of infrastructure, or geothermal energy and carbon capturing and storage.

“The availability of reliable information is crucial to our business objectives,” says Martin Hoff, EBN’s Manager Information Management and Chief Information Officer. He explains that most information is generated by cleverly processing and presenting data from various internal and external sources. It provides insight into crucial aspects of the business, such as gas production, reserves and forecasts per location, benchmark information, its financial status and operational risks, Hoff details.

From data warehouse to dashboard

At the heart of EBN’s data management lies a data warehouse. Here, data from numerous applications and external sources is compiled and prepared for further processing. It is made accessible to data analytics tools that allow visual presentation in dashboards. To have this process run efficiently and gain maximum insight, EBN relies on the expertise of Quintus consultants.

IT service provider Quintus is responsible for managing the data warehouse and delivering regular and incidental reports to EBN. Their consultants provide and maintain the tooling for correct data access, aggregation and visual presentation, Hoff explains. They also perform high-level quality checks prior to data admission to the warehouse. This gives EBN a reliable picture of both specific projects and generic trends. Anonymized information is also made available to the market.

Strategic information management

EBN first selected Quintus back in 2017, for implementing data analytics and reporting tool Spotfire. This tool was an addition to EBN’s existing SAP Business Objects suite that could not integrate GIS maps, Hoff says. Since then, Quintus has expanded its responsibility to include the more tactical side of information management. Hoff notes that most application-specific data is checked and managed either by the IT demand managers with support of the data program team at EBN or by the respective data supplier.

Four Quintus consultants participate in the scrum team, says Hoff. The team also includes EBN and third-party employees. Hoff is pleased with the input from Quintus. “They do a good job and are an integral part of our day-to-day business. They are familiar with our company culture and demands, realize which data is relevant to us and know extremely well the meaning of various data. When problems arise, they know whom to consult and never complain or disagree.”

Data efficiency with new technology

Hoff plans further digitization and even more efficient and effective use of data in the years to come. “As a company we shift focus towards energy transition. To facilitate this transition, we need extreme data efficiency. We have to embrace new technology in the future, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our current tooling won’t get us there. As long as we do not update our quality assurance and data processing capabilities, it will simply take too long.”

With that in mind, Hoff’s team has started the implementation of a data lake, in which raw data from applications and suppliers appears. “It’s going to be a challenge to us all,” Hoff concludes. “We need new knowledge and tooling to compare and bring these datasets together. Everyone will have to prepare for this, including Quintus. We are happy with their hands-on support.”

For sixty years EBN has been a participant in nearly all projects involving gas extraction, infrastructure decommissioning and energy transition in the Netherlands. The organization participates in, gives advice to and serves as information broker within its partnerships. EBN is fully owned by the Dutch state, but operates independently. It currently employs approximately 130 people.

Objective: smarter insights from a variety of datasets

Solution: data warehouse and information management

Result: more efficient and effective data use, prelude to further digitization