Startup Idea: Development of an Advanced Natural Gas Scheduling System

Startup idea to develop a robust, comprehensive natural gas scheduling system. The current problem in the industry is the use of spreadsheets, which are not efficient or suitable for this complex task. The market potential lies in many oil & gas companies seeking an effective, simpler system for the transportation and scheduling of natural gas.

I am a Natural Gas Scheduler for an international oil company. Natural gas schedulers are essentially responsible for the transportation of natural gas across pipelines. There are some development companies that have created system to manage natural gas scheduling activity, but the majority of them aren’t that great. As a result, most companies forgo buying a system and use Excel spreadsheet as their primary scheduling tracking system.

Natural gas scheduling has a very steep learning curve. It’s fairly complex so Excel is one of the worst possible tools for tracking. My company used Excel for almost a decade and then the company developed an in-house system which is top of the line. Many of my colleagues who have been in the industry for decades say it’s the best scheduling system they’ve ever used.

I believe that a well-developed scheduling system is highly desired by many oil & gas companies. Spreadsheets are not the appropriate tool for the business.