geoAMPS plans to attend the National Meeting of the American Association of State Highway Officials’ (AASHTO) Standing Committee on Rail Transportation (SCORT) Sept. 22 and 23 in Columbus, OH. The National Meeting is being hosted by the Ohio Rail Development Commission and Guy Allen, Business Development Executive is scheduled to attend from geoAMPS. Guy, said geoAMPS is excited to attend the National SCORT Meeting to discuss issues critical to the rail transportation industry and how rail management software from geoAMPS has improved rail projects within the United States.

Brandon Townley / flickr Railroads have been a reliable method of transportation in the United States for nearly 200 years. There are more than 140,000 miles of track in the U.S., encompassing freight, short and passenger lines with around 70 percent of all goods traveling by rail at some point. This spider web-like rail line system crisscrosses the landscape, connecting cities, smaller communities, ports and a wide variety of industries.

Hydraulic fracturing is creating a positive impact on the United States economy, spurring job creation and investment in regions that both drill and export the oil and natural gas products produced. But will the shale boom in the U.S. have a lasting impact? According to predictions of some industry experts, not only will the impact last, but the benefits could pay huge economic dividends.    Experts have predicted that U.S. drilling is on track to generate approximately $700 billion in the U.S. economy by 2020. The prediction, based from realistic assumptions, takes into consideration several opportunities that shale presents. The first is that increased oil and natural gas production will attract the petrochemical industry to a reliable and steady source of raw materials, creating new infrastructure investment and many skilled labor positions. The second is that as reserves of oil and natural gas continue to increase, exports will also become lucrative, spurring even more investment and job creation.

The recent shale gas boom in Pennsylvania has turned the region into one of the top producers of natural gas in the United States. Brazil is taking notice, paying particular attention as the South American country prepares to auction off drilling rights to its shale gas reserves.   A delegation of Brazilian business representatives visited shale experts in Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania last week, gathering information on best practices to prepare the country to better handle its new natural resource while protecting the environment and benefiting Brazil’s economy. The discovery also has the opportunity to make Brazil - the largest economy in Latin America - more attractive to potential business investment by lowering the cost of energy.

When it comes to energy and policy, the state of Ohio has a long history of leadership. It even held title of energy capital of the nation in the late 1800s.   Ohio is still leading the energy industry. Today, however, the state is making a name for itself in the renewable energy arena. Ohio is making a significant contribution to the national goals for renewable energy production. In a recent report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Ohio is now among the top five states with the fastest growing wind generation capacity. The report shows that Ohio added 313 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity in 2012, outpacing many other traditional sources of energy production installed. And, there's the added potential of expanding another estimated 54,000 MW of wind capacity.

geoAMPS, a technology company in the Columbus, OH, area, announces that the mobile application it developed for the International Right of Way (IRWA) Education Conference is ready to download.

During the May 9 Spring Business Meeting of the Illinois Chapter of the International Right of Way Association (IRWA) Chapter 12, Yogesh Khandelwal, President and Chief Executive Officer of geoAMPS, presented how technology from geoAMPS is rapidly changing the right of way industry.

geoAMPS President and CEO Yogesh Khandelwal invites you to talk  wind power  technology at the upcoming American Wind Energy Association Conference and Exhibition. A contributing factor to the wind industry boom of late is new technological capabilities. Yogesh will discuss these new capabilities at the  AWEA WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition  May 5-8 in Chicago. In his poster presentation on Tuesday, May 7, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Yogesh will explain how software advancements and other technological tools offer wind organizations greater efficiency and cost savings in completing and managing their wind farm projects.

Japan recently announced that it had successfully tapped into its methane hydrate reserves beneath the sea floor off its coast . The achievement was a milestone in long-running international efforts to extract the world’s richest source of untapped fossil fuel .  Methane hydrate, also known as flammable ice, is everywhere, and most importantly it’s found near some of the fastest growing economies in the world. This is especially true for Japan, which is a resource-poor nation that imports all of its fuel. The nation shut down its nuclear capabilities after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster two years ago. Technology is constantly pushing the oil and gas industry forward. Like directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing a short time ago, experimentation, failure and success can all be counted upon as the industry attempts to bring flammable ice to the marketplace.  One sector of the industry that has seen radical improvement in the last few years is the technology that allows energy companies to track and manage assets. Interestingly, many organizations that are leveraging advanced extraction techniques and equipment are still tracking production, landowner records, payments and other data on spreadsheets and disconnected databases, rather than leveraging oil and gas asset management software such as geoAMPS provides. With technology advancements in Web-based computing, global information systems (GIS) and mobile applications, there are abundant opportunities to increase organizational efficiency. Seizing these opportunities can dramatically increase the profitability of oil and gas projects, producing less waste in time, material and manpower. With these advancements in technology, as well as the extraction techniques of resources, it’s surprising that many organizations still utilize spreadsheets that contain out-of-date information, depth-right records that are misplaced or GIS maps that contain limited information. It’s estimated that the reserves of methane hydrate, mostly beneath the sea floor, are enormous. These reserves exist everywhere , from the tropics to the poles. It is only a matter of time until this new unconventional fuel will be developed on a commercial scale, leading to the ever-increasing need for technology solutions to support and operate this new resource. So how much gas are we talking about? Estimates from several sources, including The U.S. Geological Survey , range between 500 to 11,000 gigatonnes carbon (Gt C) . On the high end, that’s two to three times the amount of known natural gas reserves in rock. With real-time updates, robust security and the ability to interface with GIS mapping, geoAMPS extensive line of software solutions is capable of handling this new resource and everything companies working with it demand. With a reputation of working with clients to tailor our solutions, geoAMPS is a strong contender to take this resource to the next level.