BHP Billiton switches on new payment system

23.03.2006
Australian mining and resources giant BHP Billiton has implemented a new electronic invoicing solution for oil and gas upstream services based on the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Petroleum Industry Data Exchange (PIDX) standards.

The new system, from Quadrem, connects directly to BHP Billiton Petroleum's SAP system, and enables the oil and gas operator to pay invoices faster while complying with corporate contracts, according to the company.

Yusuf Dalal, BHP Billiton Petroleum's world drilling finance advisor, said the company is dramatically reducing the time it takes for engineers to reconcile invoices without having to make significant changes to business processes.

"Additionally, Quadrem's automatic download to SAP eliminates five to six business days of work at the front-end of the procure-to-pay process," Dalal said. "These and other efficiencies, including the time saved using electronic delivery rather than regular mail, are enabling us to make important process improvements and compress payment cycles."

Dalal said BHP Billiton began meeting its goals within the first month after implementation.

BHP Billiton Petroleum began piloting the invoicing solution in October with customers Schlumberger and Halliburton, which were directly integrated end-to-end, and GlobalSantaFe, which used a supplier's Web portal. After seeing successful results during the pilot phase, BHP Billiton Petroleum aims to bring on 75 suppliers in the Gulf of Mexico.