Fuel industry to get online SAP supply chain

SAP and Statoil are joining forces to develop an online marketplace for the oil and gas industry.

The framework will be put in place using mySAP.com software products and will host services for oil and gas companies interested in conducting business online.

The system will be open to all businesses and allow users to buy and sell maintenance and read evaluations of products and services, while also offering equipment and oil field services.

Gary Evans, partner at KPMG, said: "The industry is becoming more creative as time goes by." He said it was only a matter of time before this happened but he was surprised that it took so long. "They have to get into the game in terms of ecommerce. The market is moving more in this direction," he added.

Evans said other industries, such as the chemical industry, will also move in this direction.

Statoil, a state-owned Norwegian oil company and the second-largest provider of crude oil worldwide, said the system will go live in the second quarter of this year.

SAP was unavailable for comment.