PIDX — oil & gas EDI
PIDX (Petroleum Industry Data Exchange) is the e-business standardisation body of the oil & gas industry. Born as an EDI committee of the American Petroleum Institute in the 1980s and now PIDX International, it publishes the XML schemas that move orders, field tickets and invoices between operators, service companies and suppliers.
What is PIDX?
The petroleum industry has a singular B2B problem: operations on remote sites, complex service work (drilling, cementing, fracturing) billed by day, hour or consumed material, and strict approval chains before payment. PIDX standardises this sector-specific procure-to-pay cycle — from order to settlement — so each operator does not impose a proprietary format on hundreds of service suppliers.
The PIDX messages
| Message | Role |
|---|---|
| OrderCreate / OrderResponse | Order for goods or services, and its response |
| FieldTicket / FieldTicketResponse | On-site work record, approved before invoicing |
| Invoice / InvoiceResponse | Invoice (tied to field tickets) and its status |
| PriceSheet | Contract price lists |
| QuoteRequest / Quote | Tender and offer |
The Field Ticket: the sector's specificity
The field ticket is PIDX's signature document: it records the work observed in the field (hours, equipment, consumables), submitted for the operator's approval before the invoice goes out. This approved-ticket → invoice chaining drastically reduces disputes — the sector's counterpart of classic procurement's three-way match (order/receipt/invoice).
Transport and integration
PIDX messages travel over the classic B2B channels — AS2, HTTPS, SFTP — and through the energy sector's specialised e-procurement networks. Many buyers integrate them into their ERP alongside X12 flows (North America) or EDIFACT (international).
PIDX in the sector landscape
- vs cXML / punchout: PIDX covers complex-services procurement with field verification, not just catalogue buying.
- In the North Sea: the Norwegian ecosystem has its own practice (see oil & gas EDI in Norway) where PIDX coexists with EDIFACT and regional platforms.
- Like CIDX or papiNet: a vertical standard carried by the sector's actors, where horizontal standards (UBL, X12) do not reach deep enough into the business.
Further reading
- PIDX International — standards and work groups.
- The North-American backbone: X12.
- The sector cousins: CIDX (chemicals), papiNet (paper).