In most oil and gas companies, including both engineering firms and operating companies, there is a strong, regular need to produce quick, accurate cost estimates for new plants, major equipment acquisitions or upgrades, large maintenance projects, new buildings, etc. Long before we take the time and energy to count flanges and accurately specify control systems, we need to know if the darn thing will cost $10,000, $15,000, or $100,000! Here is the tool!

EstPro is designed and built by professional estimators who already had all of the expensive, full-blown estimating software at their fingertips. While such programs certainly fill a need, they are awkward and less than efficient (not to mention expensive for those of us who do not have them already!) in producing the conceptual estimates that are so often needed (and needed in a hurry!). That's why our professionals built and continually update EstPro: a cost effective, user- friendly package that does so very much!

For process plant estimating, EstPro prices process equipment and then applies factors to the priced equipment to account for the bulk materials and installation costs. This is a time-proven method first promulgated by Lang in the late 1940's and expanded upon by Guthrie in the late 60's and early 70's. This methodology is still very much applicable today, although factors have changed to some extent. EstPro enhances this technology by providing the user a way to objectively account for variances in wage rates, productivity, overhead, site specific conditions, and special materials of construction. Therefore, EstPro users have a systematic method of factored estimating in addition to an equipment-pricing-method capability.

In addition, EstPro provides separate modules for tank farm estimates, building costs, offsites (utilities), gas-fired turbine generators, and cogeneration facilities.

As mentioned earlier, our authors upgrade this regularly and you can subscribe to a very affordable service to keep you current. But, you also have many opportunities to customize the EstPro outputs to your special needs and to keep it current, including the input of Nelson-Farrar indexes (published quarterly for refining costs), location indices, plate costs, tube costs, and various multipliers.

Believe it or not, it gets even better. Note these additional routines which are added to your toolbox (or "box of tricks") when you have EstPro:

 

• a curve-fitting utility
• risk analysis routine
• creating overall average wage rates from limited
• data
• effect of extended workweeks on productivity
• capacity cost estimating
• cash flow projections
• dismantling costs
• equipment remaining life
• field manpower projections
• home-office man-hour estimates
• pipe estimating
• skid fabrication costs

Amassing such a set of routines would cost you many times the price of EstPro and these are just secondary features!

The deal-makers need fast, accurate answers to support business decisions. The bidders / estimators need reliable, an easy-to-use tool to produce or validate cost calculations. Operators and owners need to prepare capital and major maintenance budgets. Designers must provide preliminary estimates for projects before the detailed design phase can begin. All can profit from the simple power of this affordable software.