Midstream Accounting Case Study

Inspiration for Change

Simplifying large scale plant processing

Kinetik Midstream is one of the largest independent gathering and processing companies in the Permian. It owns and operates 4 gas plants with a combined processing capacity of 1.3 Bcf serving producers in the Delaware Basin. Like many large midstream service providers, as Kinetik Midstream successfully expanded its business, its operations and monthly accounting requirements also grew increasingly complex. Kinetik Midstream manages a large number of contracts and wanted to optimize business performance, boost agility, and accelerate processing of a large volume of daily transactions.

Tapping into the power of the cloud

As a digital innovator, Kinetik Midstream recognized the value of cloud-based accounting solutions, which offers scalability and high-performance computing to match its growth profile. Cloud software provided as a service (SaaS) would also eliminate the need for expensive server software and IT overhead while enabling Kinetik Midstream to settle its plants significantly faster. The company wanted to take advantage of the cloud’s operational and cost efficiencies as well as automate key accounting workflows, such as accounts payable approval, for which it often processed thousands of invoices per month.

Preparing for the next stage of growth

Kinetik Midstream is proactively preparing for sustained growth by implementing best-in-class digital technologies and hardening its financial controls. The service provider wanted to provide greater clarity into accounting systems and data and empower its workforce with the best technology available.

Benefits of W Energy Software

Accelerating business performance with agile technology

Kinetik Midstream set out to find the best plant accounting product for its complex business requirements. The company identified the top three solutions on the market and conducted a SWOT analysis. Based on the rigorous evaluation process, the midstream service provider selected W Energy Software’s Plant Processing solution, deployed on time and on budget by only one implementation specialist. Kinetik Midstream now settles its extensive plant processing operation with W Energy Software, which offers fast and reliable allocations and settlement as well as the ability to easily manage contracts and meters.

Creating transparency and ensuring compliance

In addition to selecting W Energy Software’s Plant Processing solution, Kinetik Midstream has deployed the software vendor’s Financial Accounting module. This provides the service provider with a modern general ledger solution with AP, AR, and financial reporting purpose-built for midstream users. Kinetik Midstream now runs financials in minutes, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. An important feature of the W Energy Software solution is Calculation Trace (CalcTrace), which provides a complete audit trail for system calculations. And with out of the box support for modern accounting standards, W Energy Software enables Kinetik Midstream to maintain an enhanced control environment with no additional costs.

Integration and automation drive productivity

W Energy Software’s Midstream Accounting platform is a unified solution built on the cloud that shares a common data and application architecture. As a result, the Plant Processing and Financial Accounting solutions Kinetik Midstream has licensed are inherently integrated, enabling gross margin from plant settlement to be passed directly to accounts receivable in about a minute. Kinetik Midstream is also automating AP approvals using W Energy Software’s flexible, role-based workflows with clear audit trails. Since adopting the software Kinetik Midstream has experienced double digit growth in the number of contracts and meters it manages. Equipped with W Energy Software, the service provider is maintaining its best-in-class operation with flexible plant processing and accounting tools, enabling it to easily scale up and accommodate increasing business complexity.