The newest global business-to-business e-commerce marketplacefor the oil and gas industry, PetroCosm, went live on the Internetyesterday, offering a neutral marketplace for trading products andservices.

The industry-owned online marketplace, which boasts ChevronCorp., Texaco Inc., Ariba Inc., Crosspoint Venture Partners andRequisite Technology Inc. as founding partners, will market alltypes of oil and gas industry services and products, from drillingequipment to professional services. As of yesterday, the onlineservice offers procurement, auctions, consulting, communityintegration, catalog, back office integration, Web/applicationservices, business processes and a customer relations managementtool. It also expects to introduce supply chain planning, financialand management services and advertising.

“Our goal is to establish a truly independent, neutral marketthat serves the interests of both buyers and sellers equally whilealso addressing the needs of an international business,” said CEONorman C. Chambers. Chambers, who was recruited to work atPetroCosm from Halliburton Co., said interest in the B2B has been”tremendous,” and said the company was working to bring more usersonline.

The first transaction actually occurred Monday, when PetroCosmconducted a reverse English auction for Texaco, through which thecompany purchased drilling equipment. It plans to use themarketplace to conduct future business transactions as well.

Based in Houston, PetroCosm also has regional offices in London,Aberdeen, Singapore and Bombay, and may expand beyond that. Accessthe service at www.petrocosm.com.

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