Amerada Hess opts for Linux-driven workstations

NEWS Oil company Amerada Hess has said it can save itself $2m by replacing its leased supercomputer with a cluster running Red Hat Linux. The open source operating system will be deployed on 128 workstations running the department's 3D-modelling system, which is used by the exploration department to find possible oil-bearing features. Malcolm Crawford, technical marketing director at Cassini Division, said: "It sounds like a sensible decision but it doesn't push forward the argument as to why we should have Linux on our desktops." Amerada said in a statement that it chose Red Hat because of its remote administration and the ability to change the cluster as required with full access to the source code. Gary Evans, partner at KPMG, said: "Oil companies are forever looking to new technologies to assist in exploration." He added that if something new can gain an advantage the bravest will do it and many get a payback - in this case the savings on moving to a Linux setup. Evans said the driving force behind such moves is more to do with the business strategy than technology.