Do "Open Source" databases and software foster collaboration? If so, how?

Yes, and for a very simple reason: "Open Source" databases are free and in 2010 extremely functional. Some products such as PostgreSQL have GIS-aware add-ons available such as PostGIS that can be used to spatially query the data. Alternatively, data can be prepared using commercial GIS systems and then shared to open source databases allowing a lot more stakeholders in an organization to simultaneously query, view, and comment on the data. Organizations tend to avoid large license agreements for software licenses that may only be used for a particular project.

Collaboration among departments sounds great, but doesn't the risk of data inconsistency increase dramatically when so many groups can edit existing data or contribute their own data layers?

Just because a collaborative tool exists doesn't mean that everyone in the department can go "hog wild." Trusted work flows must still exist in each department, however the benefit is that data can be compiled, changed, and edited parallel to the functions taking place simultaneously in other departments. Right now work flows are somewhat contingent upon each other and bottlenecks abound.

What is the single largest remaining hurdle limiting financial success in upstream oil and gas?

Internal cultural differences among departments resulting in a failure to collaborate.

Does technology play a role in increasing collaboration?

Yes, technologies such as WMS and GIS Map Servers provide a framework for multi disciplinary map and idea data integration.

How can collaboration and therefore financial results be improved in upstream oil and gas?

With further investment in shared mapping technologies. If the geology department had a better idea of the corporate (and competitive) land positions, they could focus their efforts more effectively.

What sorts of provisions should be included in data licensing agreements to make them more collaboration-friendly?

At the enterprise level, data should be sharable among different departments and even among different divisions, if so desired. Departments can also share the licensing and subscription costs. The nightmare scenario could mean that your Geology department licenses Texas data and the Land department licenses Oklahoma data from a vendor, only to discover they can't both be used legally to map projects spanning multiple states or counties. Our agreement can eliminate these sorts of problems.