Is it possible to make a copy of a data provider in the same or in a new document?
The current versions of BusinessObjects (up to and including version 6.0.0) do not include this functionality. However, we do have some code on this site which will allow you to achieve this. See here for details.
What about 6.1.x?
In 6.1a (or later) if you already have 1 data provider and want to create a similar second data provider then you can do the following: Go to Data > New Data Provider in the menu. Then on the options displayed select “Use an existing query to build a new one”. A list showing all the available data providers is displayed. You can select the one which you want and click OK and a similar new data provider is created.
Nick Daniels 
(BOB member since 2002-08-15)