Major oil and gas project reports reveal the value of collaborative working

The Callater Field and Brent Bravo decommissioning project both applied collaborative principles set out in the Project Collaboration Toolkit, which has been developed by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and the Offshore Project Management Steering Group (OPMSG). The toolkit was created to help the UK’s oil and gas industry improve its efficiency in a competitive global market by sharing skills and expertise to keep costs down.

The Callater Field project, which began production of 14 000 bpd in August 2017, was the result of a collaborative effort by joint block owners Apache Corporation, Subsea7 and Quad Way. The project was anchored around open and honest communication between partners and role selection based on need and competence, not on company rank or position. Key achievements cited in the case study report include faster project start-up, more efficient working practices and a 10% cost saving.

The Brent Bravo decommissioning project involved operator Shell and contractors Wood and Stork forming a cohesive team and integrating their operations to work more efficiently. Learning lessons from similar work on the Brent Delta platform, the onshore and offshore teams involved were smaller, due to less duplication of roles across the organisations involved, and more agile, meaning work started within six weeks rather than the typical three-month ramp up. The cost savings were significant: 10% less than the amount originally budgeted and 70% less than the comparable Brent Delta project.

Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, said: “Collaboration on projects is a great way for the industry to stay competitive in what remains a challenging operating climate. The ECITB designed its Project Collaboration Toolkit to enable effective, collaborative relationships in the sector, helping oil and gas companies to boost productivity and keep costs down. These reports clearly show a collaborative approach is helping the industry overcome delays and overspends that have historically hampered effective and efficient delivery of key infrastructure projects.”

Deirdre Michie, Chief Executive of Oil and Gas UK, said: “These significant case studies show the UK offshore industry at its best - in relentless pursuit of smarter ways of working which help to raise our competitiveness to the next level. “They are proof that collaborative working can yield successes across the lifecycle of the basin, from generating efficiencies and cost-savings which drive new prospects across the investment line, to making strides in efforts to reduce the decommissioning bill.

“I’m delighted to support this initiative alongside our Efficiency Task Force, which works across industry to promote efficient practice. With these great examples of collaboration in action I am sure we can look forward to hearing of many more.”

Gunther Newcombe, Director of Operations at the Oil and Gas Authority, said: “Since the OGA issued its UKCS Project Lessons Learnt Report in early 2017 we have seen increased collaboration within the industry to deliver improved project value. It is highly encouraging to see the ECITB Project Collaboration Toolkit being used to such good effect and the OGA will also be ensuring that the Robust Project Delivery Stewardship Expectation is implemented by industry, coupled with improved collaboration with the supply chain using Supply Chain Actions Plans (SCAPs).”

Steve Phimister, VP Upstream; Director Shell UK, said: “The ECITB Project Collaboration Toolkit will help all those involved in projects to realise the benefits of collaborative behaviours in project delivery. The case studies for the Callater Field Development and Brent Bravo Topsides Preparation Decommissioning Projects show what collaboration can really achieve. Whilst maintaining competitiveness, such improvements in project delivery performance and efficiency, as a direct result of collaborative behaviour, are hugely important to securing the future of UK Oil & Gas.”

Jim Lenton, Co-Chair of the Offshore Project Management Steering Group and Managing Director of Integrated Solutions at WorleyParsons, said: “The Offshore Project Management Steering Group were tasked by industry, following the 2015 ECITB project management conference, to create a tool to help our firms collaborate more successfully. This was identified as critical in our drive to maximise economic recovery. The toolkit is the product of this and I’m delighted that we now have a framework that can help industry drive better project outcomes by truly working together. I congratulate Callatar and Brent Bravo in this regard.”

The Project Collaboration toolkit aims to share best practices within the industry and to help clients and contractors to work together to make the industry more efficient and cost-effective. The ECITB and OPMSG are now looking at making the toolkit available to other industries.

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