Deepwater Well Project and Risk Management

Deepwater Well Project and Risk Management Principles

• Deepwater challenges: how the deepwater setting offers challenges different from wells onshore or in shallow water.

• Project Management Principles
  • The Stage Gate Process: how this is used to create value through choice, make the right decisions at the right time, optimize resources, and ensure that the outcome achieves the mission.
  • Cost vs value: ensures that the differences between price, cost, and value are understood
  • Management systems: how standards are set, changes are managed, compliance is assured, and learning takes place
  • Team selection: how to ensure that the team is competent, and that key stakeholders are identified and interfaces managed

• Risk management principles; hazards, risk, risk management

Project Management

• The project plan: clarity on mission, objectives, and value

• Time and cost estimation: understanding and reflecting uncertainty in realistic estimates

• Management of Change: the challenge of ensuring value – decisions not decision trees

• Contracting: selecting the right contracting approach for different services and materials

• Supply chain, logistics, and operations base: getting materials and services to the well at the right time cost-effectively

• Financial management: funding and accounting

• Management review: how to ensure that audits and management interface assures safe and responsible delivery of the project mission

Tracking Progress, Well Planning, and Operations

• Well PM software and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): monitoring the project using value-focussed KPIs; discussion of PM software, management reports, continuous improvement, benchmarking, technical limit, and KPIs

• Task progress and phase close out: ensuring early identification of potential differences in outturn time or cost to permit value-based decisions

• Well planning - Pre-drill data requirements: the site survey and shallow hazard analysis, and how this sets the stage for success

• Rig selection: on the basis of hull type, station-keeping, generation, market, crew competence, and management system

• Riser and conductor design, shallow hazards: well construction in the top hole sections

• Casing programme and the mud density window: how the deepwater setting affects well design and how this is managed

Operations Management and Risk Management in Action

• Contingency plans: ensuring that these are complete and meaningful

• Emergency response: how this fourth element of process safety is assured.

• Operations management: applying decision-making, technical limit, communications, in the Execute Stage of the project.

• Applying risk management tools: how a variety of tools are used to manage risk throughout the project

• Macondo review: what should we be learning from Macondo? Analysis and key factors for focus

Project Success Factors in Deepwater Wells

• Project success factors: sources of value, development skills, key factors in successful projects

• Human factors in well projects: understanding how human factors are key in both driving success in the project, and in managing risk, in planning, execution, and learning:
  • Situational awareness,
  • Decision-making
  • Competence
  • “Taking the time to do it right”
  • Managing change
  • Communications

• Final exercise: creating a springboard for continued application of project & risk management principles in future projects.