Page 341 - Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production Second Edition

328 Phasing and Organisation

their acceptance by signing a ‘hand over’ document, and responsibility for the
project is passed on. The hand over document may also carry a budget to finish
outstanding items if these can be handled more easily by the operator.
It is good practice to review a project on completion and record the reasons for
differences between planned and actual performance. Where lessons can be learned,
or opportunities exploited, they should be incorporated into project management
guidelines. Some companies hold post project sessions with their contractors
to explore better ways of handling particular issues, especially when there is an
expectation of additional shared activities.
The project phasing covered so far is still the most common approach used in
industry. However other concepts have also been tested. Parallel Engineering is a
project management style aimed at significantly reducing the time span from
discovery to first oil and thus fast tracking new developments. In the North Sea,
conventional developments during the 1990s on average took some 9 years from
discovery to first oil. Parallel engineering may help to half this time frame by
carrying out appraisal, conceptual design and construction concurrently. The
approach carries a higher risk for the parties involved and this has to be balanced
with the potentially much higher rewards resulting from acceleration of first oil.
For example, if conceptual design is carried out prior to appraisal results being
available, considerable uncertainty will have to be managed by the engineers. The
conceptual design needs to be continuously refined and possibly changed as
additional information becomes available. All tendering processes for vessels,
equipment and services are more difficult due to the lack of reliable data. Examples
of fast track developments include the Foinaven and Schiehallion Fields in the UK
West of Shetland basin. Figure 13.2 contrasts traditional and fast track development
approaches.

PARALLEL ENGINEERING
Discovery First Oil
4-5 years

Pre-projects Projects

Appraisal

TRADITIONAL METHODS
Discovery First Oil
9 years +
Appraisal Pre-project Project
seismic drilling concept selection design/construction
Figure 13.2 Parallel Engineering approach.