Asset Management in the oil and gas sector - possibilities related to asset management as a management philosophy for offshore assets

During the period 2008 – 2013, globalization and new business environments created new challenges and a more demanding business context. The oil and gas industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which is one of the most asset-intensive industries in the world, faces challenges such as rising operation costs and lower productivity, along with stricter safety and environmental legislation. Developments in the oil and gas industry are showing clear signs of a paradigm shift from traditional practice to asset management practice. Good management of industrial assets has become expected best practice in modern organizations around the world. In 2014, the first formal standard of good asset management was presented as the ISO 55000 series. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to look at the possibilities related to asset management as a management philosophy for offshore assets in Statoil. This was done by, 1) conducting a literature review on asset management and the related ISO standard, 2) analysing whether asset management suits the oil and gas industry, 3) assessing if Integrated Operations could further optimize the asset management approach, 4) analysing whether ISO 55000 offers perspectives that are not covered well in, or are in conflict with, the PSA Regulations and ISO 9000, 5) performing a preliminary gap and SWOT analysis of Statoil’s requirements in relation to ISO 55000, 6) and presenting recommendations to further develop asset management in Statoil. The literature review has highlighted that a strength of ISO 55000 is that it broadens the management perspective, as there is a large focus on managing the assets that provide the actual income, instead of only managing the quality of the end product. Throughout the work with this thesis, it has become evident that organizations operating on the NCS truly need to consider adopting the discipline of integrated, risk-based, optimized, whole-life management of assets, as asset management could certainly assist in overcoming the current challenges on the NCS. Additionally, it is acknowledged that the Integrated Operations concept certainly has the opportunity to optimize asset management in any organization. Regarding the Statoil case study, this thesis highlights several important management perspectives that are not covered in either ISO 9000 or the PSA Regulations. Another important finding relates to the fact that neither the PSA Regulations nor ISO 9000 acts as a barrier for the effective implementation of ISO 55000. Furthermore, the work highlights Statoil’s gaps related to conforming to ISO 55000 and performing good asset management. Gaps relating to awareness, alignment and continual improvement are discussed, and recommendations are presented to how these gaps can be closed. It was also identified that even though ISO 55000 provide a good checklist and framework for performing good asset management, Statoil should seek both ISO 55000 compliance as well as implementing other asset management best practices not covered in ISO 55000