Optimal Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) revamp project management : the execution phase model development

In a bid to realise production targets and operational efficiency from ultra-deep offshore areas where the world’s oil and gas reserves are situated, the Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) asset is deployed in many parts the world, being the most efficient production means. Judging, especially, from health safety environment performance indicators, the major multinational oil and gas producing organizations is perceived to pursue operational excellence, yet there are indications of unsatisfactory revamp project management performance in the literature. Revamp projects are sanctioned to assure asset lifecycle and improve production performance. Some major multinational oil and gas producing companies have customised the stage-gate project management approach from theory for revamp projects realisation. However, the stage-gate framework, which is generic, tends essentially towards major, capital, or new built projects from the contractor perspective. Since the theoretical approach is not tailored specifically to revamp project development, the application of the stage-gate approach by the oil and gas producing organizations (client or sponsor) perspective therefore does produce optimal results. The aim of this study is to develop an optimal FPSO revamp project management model from the oil and gas operating company perspective at the execution phase. To address the problem of underperformance in this research, pragmatism research philosophy and the mixed research method, comprising five case studies, four from major multinational oil and gas corporations operating in Nigeria, and a group of oil and gas revamp project experts from across the world was utilised. A panel of experts with over 15 years of experience in revamp projects were purposively selected from each case study. Questionnaire and interview feedback from the respondents were screened for optimality with the use of the Delphi technique to avoid bias in predicting the future revamp project management performance. The research findings identified four critical criteria for revamp projects - engineering, pre-fabrication and construction, site installation and pre-commissioning and commissioning; nine sub criteria comprising project scope, procurement, cost and schedule, risk, human resources, Health Safety Environment Quality (HSEQ), integration, knowledge, and stakeholder management as well as two compensatory project management options - Lean and Agile project management approaches that can be infused into identified critical knowledge areas within the stage-gate project management model for attaining optimal FPSO revamp project development. A four level, three steps Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis of the research data obtained from the respondents in this research was used to make group decisions concerning FPSO revamp project management for the execution project phase. The study confirms that project management within FPSO asset revamp projects often fail due to uninformed decision making, rather than the hitherto suggested non-compliance with project management theory. It is also revealed that Lean is preferred to Agile Project Management which, seemingly, is the most appropriate from contemporary perspective but with little acceptance in actual practice for revamp project performance improvements. The research has developed, validated, and tested the proposed optimal project management model from AHP – multi criteria decisions by expert professionals working for major multinational oil and gas companies operating within and outside Nigeria. The research also demonstrated that most of these operating companies and revamp project experts from all over the world are guided by the same ethics, procedures, and theoretical project management frameworks. The findings from this research are reflections of global rather than regional perspective of the industry and therefore, the case studies selected from major multinational oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria does not invalidate the outcomes of the research