Upstream Performance Improvement: Staying Profitable and Competitive

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    About Course leader

    John Bell has a B.Sc. Engineering Science, M.Sc. in Maths and an MBA. He worked for more than 30 years with Shell in their Upstream division. After initial assignments as a project engineer, economist and in operations he led Shell's global planning and strategy team, worked through a number of major restructuring/cost and production improvement programmes, and led a major transformational effo...

     

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    Course Overview

    What do you do if you find your business, or your part of that business, is becoming unprofitable and uncompetitive?

    Many, if not most, organisations will one day (and most likely more than once) find themselves facing a business crisis (e.g. sudden fall in oil prices, loss of a large contract or growth opportunity, or increases in input prices) that makes the status quo untenable. An improvement program - a series of changes to the way the organisation is structured, where and how it operates, and what products it produces and sells - will likely be needed to restore profitability and competitiveness.

    This course is intended to equip those staff members that will be called upon to participate in and lead response teams to undertake analysis, and then development and implementation of improvement programs.

    Using upstream oil and gas industry based case studies participants will work through the steps leading to lasting performance improvement.

    The course will cover in detail:

    • How to recognise a failing business or organisation
    • How to analyse that business or organisation and identify root causes of failure
    • How to quantify performance gaps that must be bridged to restore profitability and competitiveness
    • How to organise to develop an effective improvement program
    • How to organise to implement the program and business performance improvements needed
    • How to measure business performance improvements and sustain them long term

     

    Who is it for?

    This course is designed to aid oil industry professionals identify when their business or their part of the business is challenged in terms of profitability and competitiveness and how to respond when in that situation.

    They may have to address these challenges as individuals or, more likely, as part of a team charged with turning around the business. They will need to be able to understand the cost and revenue structure of their business and understand how to organise to improve both. They will be ready to be called on when the crisis comes - or better still to head off any potential crisis before it is realised.

    Course Levels

    Mid-level line managers (operations managers, development managers, engineering managers, business planners), finance staff (controllers, management accountants) and senior technical professionals (reservoir engineers, geologists) with budget accountabilities.

    What will I be able to do after participating?

    • Participate in and/or lead Corporate Performance Improvement programs
    • Recognise a failing or faltering business or parts thereof
    • Understand and analyse the cost and revenue structures of a business or parts thereof
    • Identify, assess, rank, select and develop performance improvement initiatives
    • Develop implementation plans that ensure initiatives are firmly embedded
    • Understand and be equipped to deal with the change management issues inherent in implementing a performance improvement program