Case Study
2 min read
A global oil and gas leader was embarking on a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) construction project of considerable scale and complexity: production of two FPSOs, with each oil field having the capacity to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day and store 2 million barrels between shipments. At the time, it was the largest capital project the company had pursued, equivalent to over US$15bn at 2024 costs and all coming on the heels of multiple failed FPSO projects across the industry.
Following a rigorous planning timeframe leading up to final investment decision (FID), the company awarded four major contracts, upping the complexity of the project, as coordinating stakeholders was going to be no small feat. The project required meticulous planning and alignment of all parties to meet the aggressive timelines set by upper management, who were eager to expedite production.
Recognizing the necessity for extensive collaboration, JMW was enlisted to cultivate a world-class high- performing project culture. A highly structured startup operation was organized to unite the leadership teams of the client and all four contractors beyond the contract where key operational strategies and mutual expectations concerning change management and project execution were agreed to by all parties. This set the stage for an audacious mission to deliver the project within a 36-month schedule from FID to first oil (vs. industry standard at that time of 48 - 56 months, translating to a 25% improvement in industry best practice).
The target prompted significant resistance from the project control team, skeptical of the ambitious timeline and budget constraints. However, JMW steered the team toward a solution-oriented approach, emphasizing parallel processing and decisive interventions to avoid delays in decision-making.
Through quarterly meetings worldwide and innovative strategies such as dedicated interface management and regular communication protocols, JMW, in partnership with the client, fostered a disciplined, schedule-driven environment. This strategic framework for the alliancing, collaboration, and alignment was crucial in achieving unprecedented construction success.
The enhanced collaboration culminated in a “winning project” that set a new industry record for project execution time from contract award to first oil for a development of its size (36 months). The $7 billion project came in $1.75 billion under budget and 20 months early, resulting in approximately $6.1 billion in additional revenue from early production delivered. The financial impact of delivering the FPSO 12 months ahead of the projected schedule is estimated at nearly $1B in additional value created for the operating company, with early delivery enabling production that would otherwise have been deferred to the following year. There was also a less than 2% change order overage across the board with all contractors. Ultimately, the project set a new precedent for FPSO construction, underscoring JMW's pivotal contribution to its groundbreaking success.
