Engineering consultancy…smoothing the path to project sanction

Usman Darr, Vice President Engineering Services, Engineering & Production Services talks about how integrating the learnings and skills from across Petrofac can help smooth the path to project sanction.

Identifying solutions that are based on operable and implementable designs, supported by reliable cost and schedule estimations, is vital during the early design process. With the right project development plan in hand, asset owners can progress smoothly through project sanction confident that they have mitigated against the risk of cost escalation and schedule ‘creep’ down the line.

"We provide a vital link between strategic decisions and front-line implementation."

Enhanced front-end solutions

Having delivered over 700 early engineering studies, we are well placed to support clients through this vital project phase. We combine our in-house engineering consultancy capability with access to invaluable practical experience gained from Petrofac’s delivery of over 200 EPC projects worldwide. Using data that is drawn from our annual procurement spend of US$2-3 billion, we benchmark all our cost and schedule estimates. This allows us to give clients project timelines and estimates they can trust. And we’re fortunate enough to have useable data from our onshore, offshore, and decommissioning projects at our fingertips.

"We use live data from our onshore and offshore EPC and decommissioning projects to benchmark our cost and schedule estimates."

Driving best-fit solutions

Our operational ‘know how’ as Duty Holder enables us to further optimise our solutions; not only in delivering reliable operating cost analysis but also in terms of recommending ‘best fit’ engineering solutions that can be put in place with as little disruption as possible to ongoing operations. And, by engaging with our construction teams at outset, we ensure that constructability is prioritised throughout the design process.

Using these tools and our wide knowledge and experience, we can create robust conceptual designs alongside cost and schedule estimations our clients can rely on during the project sanction phase.

"Our operational ‘know-how’ as Duty Holder enables us to further optimise our solutions."

Definition and beyond

Our engineering capabilities extend through FEED, into detailed design, procurement, and commissioning. It is this detailed design experience that enables us to accurately deliver a FEED, reducing the risk of change in later phases.  And we can also offer specialist support in the preparation of ITTs and evaluation of EPC bids.

Depending on our client’s objectives, we’re able to support fast-track projects too. By seamlessly integrating early engineering and execution activities by creating dedicated project teams, we’ve been able to significantly improve schedules – in some cases by up to 12 months. This offers a direct impact on revenue recognition for clients.

By integrating front end engineering and execution we can also ensure technical and historical continuity within a project, mitigating the risks associated with executing separate FEED and execution contracts. And of course, it also allows for better commercial certainty as the project progresses.

Whatever the project, we focus on developing safe, cost-effective, and value-adding services that unlock value in line with our clients’ strategic drivers.

Find out more about our centre of excellence for early consultancy, conceptual, pre-FEED and FEED activity in Woking or email our experts.