A challenging time for the sector
For many years we have worked with our Oil and Gas clients, helping them to shape, mobilise and deliver some of their most critical business transformation projects. In this highly cyclical industry, the priorities and focus of investment ebbs and flows according to the economic context and of course, the price of oil. The collapse of the oil price in 2015 has pushed this familiar dynamic to new extremes as producers find themselves under intense commercial and competitive pressures. Although the emphasis may shift from expansion and step-out investment to consolidation and cost control, there is always a challenging and rewarding change agenda in these complex, fascinating organisations.
Here are some ways that we can help Oil and Gas clients to be successful in these challenging times.
Managing the strategic change portfolio
Our clients are increasingly accountable not just for running their organisations but for delivering complex, interdependent change while protecting safe, cost-pressured operations. The challenge can be acute in an environment of severe competitive and commercial forces. Choosing how and where to invest wisely, how and where to cut costs, how to trim capability without going too far etc. requires insight, experience and judgment. We believe that taking a smarter, more strategic approach to portfolio management can maximise the long term value of change and reduce delivery risk.
Assuring the delivery or your most critical programmes
When resources are really tight, it is more important than ever that your critical programmes and projects deliver successfully within the scope, timing and budget parameters that have been agreed. Even when going well, significant programmes consume scarce resources and the ‘management bandwidth’ of the organisation. If they get into difficulty they can create an expensive investment log jam that can undermine confidence, and dent ambition. As seasoned programme delivery practitioners, we can work with your programme leadership and sponsors to help guarantee a successful outcome.
Exploiting big data and analytics
The combination of better analytics capabilities and the availability of large volumes of data means that ‘big data’ is becoming more important than ever before. The vast amount of data that oil and gas firms routinely deal with, provides the opportunity to exploit ‘big data’ in many different ways (e.g. optimisation of production and refining facilities, monitoring transportation and storage, commodity trading insight and intelligent decision support).
Delivering digital transformation
‘Digital solutions’ are become increasingly important for oil and gas companies as they strive to meet heightened ‘customer experience’ expectations, increase the frequency and speed of delivery, and drive down ongoing costs of operation. The digital revolution offers significant opportunities for successful adopters, but poses material risks for lagging or resistant participants. We can work with you to help you shape a compelling but achievable digital vision and then help you mobilise for successful delivery.
How we can help
We know the oil and gas industry well, with a broad range of experience across a variety of contrasting client organisations. We have particular strength in helping clients to set up, enhance and renew their global commodity trading capabilities.
In the areas of digital and ‘big data’ our experience of working in other sectors such as retail and FMCG gives us real insight into what the leading organisations are achieving and what is key to their success in exploiting these emergent technologies.
Across the four areas that we have highlighted, developing the right strategies and then delivering them effectively is key. Effective delivery, for example, requires the right people in the right place; a clear direction on what to do and when; setting strong foundations at the start of the projects; controlled onward delivery and visibility throughout to avoid any unpleasant surprises. We exploit our expertise of delivering excellence in all these areas to fill the gaps in your teams and do what it takes for your organisation to be successful.
We are often asked to:
- Set executable Finance, HR, IT, Digital and Business Strategies.
- Lead Finance, HR, IT, Digital Transformation.
- Make your technology work for you through maximising use of Big Data and Analytics, Leveraging the Cloud and Implementing Major Technology Programmes.
- Facilitate transformation through delivery, mobilisation, turnaround, Change Management, Portfolio Management and selecting the right suppliers.
- Maximise business performance through developing and embedding Business and Financial Modelling, Target Operating Models and post-merger Integration.
- Lay the right foundation for success through Investment Appraisal, Operational Due Diligence and Programme Assurance Reviews.
- Get the most out of your people through Coaching.
The full range of our services can be found on the website.
Our experience
Berkeley has worked in the Oil and Gas industry for almost 20 years. Below are some examples of our current and recent work across the Oil & Gas Sector.
- Working with the executive team of a leading oil and gas major we helped create a bold strategic vision for their global commodity trading business.
- Over a number of years we were central in helping this client create an industry leading global trading division. We provided hands-on leadership for a number of critical global programmes that completely refreshed global trading systems and associated organisational capabilities.
- We helped an ambitious and rapidly growing gas trading business stabilise a major project to support expansion into the European market.
- On numerous occasions we have acted as experienced sounding boards and coaches for CIOs, programme directors, programme managers and governance board members faced with unfamiliar ‘stretch’ challenges.
- We helped an oil and gas major develop a new HR strategy that led to a global transformation programme to drive the recruitment of scarce skills critical to the organisation’s longterm success.
- We helped a leading gas trader to get a critical trading project back onto an even keel. We then provided a small team to ensure it ran smoothly through to successful completion.
- For an oil super major we were the programme assurance partner of choice for a critical SAP-based process optimisation and alignment project for global downstream. Our multi-year engagement spanned several strategic releases in diverse global locations.
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