Client

Al Khafji Joint Operations (an Aramco/Kuwait Oil Company joint venture company)

Challenge

Located variously offshore and onshore in the formally neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the Khafji facility produces crude oil and associated gas for export. The facility had been operating for 40 years with limited maintenance and was suffering from increasing water cut. Field output enhancements were sought to maintain the offshore production and onshore processing and export rate of 350,000 BOPD and to capture associated gas in an effort to move towards zero flaring and to export the recovered gas.

Services

• Project Management Services covering the management and supervision of all FEED and EPC implementation projects within a $4bn programme of works, including offshore field development, offshore brownfield modifications, onshore brown field and greenfield plant works, plus utility works (desalination, power plants etc).
• Administrative (secretarial and support) and project controls (contracts, planning and document control) services to KJO management and the full range of projects.
• Core engineering function for review of pre FEED Design Basis Scoping Papers, for FEED supervision and for EPC stage engineering specialist support.

Solution

A multidisciplinary task force was set up in 2005 to interface with client management and to provide individual project management teams. This project organisation has grown over the period of the services, which were rebid in 2011 and now continue to 2016, providing up to a maximum of 265 personnel, including managers, specialist design and construction engineers and supported by safety, project controls and administrative personnel. Project and construction management has been undertaken in Saudi Arabia and personnel have variously worked in FEED and EPC design locations covering Europe, Middle East, Far East, China, India and Australia. To date over 25 projects have been handled by the Al Khafji PMS at EPC contract values up to $650m.

Result

The PMS services have provided a service structure finely tuned to the client’s management culture, allowing close co-ordination with client management and flexibility in resourcing in line with project requirements. This has facilitated the development of world class facilities in Al Khafji, over which time the PMS have exceeded 3.5m manhours without Lost Time Injury.