Project to Asset Transfer Process in PDO: Challenges & Best Practices

Abstract The opportunity Realization Process (ORP) is the framework used in Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to manage and execute the projects. One of the primary challenges is the Project to Asset (P2A) phase starting from the Pre-Start Up Audit (PSUA) and ending with the signature of the Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) on which the full ownership is transferred from the project to the asset. During this phase, the technical issues such as control systems issues or rotating equipment's issues tend to receive more focus than non-technical issues. This is because technical issues are typically easier to identify and quantify while the non-technical issues are more difficult to identify and address. Currently in PDO, more than one hundred projects per year are delivered by the project delivery department with CAPEX range of 10 to 400 million USD per project. It was observed that the project to asset transfer process in most of the delivered projects is longer than the industry in general. The key topic of this paper is the analysis done for more than three hundred projects executed in PDO from 2018 to 2022 with the focus in the P2A phase. This phase has been segregated further to three sub-phases: PSUA to Startup, Startup to Provisional Acceptance (PAC) and Provisional Acceptance to Final Acceptance (FAC). The paper additionally examined the best practices followed in number of the projects and their effect in the handover process. The main sources used for this paper were PDO's project delivery learning knowledgebase and PDO's PSUA database. Other sources were several published papers in the same subject as well as direct feedback from the main stakeholders. The analysis found that around 80% of the challenges faced during the P2A are non-technical. The non-technical findings underwent further analysis and segregated in categories. Documentation and document management was the prominent challenge with around 60% of the findings linked to it. Interface management was the second main contributor in the P2A delays with around 20% of the findings linked to it. Other categories were also analyzed with their effect in the process. Furthermore, several best practices and their impact in tackling the key issues has been analyzed. Some examples of the best practices checked were industrial startup KPI, digital document management tool, verification check sheet for critical deliverables and early involvement of operation representatives in the project. In conclusion, the analysis showed the non-technical issues remain the main challenge in the P2A which needs more focus by the project management. The successful implementation of best practices has contributed to an improvement in the P2A phase; nevertheless, to ensure their integration across all projects, enhanced stakeholder engagement and diligent follow-up are required.