Critical

Components for
Successful
Collaboration
Don Vardeman
Kerr-McGee

Offshore Technology Conference

May 2, 2005

Collaboration
collaborate
Function: verb
1 To work with others (as in writing a book)
2 To cooperate with an enemy force that has taken
over one's country

How Much Collaboration

Operator(s) internal team
only
Operator(s) & contractors
Operator(s), contractors &
infrastructure players

Drivers & Expectations

Operator staff size/availability
Schedule considerations
Technology ownership
Budget
Expectations
Long-term perspective
Mutual success
Risk sharing

Swedish Vasa Battleship

Sanctioned in 1625
Most ornate ship in fleet
Added second gun deck
after keel was set
Stability test stopped early
Sailed with great fanfare in
1628
Sank after sailing less
than a mile

Vasa Syndrome
Dont imitate ideas unless
you understand them
Goal confusion - define clear
user needs
Obsession with speed
Feedback system failure deal with bad news too
Communication barriers collaboration
Poor organizational memory
Top-management meddling
From: Kessler, Eric, et.al. Vasa Syndrome: Insights from a 17th-Century
New-Product Disaster, IEEE Engineering Management Review 1Q, 2004

Relationships

Relationships
Executive
Empower the project team
How you act when you have problems
Important for large problem resolution
Steering committees for large projects
Other Contractors
Interface management is critical
Include supply chain
Driving standardization across
operator companies

Standardization
Operational familiarity
Vendor support
Risk mitigation
Quick recovery from
problems
Technology ownership
Applies to small and
large components

Contracting Strategy
Right strategy for overall development,
market conditions & contractor capability
Risk elements in subcontractor selection
Ownership of subs is a plus
Preference for EPIC
Financially healthy contractor

Business Relations Between

Operators & Service Industry
Daniel Valot, CEO, Technip-2004 OTC
THE WAY FORWARD: A NEW BEHAVIOR?
Contracting strategy:
Clarify & stabilize the rules
Limit EPIC contracts to well-defined scope & technologies
Allocate risks/costs to the right party
Relationship:
Let business people run the show (rather than lawyers)
and provide them some give-and-take authority
Forget short-term & focus on long-term partnerships
In their best interest, oil companies should try to re-establish
an appropriate risk-reward balance for their contractors

Results of Collaboration

Topside Design
Topside Fabrication
Hull Design
Hull Fabrication
Hull Installation
Topside Installation
Subsea Design
Subsea Installation
Subsea Equipment