Front End Engineering Design of Oil and Gas Projects: Critical Factors for Project Success

Quite a large number of oil and gas major projects are failures with respect to their costs, schedules and operational performance. Owner companies and contractors are struggling with the issues causing these failures. Front End Engineering Design (FEED) has been identified as an important factor that plays a key role in determining the success of a project. However, the FEED and associated Front End Loading (FEL) do not get the attention it deserves from the players in the business, namely the owner companies, FEED and EPC contractors. While academic studies on the FEL and its failures are available, how the seeds of failures are sown during an actual project FEED, remains a mystery. The details are usually buried in the rubbished computers and hundreds of files, that are shelved in company offices.

In this unique book, two experienced professionals, one from an owner company and the other from an international EPC contractor, whose interests often oppose each other, join to give their perspectives about the project life cycle, its governance structure, gate system, complexities, contract models and quality measurements.

In the second part of the book, they present case studies of projects gone wrong, due to mismatches, errors, and inconsistencies in the FEED. These case histories reveal how avoidable gaps and errors creep into FEED resulting in project failures and how the review systems fail to detect them. Technical and business professionals seem to underestimate the importance of FEED in capital intensive major projects, while focussing on short term goals. The underlying causal factors need to be addressed and resolved in time properly, for ensuring success of major projects in oil and gas.

Written in a concise and practical style, with key takeaways at the end of each chapter, this book will be a useful guide for the practising project and engineering professionals in the oil and gas industry. Senior students and researchers will find ideas and viewpoints given in the book worth exploring further.