Realising the value from next generation integrated operating centres (IOC)
Jean-Christophe Bernardini A , Mike Lyons B , Craig Stewart C and Whitney Merchant D EA Boston Consulting Group, The Offices 3 at One Central Dubai, Level 7, PO Box 32257, Dubai, U.A.E.
B Boston Consulting Group, 1221 McKinney, Suite 3000, Houston, TX 77010, USA.
C Boston Consulting Group, Level 43/108 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000, Australia.
D Boston Consulting Group, Level 41/161 Castlereagh St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: Merchant.Whitney@bcg.com
The APPEA Journal 60(2) 392-396 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ19160
Accepted: 28 February 2020 Published: 15 May 2020
Abstract
The oil and gas (O&G) industry has long been at the forefront of integrated operations centres (IOCs). A remote control room is often the starting point for an IOC. The control room is responsible for monitoring operations, reporting performance issues, and visualising information. In leading O&G players around the world, basic control room functionality has been enhanced by next generation IOCs that provide proactive support, including integrated planning, optimised decision models, automated procedures, and root cause analysis. This paper describes the features of advanced IOCs and their benefits: improved production (reduced production bottlenecks and increased facility runtime); enhanced organisational capability (increased process standardisation and optimised work processes); reduced risk exposure (e.g. hazardous areas and operator fatigue), reduced operational expenditure (15–25% in maintenance costs and 10–15% in logistics costs). In Australia, advanced IOC functionality and the associated benefits are yet to be widely observed. For an IOC to achieve its full potential, companies must start with a clear vision and business case for building the IOC, and how it will support the operating model. This paper details this and other recommendations that need to be considered, for example, changes to the organisation structure, ways of working, employment model, talent acquisition and development to capture value, and to develop a roadmap that delivers agility for future changes.
Keywords: decision models, operating model, remote operations.
Jean-Christophe Bernardini is a Partner and Associate Director based in BCG’s Dubai office. He joined BCG in 2014 as an expert in the O&G Upstream and Operations Topics, working with clients globally. Jean-Christophe has worked with Major IOCs on both strategy and operational programs. He holds an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid and Master’s Degrees in Economics and Operations Excellence Management from the Université de Toulon. |
Mike Lyons is a Managing Director and Partner in the Houston office of BCG. Mike is a core member of BCG's Energy and Operations practice areas and specialises in Upstream and Refining sectors and Operations, Maintenance, and Large Scale Change topic areas. Mike holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard. |
Craig Stewart is a Partner in BCG’s Perth office and has over 20 years’ experience in application and delivery of advanced analytics. Craig has worked with a broad cross section of clients across industry sectors including Mining, Logistics, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Infrastructure on projects extending from conceptual, greenfield and brownfields operations through to delivering day-of-operations toolsets that sit within an integrated planning environment. Craig holds a Bachelor of Computer Science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence from Curtin University. He has authored numerous papers on the application of advanced analytics techniques to release customer value. |
Whitney Merchant is a Principal in BCG’s Sydney office, with nine years of strategic consulting experience. She is the sector lead for O&G in ANZ’s Energy practice, and the Energy node for the Strategy and Organisational functional practices. Whitney has worked on transformational strategy and organisational projects across Australia, Canada, and Central Asia. Whitney holds a joint MBA and Masters Science from Stanford University, USA, and a Bachelor’s Commerce with distinction from the University of Calgary (U of C), Canada; she also received a certificate for Social Innovation from Stanford and a certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development from the U of C. |
