Exploration Project Management

Exploration and engineering professionals who work in exploration project teams, across the spectrum from new ventures (exploration business development), prospect identification and maturation, and appraisal of discoveries

Exploration project leaders

Exploration managers

Basic or Foundation

Management consultancy & executive education: Advice to investment banks, businesses and major consulting firms. Specialist expertise in upstream oil & gas, with in depth experience in exploration strategy, portfolio valuation and risk assessment.

Leadership: Managed and led teams and departments ranging from 3 - 60 in size. Provided technical leadership to a cadre of 800 explorationists in Shell worldwide. Member of the 12-person VP team leading global exploration in Shell, a $3 bln p.a. business and recognised as the most effective and successful among its industry peers.

Accountability & decision-making: Accountable for bottom-line results: in a range of successful exploration ventures with budgets ranging from $10's million to $100's million. Made, or contributed to, complex business decisions / investments, taking into account strategic, technical, commercial, organisational and political considerations.

Corporate governance: Served as non-executive director on the Boards of the South Rub al Khali Company (oversight of gas exploration studies and drilling in Saudi Arabia) and SEAPOS B.V. (exploration deep-water drilling and facilities management).

Technical & operations: Skilled in exploration opportunity evaluation, the technical de risking of prospects, portfolio analysis and managing the interface between exploration and well engineering activities. Unparalleled knowledge of the oil and gas basins of the world, and of different operating regimes and contractual structures, ranging from Alaska, Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, through to the Middle East, former Soviet Union, Far East and Australia.

Safety: Following an unsatisfactory audit, became accountable for safety performance in Shell's exploration new ventures. Through personal advocacy and leadership of a small team, delivered pragmatic and effective HSE systems, tools and staff training / engagement and a dramatically improved safety record.

R&D: Experience in the 3 key roles in R&D: scientific researcher, research manager, and 'customer' for R&D products. After re-defining Shell's exploration R&D strategy, led the re-structuring of the R&D organization, its interface with 'the business' and approaches to deployment and commercialization.

Strategy: Accomplished at formulating competitive strategies in business, R&D and technology deployment, translating them into actionable tactics and results. Defined the exploration strategy of PDO (a Shell subsidiary in Oman) and latterly of Shell's global exploration programme.

Professional education, behavioural/motivational coaching: Experienced in organisational re-design, change management, leadership education and talent development.

Commercial skills: Personally negotiated drilling compensation claims, educational contracts and E&P contracts, with values of $5 million to $100+ million.