Thriving in a Low-Oil Price Environment - Ursa Asset

Abstract Objectives/Scope This paper describes a three-year performance improvement journey of Ursa, a Shell DeepWater Tension Leg Platform (TLP) in the Gulf of Mexico, from 2014-2016. The paper will describe the starting point, the foundation for change that was built with leadership, organizational engagement, designing a change program and the process of delivering that program to establish new levels of performance within the organization. The organizational scope includes asset leadership, offshore Facilities/Production staff and on-shore support staff. Methods/Procedures/Process The improvement journey involved understanding and increasing organizational capability, recurring reviews of the asset's strengths and performance gaps, selection of improvement initiatives that matter, timely execution of improvements and ensuring that planned results were sustained. Some of the ways Ursa changed the way it works include: Ursa's learnings are applicable to any capital-intensive organization. Results/Observations/Conclusions Like most organizations, Ursa had been subject to many improvement efforts before the time covered by this paper. However, the results of these improvement efforts had been mixed and were often not sustainable. This led to a predictable attitude in the organization that these "flavor of the month" improvements would come and go, without much change to daily operations. The approach taken by the Ursa team changed that. By systematically improving how each person thought about, executed and validated their work, performance was materially improved. This took Ursa from a well-performing organization content with its output, to a truly world-class team that continually looks for the best ways to improve and optimize performance. Improvements realized: These improvements enabled Ursa to thrive in this low-oil price environment, lead in profitability versus peers, and become a model for TLP operations within Shell. Novel/Additive Information Most companies understand how to cut cost/activity…but you can't cut your way to an engaged workforce with more effective work execution. Ursa has found a way to engage its team to achieve dramatic results in this highly challenging environment. Read on to see how you can too.