Petroleum Geosciences > Best Practice in Portfolio Management in Upstream Oil and Gas – Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT)

About this Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT)

This 4 half-day Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) course presents the principles and best practices of portfolio management in the upstream (E&P) oil and gas industry. The VILT course is equally valuable for small independents, large integrated international companies and national oil companies.

The VILT course consists of presentations, case studies, illustrative practical exercises and syndicate discussions. Particular emphasis is given to pragmatic portfolio management approaches and solutions which can be implemented swiftly without recourse to major investments in planning and portfolio management software. The VILT course will draw on examples from your expert course leader’s 35+ years’ experience in the oil and gas industry as an explorationist, upstream vice-president and management consultant. The VILT course handout will comprise softcopy slides used in the presentation and a softcopy workbook for the exercises.

Participants will gain proficiency in portfolio management techniques, understand how and why to undertake this activity and be able to apply key concepts directly in the business of their teams / divisions.

The VILT course will be presented over 4 half-days, using Microsoft Teams or Zoom and a proprietary set of VILT tools. Participants will be asked to complete a pre course questionnaire (PCQ) addressing their objectives and experience, and attend a session to familiarise themselves with VILT tools before course commencement.

To present the tools, concepts and principles of portfolio management

  • To define the quantitative metrics which are used to describe projects in a portfolio
  • To understand the benefits of portfolio management at different stages of the upstream business: in strategy development, opportunity screening, business development, drilling prospects, conducting appraisal of discoveries and developing fields
  • To put portfolio management in the organisational context by describing the role of the portfolio management team and examining how value assurance (quality control) is best conducted on portfolio data for projects and assets
  • To demonstrate how portfolio management contributes to improved business performance

By the end of the VILT course, participants will understand:

  • Key concepts and principles of portfolio management
  • How to design a simple portfolio database and describe complex projects in a small number of objective metrics
  • How to segment the portfolio into meaningful units
  • How to use portfolio data in making business choices and decisions at the strategic and tactical levels
  • The extent to which it is meaningful and reasonable to make comparisons across different portfolio segments
  • How the portfolio management team can support the wider business in decision-making

This VILT course is specially designed for exploration and development geoscientists, E&P economists and finance staff, and E&P managers. Both technical and non-technical staff will benefit from the concepts presented.

Companies are encouraged to send participants from different functions and seniority levels to gain great benefits especially those which would like to implement the concepts presented in this VILT course.

  • Basic
  • Intermediate

The VILT course will be delivered online in 4 half-day sessions comprising 4 hours per day, with 2 breaks of 10 minutes per day. The VILT course will be presented in an interactive workshop format that allows for discussion.

Course Duration: 4 half-day sessions, 4 hours per session (16 hours in total).

Your expert course leader draws on more than 35 years of experience managing, reviewing and directing projects in all aspects of the exploration business: from exploration business development (new ventures), through prospect maturation and drilling, to the appraisal of discoveries. He has more than 30 years’ experience with Shell International, followed by 10 years consulting to NOCs in Asia Pacific, Africa and South America and independent oil companies in the United Kingdom, continental Europe and North America.

Other than delivering industry training, he has worked on projects for oil & gas companies of all sizes, including independents, national oil companies and (super)-majors, private equity firms, hedge funds and investment banks, and leading management consulting  firms.

He is an alumnus of Cambridge University. He has M.A and Ph.D. degrees in geology and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London as well as a respected speaker on management panels at international conferences.

Professional Experience

  • 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.

To further optimise your learning experience from our courses, we also offer individualized “One to One” coaching support for 2 hours post training. We can help improve your competence in your chosen area of interest, based on your learning needs and available hours. This is a great opportunity to improve your capability and confidence in a particular area of expertise. It will be delivered over a secure video conference call by one of our senior trainers. They will work with you to create a tailor-made coaching program that will help you achieve your goals faster.
Request for further information about post training coaching support and fees applicable for this.

Learn what past participants have said about EnergyEdge training courses

This course enabled me to learn the essence of portfolio management and provided me with new ideas on how to effectively manage portfolio(s). The trainer was fully versed with the subject and his experience in the industry really helped.

The presenter used a simple life real example / analogue when explaining things. Easy to understand.

The trainer is an engaging and entertaining course leader with an undisputed depth of knowledge and experience

Exploration manager, BG Group

Thank you very much for a most instructive course and all the material you left with us. All the conversations I had with colleagues afterwards were positive and all wanting to discuss how we can adapt and incorporate some of the ‘best practices’ presented by you into our current structures and processes

Petroleum economist, Filed development planning division, Asian independent

The course provides a good understanding of risk and upstream strategy

Group Tax Manager, Upstream NOC

The course is very practical. Many things here can be implemented with tailoring depending on the context for our company

Senior Geoscientist, NOC