Exploration Strategy & Portfolio Management – Design Smarter Exploration Portfolios and Lead with Clarity

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Design and implement a fit-for-purpose exploration business development strategy
• Align opportunity portfolios with strategic goals, risk appetite, and ESG considerations
• Apply risked portfolio modelling and valuation techniques (NPV, IRR, EMV) to enhance value and manage cost
• Assess portfolio risk, asset mix, and resource efficiency to support new business capture
• Evaluate and strengthen capability, operating models, and strategic partnerships
• Recognize the influence of leadership, culture, and behaviours on decision quality and implementation
• Measure success and manage performance across exploration and development teams
• Present a complete exploration strategy through a team-based Capstone project

This course is recommended for:

• Team Leaders and Managers in Exploration, Business Development, or New Ventures
• Technical professionals transitioning into strategic, portfolio, or planning roles
• Commercial and advisory staff involved in capital allocation, JV strategy, or opportunity screening
• Cross-functional upstream VP-level teams seeking strategic alignment

• Intermediate
• Advanced

The course is delivered through a mix of lectures, plenary discussions, and breakout sessions that encourage both technical learning and collaborative thinking. A key feature is the Capstone group project, where teams apply course concepts to a realistic scenario, supported by coaching sessions that guide project development and deepen strategic understanding.

Additional Requirement:

Participants are required to bring a laptop equipped with standard Microsoft software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to facilitate participation in course activities and completion of project tasks.

Your expert course instructor has 32 years of international experience in the upstream energy business, working in the areas of exploration, appraisal, and development of oil and gas. He has worked on exploration and appraisal projects in NW Europe, the Black Sea region, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and India. Career highlights include the Malikai deep water oil discovery in Sabah, Malaysia (Shell, 2004), and the Domino-1 deep water gas discovery in Romania (OMV Petrom, 2012), both commercial.

He is an accomplished upstream leader and served as vice president of exploration and appraisal for OMV in Vienna from 2016 to 2020 and head of exploration for SapuraOMV in Kuala Lumpur from 2020-2021, and President of Exploration for Cairn Oil & Gas in Delhi (2023-24). The first 15 years of his career were spent in technical roles with Shell International during which time he gained deep experience in fold and thrust belts, deep water, and analysis of trap integrity and sealing.

Whilst serving in his leadership roles, your expert course instructor carried out restructuring and reorganization exercises in response to the global oil price crisis for OMV. He also developed exploration strategies with implementation plans to support specific company growth ambitions. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he served as head of Exploration for the SapuraOMV joint venture, with assets in Malaysia, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. He left OMV in 2021 and carried out Exploration consulting services for BCG and Partners in Performance during 2021 and 2022. As President of Exploration for Cairn India Ltd in Delhi from 2023 to 2024, your expert course instructor developed a 5-year Exploration strategy supported by thorough portfolio analysis to support the aggressive Vedanta Cairn growth ambitions.

His focus is to support energy companies seeking advice for the development of exploration strategy, portfolio management and wider technical assurance scope. He is passionate about developing authentic exploration strategy to support corporate growth ambitions. He also has a thorough technical background developed during the first half of his career, with strengths in structural geology and seal integrity. He has a BSc and PhD in Geology from the University of Durham, England.

Unlock the potential of your workforce with customized in-house training programs designed specifically for the energy sector. Our tailored, in-house courses not only enhance employee skills and engagement but also offer significant cost savings by eliminating travel expenses. Invest in your team’s success and achieve specific outcomes aligned with your organization’s goals through our expert training solutions. Request for further information regarding our on-site or in-house training opportunities.

In our ongoing commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, we will no longer providing hard copy training materials. Instead, all training content and resources will be delivered in digital format. Inspired by the oil and energy industry’s best practices, we are leveraging on digital technologies to reduce waste, lower our carbon emissions, ensuring our training content is always up-to-date and accessible. Click here to learn more.

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 post training support and fees applicable