As the ECI transitions into BRE/CE it is important that the ECI establishes the necessary governance. This is at three levels – the CE/ECI Board of Management, the ECI Membership Steering Group and the Executive Working Group. The ECI Steering Group is open to all members, the CE/ECI Board Of Management and the Executive Working Group is limited only to those members who want to contribute to the development and implementation of ECI activity. Details of each of these governance levels have been circulated previously – if you require further copies please email [email protected].

Our strength as ECI is our diversity in membership across the entire supply network. We want to represent this in the above governance levels. Therefore please email [email protected] who your organisation’s TWO nominations for the ECI Steering Group are and those interested/willing to be appointed to the CE/ECI Board of Management and the ECI Executive Working Group. To make the ECI the success the membership needs and deserves we need your experience and expertise in these areas.

The National Composite Centre in Bristol was host to the Materials and Manufacturing Roadshow on 17 October.  This was the first in a series of roadshows inviting companies from various sectors to get involved in addressing the challenges facing the UKCS oil and gas industry.  Dr Carlo Proccacini, head of technology for the O&G Authority, put out a call for innovation and collaboration.  There have been 44bn boe extracted from the North Sea so far and current estimates are that there are still between 10 and 20bn boe remaining.  Those remaining reserves are getting harder and harder to extract.  However there have been improvements in production efficiency and unit costs of development, mainly driven by the oil price crash in 2014 – so efficiency has increased since then from 65% to 73%, and unit costs have reduced from $30/bbl to $16/bbl. But the UKCS is still one of the most expensive places in the world to develop based on these costs.  His challenge to the gathered delegates – and us in the industry – is how to improve asset integrity, undeveloped discoveries, well delivery and decommissioning using the diverse expertise and experience available across many industries.  And the good news is that there is potential funding from various sources to help stimulate and support this innovation and research.  Presenting at the Roadshow were the ITF, OGTC, OGIC and Innovate UK – a lot of acronyms!  All have funding via industry or the government which is available to be used in this context.  One of the main purposes of the Roadshow was to get the message across to the delegates that the government is encouraging and supporting innovation in this area so if you get the opportunity, you may want to get yourself along to one of the other Roadshows being held in Glasgow on 28 November and Rotherham on 30 November.  For more information please click here.

Article by Karen Cherrill, Director, Kingsfield Consulting

Project 13 will be a step change for the future of the industry – based on an enterprise relationship that maximises performance rather than a transactional one which transfers risk.  The ICE report, commissioned by the Infrastructure Client Group; Transaction to Enterprises provides the insight into Project 13. Transactions to Enterprises ICG March 2017

Currently in development, Project 13 will move to the implementation phase in March 2018, supporting clients and suppliers to adopt this new delivery model. This will include advisory support, tools, guidance and peer review.

The ECI are sitting within one of the working groups, developing the notion of the Capable Owner, establishing the capabilities required by an effective owner organisation and a common approach for the recruitment, development & training of leaders.  This group is led by Programme Director for the Heathrow Expansion, Phil Wilbraham.  Phil participated in the ECI/ECITB Project Leadership workshop in January 2017 and sees clear synergies for what Project 13 is trying to achieve with issues and potential solutions for the process sectors.  Maximising performance in a globally competitive market is a clear mission for the ECI and something all members are seeking to achieve.  So far the Capable Owner group have been looking at leadership requirements to create an enterprise environment, the use of maturity grids to help define what good looks like in key areas of Capable Ownership.

The ECI would like to raise awareness of Project 13 and the opportunities it presents to our industry.  We also need members to come forward and support the team on taking some of these principles forward but also to add to the debate and work of the Project 13 team.

You can find out more and join the Project 13 community to keep informed through the website: https://www.ice.org.uk/news-and-insight/project-13

Additionally if you want to support the ECI in taking this forward please contact Andy Brown directly at: [email protected] or call 07973416149

ICE Director General Nick Baveystock says: “Our industry is often criticised for low productivity and concentrating too much on margins. Project 13 is the industry’s attempt to address these issues. The initial thinking has been done, derived by practitioners and clients, and now is the time to take this forward.

We can only make the bold move towards higher productivity, sustainable skills and long term, value driven enterprises with the active and continued support of the profession.”