Case study for the provision of a study team at GCC NOC

OPC has since 2006 had an exclusive contract with a GCC NOC as the petroleum engineering consultancy responsible for providing technical consultants in the areas of petroleum exploration, development and production.

Due to the client’s requirement to ensure data integrity and confidentiality the services are carried out on the client’s premises (office and well site, on and offshore). OPC’s resources comprise of staff and consultants seconded under long term staffing contracts (rotational, residential, single and family status)

OPC’s in-country office provides the workforce management; safe and efficient deployment and resettlement, managing all aspects of immigration,
accommodation, transportation, banking, schooling, social welfare and taxation. OPC’s UK consultant services team provides recruitment, payroll and mobilisation support.

OPC resources

1. Carry out individual projects e.g., review, project management and
   introduction of intelligent automation for oil wells or enhanced oil recovery
   review for a specific field or
2. Are fully integrated into the client’s resources for larger projects including
   OPC personnel in senior roles i.e., we have 3 heads of department currently
   deployed for exploration, surveillance and geology and 1 acting head of
   department; offshore reservoir engineering supervising the client’s and OPC
   personnel on wider projects.

February 2010 milestone

In February 2010 OPC was tasked to supply an integrated study team supervised by an OPC team leader to perform a comprehensive technical evaluation of subsurface assumptions within the Full Field Development Plan (FFDP) for the main producing reservoirs under a PSA. The review was to provide the client with information in their discussions with the operator, and for monitoring the future reservoir management of the field.

November 2010 milestone

OPC presented a detailed technical report and presentation to senior staff within the client which was very well received as a direct result of which the operator was asked to revise the planned future FFDP. The report also contained OPC observations per the structuring of client and operator resources, the recommendations of which were implemented.

June 2011 milestone

OPC was contracted to provide a second integrated study team again to be supervised by an OPC team leader to produce an independent study on the FFDP of another field and operator. Again this will review historical data and FDP’s to present a report to the client for evaluation.

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Case study for the provision of search services at IOC major

OPC has had a service company relationship with this IOC major for over 20 years
providing both technical and consultant services in support of their International
exploration and production operations.

OPC’s long relationship was this Client was founded through the supply of reservoir
and petroleum engineers, well testing / well services engineers and supervisors
and geoscientists on secondment to the client’s operations in the UK, Algeria,
Angola, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Oman and Russia. The provision of consultant services
has required OPC to provide personnel with the required technical expertise
and behaviours, and to manage immigration, staff welfare, accommodation,

transportation, security, in-country pay-rolling and tax administration. To read more
about the provision of consultants to this client, please click here

March 2010 milestone

In March 2010 OPC’s relationship with the client had developed to OPC being
their “first point of calling” for petrotechnical consultants for North Sea operations.
The client was most significantly impressed with the “technical calibre and
behaviours of the OPC consultants who are well suited to their roles”. The client
determined that it is “OPC’s technical consulting capability that underpins the
selection and supply of consultants” that makes the difference.

November 2010 milestone

In November 2010, OPC was approached by the client with the request to find
consultants who were potentially interested in joining their staff to provide for
succession planning and staff turnover. The approach centred on using OPC’s
extensive database of subsurface petrotechnical personnel to search for candidates
who were interested in career path development through permanent employment.
Furthermore, that OPC would deploy the same recruitment skills that underpinned
the selection and supply of its consultants. It was agreed that OPC would undertake
this task initially for 3 petroleum engineering vacancies for the client’s Aberdeen
office. The roles ranged varied between practical petroleum engineering; well
performance assessment, rating, planning and supervision of wellwork campaigns
and production systems modelling.

February 2011 milestone

Between November 2010 and February 2011, OPC provided the client a shortlist
of five candidates leading to three interviews, two offers of employment and
two acceptances. The third vacancy was filled by a candidate from an internal
staff referral. OPC’s performance resulted in a recommendation from North Sea
operations management that OPC be promoted to “preferred supplier” status for
search recruitment services.

April 2011 milestone

OPC was awarded a 2 year master services contract on 15th April 2011 for UK search recruitment services.

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Case study for the provision of consultants at IOC major

OPC has had a service company relationship with this IOC major for over 20 years providing both technical and consultant services in support of their International exploration and production operations.

OPC is supplying reservoir and petroleum engineers, well testing / well services engineers and supervisors and geoscientists on secondment to the client’s operations in the UK, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Oman and Russia. This requires OPC to provide personnel with the required technical expertise
and behaviours and to manage immigration, staff welfare, accommodation, transportation, security, in-country pay-rolling and tax administration.

March 2010 milestone

In March 2010 OPC became the client’s preferred supplier of petrotechnical consultants for their North Sea operations for which the following statements were
made by the client as critical to success of this partnership;

“One of the key factors in choosing OPC to provide consultants is their technical
consulting capability that underpins the selection and supply of consultants. OPC is
not simply a recruitment agency”

“OPC has responded effectively by covering all of the vacant positions”

“We are most significantly impressed with the technical calibre and behaviours of
the OPC consultants who are well suited to their roles”

“OPC is open minded, responsive and professional to deal with”

“OPC is now our first point of calling for petrotechnical consultant services given
this track record”

May 2011 milestone

In May 2011 OPC was invited by the client’s UK procurement supply chain
management on the recommendation of their North Sea operations management
to participate in a major tender for a global master services contract (MSC).
The MSC was for the supply of contingent labour services; reservoir engineers,
petroleum engineers, geologists, geophysicists and petrophysicists for an initial 2
years duration. The client had determined that their existing supplier contracts for
contingent labour were not “fit for purpose” in these disciplines and that a separate
MSC was necessary.

The tender event targeted technical services providers, not recruitment agencies,
in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres to provide the services of an estimated
200+ consultants in 17 countries across UK, Europe, North America, South America,
Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa.

January 2012 milestone

OPC was awarded the MSC on 1st January 2012

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Case study for the provision of an integrated team at GCC NOC

OPC has since 2006 had an exclusive contract with a GCC NOC as the petroleum engineering consultancy responsible for providing technical consultants in the areas of petroleum exploration, development and production.

Due to the client’s requirement to ensure data integrity and confidentiality the services are carried out on the client’s premises (office and well site, on and offshore). OPC’s resources comprise of staff and consultants seconded under long term staffing contracts (rotational, residential, single and family status)

OPC’s in-country office provides the workforce management; safe and efficient deployment and resettlement, managing all aspects of immigration, accommodation, transportation, banking, schooling, social welfare and taxation. OPC’s UK consultant services team provides recruitment, payroll and mobilisation support.

OPC resources

1. Carry out individual projects e.g., review, project management and introduction of intelligent automation for oil wells or enhanced oil recovery review for a specific field or
2. Are fully integrated into the client’s resources for larger projects including OPC personnel in senior roles i.e., we have 3 heads of department currently deployed for exploration, surveillance and geology and 1 acting head of department; offshore reservoir engineering supervising the client’s and OPC personnel on wider projects.

OPC resources currently deployed

1. 7 Well site geologists
2. 6 Petroleum engineers
3. 5 Reservoir engineers
4. 3 Heads of department (plus 1 acting)
5. 2 Drilling engineers
6. 2 Day shift drilling supervisors
7. 1 Test planning engineer
8. 2 DST engineers
9. 1 PVT specialist
10. 1 Petrophysicist
11. 1 Cementing specialist
12. 1 Geophysicist
13. 1 Intelligent oilfield consultant
14. 1 Production geologist

The following key aspects of our partnership with the client have been identified as critical to our success

1. Strong, professional reputation
2. In-country management led by a senior petroleum engineer
3. Stable consultant workforce (all consultants have renewed their contracts over the last 3 years)
4. Intake of consultants increased from 12 to 30 in the last 3 years with the contract extended to cover drilling personnel

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The original well testing training course was developed for OPC’s Challenge Graduates Scheme in 1998 and it has since evolved, in association with the WTS, to become internationally recognised as “Well Test Interpretation with PIE”. It is delivered to a number of business units on a regular basis, usually twice a year, using the Training Portal web site for promoting the course and its registration. This course has been delivered throughout the world by Piers Johnson, OPC’s UK Managing Director, and Bill Roberts, OPC USA President.

Locations have included:

Caracas, Venezuela; Houston, USA; Bogota, Colombia (regularly); Jakarta, Indonesia; Aberdeen and Sunbury, UK (regularly).

The course teaches the basic theory and the important parameters in well test interpretation, but more importantly how to analyse real test data sets for different kinds of wells (vertical and horizontal) and reservoirs (homogeneous, double porosity, double permeability and hydraulically fractured). More recently this has included reservoir surveillance using data sourced from permanent down hole gauge data.

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Piers Johnson, OPC’s UK Managing Director, and Bill Roberts, President of OPC USA, have been teaching Well Testing and Well Test Interpretation to students on the Masters course in Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering (RGE) at the Institute of French Petroleum (IFP) in Paris for many years. This 3-week course takes place every January, February and March.

This popular course attracts international students from all over the world. Piers and Bill run two courses each, covering the theory of well test interpretation and its application and practical well testing too. The students have to complete a project analysing well test data to originate realistic well and reservoir models. Piers sets the exam for the students, which is marked by IFP staff, and scores their projects once completed at the end of the course.

View Piers’ endorsement from the IFP

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