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Optimizing upstream oiland gas productionAccenture’s Production Management Solutionsfor High Performance

IntroductionThe energy industry is under constant pressure in allproduction environments: conventional or unconventional;onshore or offshore; oil or gas. In the face of risingcosts and recent widespread production target misses,exploration and production (E&P) companies are lookingto grow reserves and maximize production—whileensuring safe operations and avoiding environmentalimpact. But imprecise or redundant decisions often resultin unnecessary downtime, suboptimal production rates,and increased maintenance and safety issues. This is why‘production management’ has become a crucial step on anoil and gas company’s journey to high performance.Accenture’s production managementofferings address issues faced by manyoperators in delivering productionresults to their stakeholders—be theymanagement, partners or contractors—bytaking a holistic and end-to-end view ofthe processes and tools needed to deliverhigh-performing production results. To dothis, we focus on six critical steps: modelthe asset, forecast production, measureproduction, analyze results, act on insightsand monitor the impact of those actions.1This type of enhanced capabilityultimately optimizes the whole assetlife cycle. Whether your productionmanagers are trying to bring an oilfield up to a plateau rate or to extenda field’s life, Accenture can help.Did you know?Accenture’s Energy industry groupserves more than 150 oil and gasclients globally many of which arein the Oil & Gas Journal 100.

Unconventional gasUnconventional gas—such as coal-bed methane, shale gas and tight gas—isexpected to account for almost half of the increase in global gas productionby 20351, with most of the increase coming from the United States, Australiaand China. The companies that are leading the way with unconventional assetsare not the traditional players, but rather the independent oil companieswho saw the opportunities before the supermajors were able to act.Many of these unconventional gas developments are found in unusual locations,including Australia, Argentina, China and the Ukraine. These locations are posingsignificant new challenges to the industry especially with regard to logistics,modeling of the asset to derive reliable forecasts and water management.Accenture is actively developing solutions and insights to help E&P companiesaddress these challenges and more.1IEA World Energy Outlook 2012, IEA, www.worldenergyoutlook.org.2

Benefits of production managementImprove information qualityImprove decisions Improve accuracy of forecasts Develop consistent, reliable productionforecasts Measure production more effectivelyDecide quicker Reduce the cycle time for makingdecisions Boost production with optimization Improve risk managementFocus on value-addedprocesses Transform the way field operatorsexecute their jobs Focus on analysis, optimizationand maintenance Use tools and technology to predictproblems3 Increase collaboration with theworkforce by sharing information Develop a core operating group ofspecialists in a decision support centerDid you know?Accenture releases a quarterlyEnergy Industry Trends Review.The publication is available onAccenture.com and reviews the lastquarter’s industry outlook, includingeconomics, oil, gas, refining andrig activity.

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Production management servicesBased on decades of oil field operational experience,Accenture has developed a full suite of productionmanagement services that can be combined, or usedon a standalone basis to target specific challenges(see Figure 1).Our solutions support safe, reliable and sustainableoperations; reduce costs; and increase operating excellenceat the primary production bottlenecks. Accenture candefine the scope and objectives to align with a company’sbusiness strategy, setting up definable metrics tomeasure progress.Figure 1. Transform upstream production.Strategicassessment Assess the current state of operations, processes and technologies Identify gaps and evaluate operational readiness Build a roadmap to reach strategic goalsOperationsexcellence Determine processes critical to delivering value Design cross-functionally integrated processes Deploy standard processes enterprise-wideProductionmanagement Assess production management capability and identify gaps and weaknesses Deliver critical missing components of an end-to-end integrated solution Deploy processes and cyclical workflows to optimize performance Monitor remedial activity to quantify value delivered against predicted benefitsApplicationservices Assess, select, and deliver “best in class” application portfolios togreenfield assets Assess existing application portfolios, identify gaps, and deliver improvementsDataservices Assess upstream data management capabilities Design upstream data management architectures and governance models Deliver data loading and cleansing solutions and servicesTechnologyServices5 Design and implement upstream-specific enterprise architectures includingdigital oilfield support Design and deploy collaborative centers for asset operational support

Strategic assessmentBefore embarking on any optimizationjourney, an assessment of the currentstate of operations typically provides astrong foundation for change. Drawingon interviews with key stakeholders,we combine company insights with ourknowledge of leading practices fromacross the industry. Whether challengesare known or there is a need to identifygaps, our assessment of the company’scapabilities will result in a roadmap tohelp reach strategic goals.We look at process excellence, technologyreadiness, skill levels and deliverycapability— from a single asset all the waythrough to a complete asset portfolio.A strategic assessment brings structure,external analysis, alignment and businessjustification to upstream operators, andprovides confidence around investing inappropriate solutions.Operational excellenceOperational excellence is a state in whichan upstream company achieves targetedbusiness performance from world-classoperations. Ideally, this performance isachieved within a continuous improvementenvironment based on the foundation of aclearly defined operating model.At the core of Accenture’s operationalexcellence services are our business processlibraries, leading practice benchmarksand key performance indicators. Ourglobal team of experienced practitionersin upstream operations uses this toolsetto define gaps in our clients’ processperformance, and develop programs toclose gaps effectively and sustainably.Production managementAccenture works with upstreamcompanies to define the scope,objectives and metrics for the company'sproduction management processesaligned with the business strategy.We develop innovative solutions thatenable high-performing productionmanagement and support operationalexcellence efforts—thereby reducingoperating costs and increasing productionwhile improving safety standards.Our suite of integrated upstreamsolutions includes production forecasting,hydrocarbon accounting, asset surveillanceand optimization, loss management, andmuch more. Our solutions are based onmore than 12 years of oil field operationsexperience, including the design anddeployment of digital oil field andintegrated operations programs.The solution also covers the full rangeof solution development services—from a proven delivery methodology;to process and technology design,build and implementation; to softwareselection and procurement; tochange management services.Data servicesOur upstream data management solutionis designed to help companies achievemore order and reliability in managingthe increasingly complex upstream dataenvironment, and then to transform thedata into timely and valuable information.This service is based on the Accenturedata management and architectureframework, and leverages the upstreamhigh performance business process model.We work with companies to assess criticaldata gaps, design programs and develop asystematic implementation. Our approachis aligned with the organization, workflowsand technical landscape. Upstream datatypes include both structured (seismic,well, production, spatial, land and asset)and unstructured (well/log files, images,records, sensors and contracts).Among our application offerings is theinnovative greenfield platform. This fasttrack program uses Accenture’s extensivesoftware tools to quickly work through the‘assess and select’ phases of introducingan application portfolio for a newupstream asset, and deploying the coreapplications in an accelerated timeframe.Technology servicesMaking sure that upstream E&P assetsoperate as efficiently and effectivelyas possible is crucial to driving superiorbusiness performance. Accenture canhelp upstream companies improveoperational performance by providing anew approach to technology architecture.This approach sweeps away the traditionalbarriers between siloed verticaldisciplines working in isolation from oneanother. The fragmented structure isreplaced with an integrated and holisticapproach to enterprise architecturebased on IT solutions that facilitatecommon data, standards and processes,and real-time information flows.Important offerings include an approachto enterprise architecture designedspecifically for upstream companies–theAccenture integrated oil and gas solutionsplatform which is based on a MicrosoftUpstream Reference Architecture(MURA)-compliant technology platform,originally designed for digital oil field andintegrated operations deployments.Application servicesAccenture has a broad range of offeringsfor the development and supportof applications: Application development Application maintenance Application outsourcing.This technology consulting offering isbased on our deep understanding of theapplications landscape for the upstreamindustry. The offering includes assetswe have developed from our years ofexperience helping companies with theirapplication portfolios.6

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Energy industry experienceThe Accenture energy industry groupserves a wide range of companies inthe oil and gas industry, includinginternational oil companies (IOCs),national oil companies (NOCs),independent oil companies and oil fieldservice companies. We collaborate withour clients to help them meet competitivechallenges and shape solutions to supporthigh performance. With experiencespanning the entire energy value chain,including upstream, downstream,oil field services and pipelines, wework in more than 20 countries andserve more than 150 clients.Accenture also has created energy hubslocated in energy-centric locationsaround the world (see Figure 2).The purpose of the hubs is to serveas a network to quickly respond toaccount team needs, package localthought leadership, to highlightemerging trends and test Accenture’sindustry assets for client relevance.Did you know?Accenture has created Energy hubslocated in energy-centric locationsaround the world. The purpose ofthe hubs is to serve as a networkto quickly respond to client needs,package local thought leadershipto highlight emerging trendsand test Accenture’s industryassets for client relevance.Figure 2. Accenture Energy Hub tonHyderabadMonterreyManilaAbu DhabiBangaloreBogotaKuala LumpurLagosLuandaJakartaRio de JaneiroBrisbaneMaputoSantiagoBuenos AiresPerthJohannesburg8