At every step, oil and gas discovery, extraction, and distribution projects require considerable knowledge and strategic responsiveness in order to be successful.

Without quality project management, projects may experience compliance infractions, environmental and safety issues, and cost overruns. To avoid these issues, project management teams with years of expertise in risk management, cost analysis, and strategic improvement are necessary.

Project management teams have many responsibilities. They oversee the development of long-term schedules based on proposed construction timelines, maintenance profiles, and expected production times. They ensure the appropriate engineers, construction teams, and materials are contracted and procured. And once equipment is installed, the commissioning and start-up phase gives project management teams additional tasks to consider and execute.

Health, safety, and environmental (HSE) considerations are also important to project managers. Policies and objectives must be clearly defined, risk management must be undertaken, and evaluation and improvement of enacted policies must be ongoing. Conformance checks and educational outreach activities concerning the operation of specialized equipment are also important to project management teams.

Cost control is another vital part of managing an oil and gas project. Ensuring assembled structures meet as-built specifications from the start, for example, reduces the chance that interventions will be needed to correct out-of-spec and faulty equipment later. When aspects of the project do need to be changed, change support and cost control work hand-in-hand to ensure the changes are vital and, if implemented, have the lowest level of impact possible on key operations. Finally, awareness of cost-reducing technologies as they develop gives project managers an additional tool to work with in reducing operational costs.