Introduction 

In today’s climate of economic turmoil, price volatility and market uncertainty, and with globalism making our lives more interconnected and complicated, it is increasingly necessary for companies to identify and develop managers with a broad understanding of the issues facing the international oil and gas industries and with the skills necessary to manage effectively over a wide range of operations.  This program is designed to provide managers with the necessary skills and knowledge and to prepare them for more senior responsibilities within their organizations.

Course Objectives of The 5-day Oil and Gas MBA

• Gain a broad understanding of the petroleum industry and the companies that make up this industry
• Learn about the important issues facing our industry and strategies used to address these issues
• Gain specific skills in strategic planning, setting goals, budgeting and finance
• Learn the characteristics of an effective leader and understand how leaders motivate, delegate and inspire
• Understand how projects are organized and managed
• Understand the management and allocation of resources (money, time, people, tools and technology)
• Gain skills in managing project costs
• Deal with project risks through finance and project execution strategies
• Make effective management decisions using deterministic and probabilistic models
• Compare international legal systems
• Learn how to work with international contract law and understand methods of dispute resolution
• Learn about the legal issues surrounding global supply and transportation

Course Outlines of The 5-day Oil and Gas MBA

Oil Industry Overview

• Origin, source and nature of hydrocarbons
• Exploration – how hydrocarbons are found
• Production operations
• Field processing operations
• Transportation of crude oil
• Downstream processing
• Marketing
• Economics

Oil Companies, Corporate Relationships and Structures

• Operating companies and service companies
• Local, national and multi-national oil companies
• Integrated and non-integrated companies
• Production sharing agreements
• Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• Issues facing the oil industry

Strategic Planning

Creating a business model

• Strategic planning
• Corporate culture
• Corporate mission statements – vision and values
• Communicating the mission and the business model to stakeholders
• Achieving stakeholder alignment

 Budgeting and Finance

• Implementing strategies through financial planning and budgeting
• Example of capital budgeting through peer groups
• Understanding corporate cash flow and project financing
• Evaluating capital projects by cash flow analysis

Management and Leadership

• Characteristics of an effective leader
• Team building and employee empowerment

Project Management

• Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) definitions and list of key skills
• PMI’s knowledge areas
• How projects are organized and how a leader motivates, delegates and inspires
• The project charter and critical objectives
• Managing available resources (finances, time, people, tools and technology)
• Fundamentals of cost and time management and project quality control
• Managing project risk
• Project communications

Fundamentals of Project Contro

• The Scope of Work
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• The WBS as the basis for estimate development and cost control activities
• WBS as the basis for planning and scheduling
• The project execution cycle

Cost Management, Planning and Scheduling, Quality Management

• Scope development and estimate bases
• Estimates and budgets, the concept of contingency
• Estimates and probability
• Project cost control and change management
• Scope changes and cost trends
• Project schedule control
• Quality management

Management Decision Strategies and Algorithms

• The role of probability in decisions
• Mathematical modeling of business processes
• Making management decisions under conditions of uncertainty
• Making management decisions under conditions of certainty
• Optimization of mathematical models and interpretation of results

International Business Law

• Comparative legal systems
• International contract law
• The concept of legal jurisdiction
• Dispute resolution methods and resources
• Global supply and transportation, title and liability issues