Standardisation of procurement equipment specifications: establishing a strong foundation for oil and gas capital project development and delivery
Industry-wide standardisation is needed for operators to manage the US$3 trillion in CAPEX expenditure forecast for 2018–2025 (Global Data 2018), while maintaining competitiveness and mitigating risks. With the backing of the World Economic Forum, Joint Industry Program 33 (JIP 33) was initiated to drive industry-level standardisation for procuring equipment, moving the industry across the value chain towards common engineering designs and solutions, established by means of cross-company collaboration. Fourteen standardised specifications have been delivered. Their adoption by 12 major oil and gas operators is being measured and is progressing well. This enables the program to capture and evaluate successes, challenges, key learnings and feedback. A further 35–40 specifications, based on recognised industry or international standards, will be developed by the end of 2020. The program is also establishing a process for future maintenance of JIP33 specifications so as to achieve sustained benefits. The present paper outlines the status of JIP33 and showcases some of its early successes, challenges and learnings.