Oil and Gas
Oil and Gas | Commercial and Risk Analysis
Asset Management in the Oil and Gas Industry
Format and Duration:
3 days
5 sessions
Most people working in a technical field, such as reservoir engineering or geology, will have received substantial training, whether at university or from their employer. However, asset managers often start their roles without formal training in asset management.
This course guides the student through the key aspects of asset management by addressing two fundamental questions: “What do I need to know?” and “What do I need to do?”
By the end of the course, participants will know where to focus their efforts and what actions to take to make a material difference to the economic value of their asset.
Schedule
Duration and Training Method
This is a classroom or virtual classroom course comprising a mixture of lectures, discussions and exercises. For the virtual class, there will be a single exercise set as homework following each of the first four days.
Course Overview
Learning Outcomes
Participants will learn to:
- Analyse the asset economically to identify priority areas for value improvement and develop an integrated life‑of‑field strategy for the asset.
- Establish annual and day‑to‑day asset management routines that dovetail with corporate requirements and structure the asset team to maximise efficiency and quality.
- Monitor key safety and operational metrics, determine appropriate intervention points, and populate a Risk Radar correctly.
- Characterise field facilities, describe typical project structures, track project progress, and apply decision‑making techniques to manage projects effectively.
- Identify common subsurface pitfalls, evaluate options to enhance field value, and apply methods for well planning and reserve representation.
- Explain key commercial and contractual documents, perform stakeholder analysis, and manage relations with partners and operators.
Course Content
Module 1: Foundations — Leadership
- Introduction to the course, tutor and participants
- Objectives of an asset manager
- Economic analysis
- Strategy
- Other tasks
- Module 1 summary
- Exercise 1: economic analysis
Module 2: Foundations — Management
- The year of the asset
- Day‑to‑day management
- Meetings
- Key documents
- Module 2 summary
Module 3: Safety and Operations
- HSE
- Production operations
- Risk Radar
- Interventions
- Module 3 summary
- Exercise 2: Risk Radar example
Module 4: Projects and Engineering
- Field facilities
- Projects and stage gates
- Small projects
- Making decisions
- Module 4 summary
- Exercise 3: material balance for a field
Module 5: Subsurface
- Understanding the field
- Models and their use
- Improving the value of the field
- Predicting the future
- Drilling wells
- Reserves and reserves forecasting
- Module 5 summary
- Exercise 4: reserves booking and forecasting
Module 6: Commercial
- The key contractual documents
- Export contracts
- Stakeholder analysis
- Managing partners and the operator
- Module 6 summary
Course Summary
- Course summary and closing discussion
Who Should Attend and Prerequisites
This course is aimed at anyone interested in, or involved with, asset management. Organisations have different internal structures, so responsibility for an asset may be shared across several roles rather than resting with a single person.
The course is intended for mid‑level industry professionals. No prior asset management experience is required, and the course is designed to progress participants from beginner to advanced competency within the course delivery.
Instructors
Joel Turnbull
Background
Joel currently works for Rockflow Resources as a Developments Advisor and is based in London, UK. He has worked in the oil industry for over 35 years, the last 20 years or so in asset management roles. He has worked across the globe for a variety of operated companies, including Total, Nexen, Sasol and Tullow.
Joel holds an MEng from Heriot-Watt University in Petroleum Engineering. He started his oilfield career as a logging engineer for Baker Atlas, working in the North Sea, Nigeria and Italy. Following his MEng, he transitioned from petrophysics to reservoir engineering and worked for Total for 11 years. Joel then moved to Nexen, where he was Subsurface Manager and subsequently Asset Manager for the giant North Sea Buzzard field. He later joined Sasol and then Tullow, where he was Developments Manager for Tullow’s deepwater Ghana assets, including Jubilee. In 2025, Joel moved into consultancy with Rockflow Resources.
Joel is passionate about all aspects of asset management and believes relatively small changes to an asset can make material differences to its value. Outside of work, he enjoys losing golf balls, eating well and shouting at the TV when Harlequins play.
Affiliations and Accreditation
Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE)
MEng Heriot-Watt University - Petroleum Engineering
BSc University of Warwick - Mechanical Engineering
Courses Taught
N755: Asset Management in the Oil and Gas Industry
Accreditation and Certification
CEU: 2.1 Continuing Education Units
PDH: 21 Professional Development Hours
Certificate: Certificate Issued Upon Completion
RPS is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. We comply with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognised internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices.
We issue a Certificate of Attendance which verifies the number of training hours attended. Our courses are generally accepted by most professional licensing boards/associations towards continuing education credits. Please check with your licensing board to determine if the courses and certificate of attendance meet their specific criteria.