Introduction
Project Planning, Scheduling, and Cost Control are fundamental disciplines that determine the successful delivery of projects across the oil and gas value chain. From upstream exploration and drilling to pipeline construction, refinery expansion, petrochemical facilities, LNG terminals, and decommissioning projects, effective planning and control enable organizations to deliver projects safely, on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. Given the capital-intensive nature of oil and gas projects, even minor deviations in project schedules or costs can result in substantial financial losses, operational disruptions, contractual disputes, and reputational damage.
Oil and gas projects operate in highly dynamic environments characterized by technical complexity, changing regulatory requirements, volatile commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, environmental constraints, labor shortages, stakeholder expectations, and geopolitical uncertainties. Consequently, project teams must employ robust planning methodologies, realistic scheduling techniques, effective cost estimation practices, proactive monitoring systems, and integrated project controls to manage uncertainty and support informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle.
Project Planning, Scheduling, and Cost Control encompass project scope definition, work breakdown structures (WBS), scheduling methodologies, resource planning, cost estimation, budgeting, project controls, earned value management, progress measurement, forecasting, risk integration, contract administration, change management, and performance reporting. Successful implementation requires collaboration among project managers, engineers, planners, schedulers, cost engineers, procurement specialists, contractors, and stakeholders to ensure alignment with organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.
International standards and best practices including the Project Management Institute (PMI) PMBOK® Guide, ISO 21502 Project, Programme and Portfolio Management, Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE International) Recommended Practices, ISO 31000 Risk Management, ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 55001 Asset Management, Earned Value Management System (EVMS) Guidelines, International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC) standards, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks, and Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) recommended practices provide globally recognized guidance for project planning and project controls.
Emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Digital Twins, Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, Oracle Primavera Cloud, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, drones, Internet of Things (IoT), predictive analytics, cloud-based project management platforms, and business intelligence dashboards are transforming project planning and controls through intelligent scheduling, predictive forecasting, automated reporting, resource optimization, and real-time project monitoring.
This Training Course on Project Planning, Scheduling and Cost Control is designed to equip participants with practical knowledge and skills to effectively plan, schedule, monitor, and control oil and gas projects while improving project performance, minimizing cost overruns, optimizing resource utilization, and ensuring timely project delivery. Participants will develop competencies in project planning, scheduling techniques, cost estimation, budgeting, project controls, earned value management, AI-enabled project analytics, and performance monitoring.
The course combines internationally recognized best practices with practical case studies, scheduling workshops, Primavera and Microsoft Project demonstrations, cost estimation exercises, earned value management simulations, AI-enabled forecasting demonstrations, project control dashboards, and organizational action planning to ensure participants acquire practical competencies that can be immediately applied within their organizations.
Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Course Objectives
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Understand the principles, concepts, and international best practices governing project planning, scheduling, and cost control in the oil and gas industry.
- Develop comprehensive project plans, work breakdown structures (WBS), schedules, and resource plans for complex petroleum projects.
- Apply project scheduling techniques including Critical Path Method (CPM), Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), resource leveling, and schedule optimization.
- Prepare accurate cost estimates, budgets, cash flow forecasts, and cost control systems throughout the project lifecycle.
- Integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE), risk management, and sustainability considerations into project planning and control processes.
- Utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI), Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, digital project management systems, and predictive analytics to improve project planning, forecasting, monitoring, and reporting.
- Monitor project performance using Earned Value Management (EVM), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), project dashboards, and international project management standards.
- Develop comprehensive project planning, scheduling, and cost control strategies that enhance project delivery, operational efficiency, financial performance, and stakeholder satisfaction.
Duration
5 Days
Target Audience
This course is intended for:
- Project Managers
- Project Engineers
- Planning Engineers
- Project Schedulers
- Cost Engineers
- Project Controls Professionals
- Construction Managers
- Petroleum Engineers
- Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Instrumentation Engineers
- Procurement and Contract Managers
- Quantity Surveyors
- Finance and Budget Officers
- Operations Managers
- Asset Management Professionals
- Risk Management Specialists
- Consultants
- National Oil Company (NOC) Personnel
- International Oil Company (IOC) Personnel
- Development Partners
- Researchers and Academics
Course Outline
Module 1: Foundations of Project Planning and Scope Management
Introduction to Project Planning
- Principles of project planning
- Project lifecycle management
- Project governance
- Project success factors
- Integrated project management
Project Scope Management
- Project charter
- Scope definition
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Deliverables management
- Scope verification and control
Project Organization
- Project stakeholders
- Roles and responsibilities
- Project communication
- Organizational structures
- Governance frameworks
Project Planning Standards
- PMBOK® Guide
- ISO 21502
- AACE International practices
- Project documentation
- Planning best practices
Practical Exercise
- Developing a Project Charter, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and project execution plan for an oil and gas infrastructure project.
Module 2: Project Scheduling and Resource Planning
Project Scheduling Techniques
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
- Network diagrams
- Milestone planning
- Gantt charts
Resource Planning
- Resource allocation
- Resource leveling
- Workforce planning
- Equipment scheduling
- Material planning
Schedule Optimization
- Fast tracking
- Crashing techniques
- Schedule compression
- Constraint management
- Recovery planning
Scheduling Software
- Primavera P6
- Microsoft Project
- Oracle Primavera Cloud
- Digital scheduling platforms
- Schedule integration
Practical Exercise
- Developing and optimizing a detailed project schedule using Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project.
Module 3: Cost Estimation, Budgeting, and Cost Control
Project Cost Estimation
- Estimation methods
- Bottom-up estimating
- Parametric estimating
- Analogous estimating
- Three-point estimating
Budget Development
- Project budgeting
- Cost baselines
- Cash flow forecasting
- Funding requirements
- Financial planning
Cost Control
- Cost monitoring
- Variance analysis
- Forecasting
- Cost reporting
- Change cost evaluation
Earned Value Management (EVM)
- Planned Value (PV)
- Earned Value (EV)
- Actual Cost (AC)
- Cost Performance Index (CPI)
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
- Estimate at Completion (EAC)
Practical Exercise
- Preparing project cost estimates, budgets, and earned value performance reports for an oil and gas project.
Module 4: Project Controls, Risk Management, and Digital Technologies
Integrated Project Controls
- Project performance measurement
- Progress monitoring
- Reporting systems
- Change control
- Document management
Project Risk Integration
- Schedule risk analysis
- Cost risk management
- Contingency planning
- Risk-adjusted scheduling
- Scenario analysis
Digital Project Controls
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Predictive analytics
- Building Information Modeling (BIM)
- Digital Twins
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Cloud-based project controls
Performance Dashboards
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Executive dashboards
- Business intelligence
- Data visualization
- Performance forecasting
Practical Exercise
- Designing an AI-enabled project controls dashboard for monitoring schedule, cost, and project performance.
Module 5: Strategic Leadership and Emerging Trends in Project Management
Leadership in Project Delivery
- Strategic leadership
- Team coordination
- Stakeholder communication
- Decision-making
- Performance improvement
Contract and Claims Management
- Contract administration
- Variation orders
- Claims prevention
- Dispute management
- Contract closeout
Emerging Trends
- Artificial Intelligence in project management
- Machine learning for forecasting
- Autonomous project monitoring
- Digital construction management
- ESG integration
- Sustainable project delivery
- Modular construction
- Smart infrastructure
Developing Organizational Action Plans
- Project management maturity assessment
- Gap analysis
- Strategic implementation roadmap
- Continuous improvement
- Organizational capability development
Practical Exercise
- Developing a Comprehensive Project Planning, Scheduling, and Cost Control Framework for participants’ organizations.
Training Approach
The training will be delivered through:
- Interactive lectures and facilitated discussions
- International and regional oil and gas project case studies
- Project planning and scheduling workshops
- Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project demonstrations
- Cost estimation and budgeting exercises
- Earned Value Management (EVM) simulations
- AI-enabled project forecasting demonstrations
- Group discussions and peer learning
- Project performance dashboard development workshops
- Development of organizational project planning and cost control action plans
General Notes
- Prerequisites: No prior formal training in project planning or project controls is required. However, participants working in project management, engineering, construction, petroleum operations, procurement, contract management, finance, project controls, National Oil Companies (NOCs), International Oil Companies (IOCs), consulting, development organizations, academia, or related disciplines will derive maximum benefit from the course.
- Training Materials: Participants will receive comprehensive project planning manuals, PMBOK® Guide references, ISO 21502 implementation guides, AACE cost engineering resources, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) templates, Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project user guides, project scheduling templates, cost estimation worksheets, Earned Value Management (EVM) calculators, KPI dashboard templates, AI-enabled project analytics resources, project reporting formats, implementation roadmap guides, action planning templates, and practical case studies aligned with international best practices.
- Certification: Participants who successfully complete the training will be awarded a Certificate of Participation from Kincaid Development Center.
- The training will be held at Kincaid Training Centre. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments and lunch.
- All participants will additionally cater for their travel expenses, visa application, insurance, and other personal expenses.
- Accommodation and airport pickup are arranged upon request. For reservations, contact the Training Coordinator at Email: training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org or Tel: +254 724592901.
- This training can also be customized to suit the specific needs of your institution upon request. The course can be delivered at the Kincaid Training Centre or at a convenient location.
- For further inquiries, please contact us on Tel: +254 724592901 or send an email to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org.
- Payments are due upon registration. Payment should be made to the designated Kincaid Development Center bank account before commencement of the training, and proof of payment should be sent to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org.