Developing Strategies for Effective Delivery of Capital Projects: Accenture Global Survey of the Energy Industry

This report examines the multitude of challenges companies face in delivering complex, large-scale, capital projects. Anticipating that the energy industry is projected to spend up to $20 trillion by 2035 on capital projects, Accenture offers recommendations on key solutions for companies to improve performance.

The capital projects delivery excellence surveys for the energy and utilities industries were led by the Accenture Innovation Center for Energy and Utilities. To learn more about the center, visit www.accenture.com/innovation-center.

An expected $19.5 trillion in capital spending in the next decade as global demand for energy increases and companies make up for slow capital investment in recent years. At the same time, the size and complexity of projects are growing. Costs are rising. Talent shortages persist. New technologies and remote locations of exploration and extraction have increased risks. Challenges to successful project delivery continue to mount.

Challenges to effective delivery. Effective project delivery is critical to high performance, yet many energy companies say they are not meeting their own delivery targets. Delays, scheduling changes and project-to-asset transitions are problematic. Regulation, talent availability, ineffective front-end planning and inadequate stakeholder engagement present major challenges to meeting targets.

Top priorities for the next three years. Availability of talent, improved front-end loading of planning and scheduling, and effective stakeholder engagement top must-do lists for the next three years.

Leading performers. A group of companies outperforms the rest in consistently meeting project targets. These companies have specific attributes and capabilities in common across people, processes and technology.

Returns on capital projects are likely to be improved through:

• Comprehensive and rigorous upfront planning.
• Developing and retaining talent.
• Improving the transition from construction through to producing assets.

In pursuit of high performance, leaders of capital projects need to:

• Manage major projects as high-stakes businesses.

• Expand the focus beyond engineering and procurement. Major projects on the horizon call for increased focus on human capital strategy, stakeholder and supplier relations, governance, and defining, measuring and monitoring success.

• Build and sustain a culture of project delivery excellence.