Oil and Gas Field Operations Training Course: Production Surveillance, Wells and Facilities

Programme Summary

Oil and gas field operations is the subject of this one-week training course for managers who run producing fields, ending in a field operating review for one asset. Daily output depends on wells, surface facilities and work crews acting together, yet losses are often traced too late to change the day's result. The programme builds a surveillance routine, a well and facility ranking method and a plan for safe simultaneous work, applied to a field the participant selects. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme on oil and gas field operations to mixed-organisation cohorts.

The Business Case

A producing field loses value through deferred output, late interventions, unplanned shutdowns and operating cost that drifts away from plan. Managers who see losses by cause, rank work by value and sequence activities safely keep more of the field's potential in the export line. Clear ownership of each cause also shortens the time between a loss appearing and a decision being taken.

• Production Deferment: Falls as losses are logged by cause and the largest causes are closed first.
• Operating Cost: Is held closer to plan as spend is linked to well and facility activity.
• Incident Exposure: Falls as simultaneous work is planned against a shared hazard matrix.

Principles and Evidence Base

• API RP 754: Its tiered process safety indicators shape the leading and lagging measures built in Session 1.
• ISO 14224: Its approach to reliability and maintenance data structures the equipment failure review in Session 3.
• IOGP Life-Saving Rules: These rules frame the work control and simultaneous operations checks in Session 4.
• Pareto Analysis: This ranking principle orders losses, wells and cost lines by their contribution to the gap to potential.

Intended Participants

• Operations managers who are accountable for daily production from a field or cluster.
• Asset managers who balance output, cost and integrity across several facilities.
• Heads of function in production, maintenance or HSE who support field teams.
• Commercial and finance leads who need to read field performance with confidence.

Typical sectors include upstream operators, service companies, national energy bodies and joint venture partners.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to construct a production surveillance dashboard that separates losses by cause.
2. Participants will be able to prioritise well interventions by value and risk.
3. Participants will be able to diagnose facility constraints and compare options for relieving them.
4. Participants will be able to evaluate equipment failure data for repeat causes.
5. Participants will be able to justify a simultaneous operations plan against shared hazards.
6. Participants will be able to assess operating cost lines against field activity and propose corrective action.

Programme Structure

Day 1: Field Operating System and Surveillance

What must a manager see each day to run oil and gas field operations?

• Field Operating Model Map
• Production Surveillance Dashboard
• Well Test and Allocation Review
• Daily Loss Waterfall
• API RP 754 Indicator Tiers

Day 2: Well Performance and Intervention Choices

Which wells deserve attention first, and what does each cost in lost output?

• Well Performance Screening
• Decline and Water Cut Trend Review
• Intervention Value Ranking
• Well Integrity Barrier Review
• Workover Readiness Checklist

Day 3: Surface Facilities and Constraints

Where does the facility limit the field, and how is that limit moved safely?

• Facility Constraint Map
• ISO 14224 Failure Data Review
• Production Deferment Register
• Debottlenecking Option Matrix
• Shutdown and Restart Sequence

Day 4: Safe Work, Simultaneous Operations and Cost

How do drilling, maintenance and production activities run together without added risk or cost?

• Permit to Work Audit Sheet
• Simultaneous Operations Matrix
• IOGP Life-Saving Rules Check
• Operating Cost Breakdown
• Contractor Interface Plan

Day 5: Applying the Tools to One Field

Do the surveillance, well, facility and cost tools hold together in one operating review?

• Applying the Session 1 Daily Loss Waterfall
• Using the Session 2 Intervention Value Ranking
• Testing the Session 3 Facility Constraint Map
• Checking the Session 4 Simultaneous Operations Matrix
• Completing the Field Operating Review

Methodology

The programme uses a structured exercise method built on anonymised production allocation records, well test logs, deferment registers, shutdown plans and work schedules drawn from onshore and offshore settings. Participants work in field teams on a shared case, challenge each other's rankings and receive written facilitator feedback on every completed exercise set.

• Suggested activity: Building a loss waterfall from a month of deferment records.
• Suggested activity: Ranking ten candidate interventions by value and risk.
• Suggested activity: Sequencing a week of overlapping maintenance and drilling tasks.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a field operating review for one oil or gas field. It holds a surveillance dashboard design, a loss waterfall, an intervention ranking, a constraint map, a simultaneous operations plan and a cost action list. The review is used at work to brief the asset leadership team, set the next quarter's priorities and agree actions with contractors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is oil and gas field operations suitable for managers without a petroleum engineering background?

Yes. Oil and gas field operations is taught from the manager's decisions, so it assumes familiarity with a producing asset but no engineering design skills.

Which standards does oil and gas field operations draw on?

Oil and gas field operations draws on API RP 754 for process safety indicators, ISO 14224 for reliability data and the IOGP Life-Saving Rules for work control.

How is the review from oil and gas field operations used at work?

You use the field operating review to brief asset leadership, set quarterly priorities and agree interventions and shutdown plans with contractors and partners.

How does oil and gas field operations differ from a reservoir management programme?

Oil and gas field operations focuses on running wells, facilities and crews day to day, while reservoir management focuses on subsurface behaviour and recovery planning.