Why Choose Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Training Course?

The Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Course gives oil and gas project professionals a comprehensive, industry-specific framework for making better project decisions — covering project sanctioning, strategic business case development, project finance and financial modelling, project leadership, stakeholder engagement, performance measurement, and decommissioning planning across the full oil and gas project lifecycle.

Decision-making in oil and gas projects is uniquely demanding. High capital commitments, complex regulatory environments, long project lifecycles, volatile commodity prices, and multiple interdependent stakeholders mean that every major project decision — from sanction through execution to decommissioning — carries significant financial, operational, and reputational consequences.

This course addresses every decision-critical dimension of oil and gas project management — from Project Sanctioning and Approval Processes and strategic business case development, through limited and non-recourse project finance, DCF analysis, KPI definition, project integration, stakeholder engagement, and project reporting, to decommissioning and rehabilitation planning. Every module is grounded in oil and gas industry context and real project decision scenarios.

The Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Course is built for oil and gas project professionals who want the analytical tools, financial literacy, leadership capability, and governance awareness to make better decisions across every stage of the project lifecycle.

 

What are the Goals?

The Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Course is designed to develop comprehensive project decision-making capability specific to the oil and gas industry — from project sanctioning and strategic planning through financial modelling, project leadership, stakeholder management, and decommissioning.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain project and programme management concepts, project lifecycles, and Stage Gate approaches in oil and gas contexts
  • Apply the Project Sanctioning and Approval Process and develop strategic project business cases for oil and gas projects
  • Evaluate the macro-environment, regulatory framework, and stakeholder landscape relevant to oil and gas project decisions
  • Apply strategic decision-making frameworks across project feasibility, preparation, and planning phases
  • Build executive leadership approaches for oil and gas projects and understand the unique requirements of the oil and gas Project Manager role
  • Apply limited and non-recourse project finance structures and evaluate financing and credit risk considerations
  • Apply time value of money, DCF analysis, and rate of return calculations to oil and gas project financial evaluation
  • Define project success criteria and KPIs, develop project charters, and apply project integration and communication principles
  • Identify and engage key project stakeholders and apply monitoring, reporting, and control decision-making frameworks
  • Plan for project decommissioning and rehabilitation as an integrated component of the full project lifecycle

Who is this Training Course for?

The Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Course is designed for oil and gas project professionals who are involved in project decision-making, sanctioning, finance, leadership, or governance — and who want a structured, industry-specific framework for making better project decisions across the full lifecycle.

This course is suitable for:

  • Senior project managers and project directors responsible for major oil and gas project decisions and sanctioning
  • Project sponsors and executives who approve project business cases and oversee project governance
  • Project finance and commercial professionals structuring, evaluating, and managing oil and gas project financing
  • Project engineers and technical leads involved in feasibility studies, project preparation, and execution decisions
  • Strategic planning and business development professionals evaluating oil and gas project opportunities and investment cases
  • Regulatory and government officials overseeing oil and gas project approval and compliance
  • Project controls and PMO professionals developing KPIs, reporting frameworks, and governance systems for oil and gas projects
  • Graduate oil and gas, engineering, and finance professionals entering roles where project decision-making capability is critical

How will this Training Course be Presented?

The Project Decision Making in the Oil and Gas Industry Course is delivered through a technically and commercially structured learning approach that moves from project management fundamentals and industry-specific sanctioning processes through project finance, financial modelling, leadership, stakeholder engagement, and decommissioning. Each day addresses a distinct decision-making domain within the oil and gas project context, building a complete, integrated understanding of how project decisions are made and governed across the full project lifecycle.

Industry-specific case examples, financial modelling discussions, stakeholder analysis exercises, and project reporting framework sessions are integrated throughout, ensuring delegates connect decision-making frameworks to the real oil and gas project challenges they face in their professional roles.

Delivery methods include:

  • Instructor-led sessions covering project management fundamentals, PSAP, project finance, leadership, stakeholder management, and reporting
  • Strategic business case development sessions applying project identification, sanctioning, and approval process frameworks to oil and gas scenarios
  • Macro-environment and regulatory framework discussions examining how external context shapes oil and gas project decisions
  • Project finance structure sessions applying limited and non-recourse financing concepts and credit risk analysis to oil and gas project scenarios

The Course Content

  • Projects and Programmes
  • Project Life Cycles and Stage Gates

Intricacies of Project Approval in the Oil & Gas Industry

  • Project Sanctioning and approval Process. (PSAP) for the Oil & Gas Industry
  • Development of the Strategic Project Business Case
  • Project Identification–Awareness of accountability of Project Ideas
  • Exploration Survey & Drilling
  • Appreciation of macro-environment in relation to project choice
  • Understand who stakeholders are and how they may impact upon the project
  • Regulatory framework, institutional factors and infrastructure

Strategic decision making through the Project Life Cycle

  • Project Feasibility Decision makers
  • Project Preparation & Planning responsibilities

Project Leadership Skills

  • Build an executive leadership style that guides the project toward greater performance and profit
  • Understand the Project Organisation in a typical Oil & Gas project
  • Project Manager–Unique Requirements
  • Project finance: Limited and non-recourse project finance
  • Structuring project finance deals
  • Financing/ credit risk considerations for the Oil & Gas project

Evaluation Mathematics in Project Finance

  • The time value of money – how it applies to project finance
  • Yields and rate of return - Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis
  • Understand why some projects fail
  • Gain an understanding of successful projects and analyse reasons for success

Starting with the End in Mind

  • Define success criteria and KPI’s of an example Oil & Gas project
  • Capture Project Requirements
  • Development of the Project Charter

Project Management Integration

  • Understand the need for a project team approach
  • Importance of communication in an Oil & Gas project
  • Project Systems and Processes for procurement, award of contracts, workforce management
  • Identify and plan to engage with the project’s key stakeholders
  • Centralised vs. Participatory Monitoring

Project Reporting Techniques

  • Optimal Project Review Types and Intervals
  • Control Decision-making
  • Project Evaluation criteria

Preparing for Project Decommissioning

  • Decommissioning and rehabilitation considerations

Certificate

  • AZTech Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course

Do you want to learn more about this course?

Register now or contact our team to discuss schedules, delivery formats, and customised options.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about our training courses

This course is designed for senior project managers, project directors, project sponsors, project finance professionals, strategic planning specialists, regulatory officials, and project controls professionals who are involved in oil and gas project decision-making across any stage of the project lifecycle. It is suitable for both experienced oil and gas professionals formalising their project decision-making knowledge and those newer to oil and gas project governance who need a comprehensive industry-specific foundation.  

Strategic decision-making is addressed across Days 1 and 2, examining how macro-environmental factors, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder dynamics influence project choice and approach at different lifecycle stages, and how project feasibility, preparation, and planning decisions are made with appropriate consideration of accountability and governance. Delegates develop the strategic decision-making awareness to evaluate project options with the discipline that major oil and gas capital commitments demand.  

Defining success criteria and KPIs is addressed within Day 4, examining how oil and gas project success is defined from the outset, how measurable KPIs are established to track progress against that definition, how project requirements are captured, and how the project charter formalises these commitments into a governance document that guides execution. Delegates develop the project integration discipline to ensure that success is defined clearly before execution begins rather than evaluated retrospectively through different criteria.  

Day 1 covers the PSAP in detail, examining how project sanctioning works in oil and gas organisations, how strategic project business cases are developed to support approval decisions, and how project identification and accountability for project ideas are managed from exploration survey and drilling through to development sanction. Delegates develop the structured understanding of what a credible, approval-ready oil and gas project business case requires — and what the most common weaknesses are that delay or prevent project sanction.  

Project leadership is addressed within Day 2, covering how executive leadership styles are built to guide oil and gas projects toward performance and profitability, what the typical oil and gas project organisation looks like, and what unique requirements the Oil and Gas Project Manager role carries compared to project management in other sectors. Delegates develop the leadership awareness to build and manage project organisations that are structured for effective decision-making, communication, and execution in complex oil and gas project environments.  

Decommissioning and rehabilitation planning are addressed within Day 5 as an integral component of oil and gas project lifecycle management rather than an afterthought at the end of production. Delegates develop the understanding that decommissioning obligations must be planned and financially provided for from the earliest stages of project development, and that decisions made during project design and execution directly affect the cost, complexity, and liability associated with eventual decommissioning and site rehabilitation.  

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