Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) directed its Upstream subsidiaries to collaboratively work towards an integrated 2030 strategy. One of the key elements to achieving the 2030 strategic objectives was to collaborate and share expertise to resolve technical challenges currently facing the upstream entities. As a result, the Center of Excellence (CoE) was successfully implemented to leverage the diverse expertise of technical talent across the three upstream entities of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC). CoE Discipline teams comprising of experts in strategically important technical disciplines created significant business value through sharing of knowledge, lessons learned, and experiences, around specific technical challenges.

To embed the CoE as a way of working, change management was identified as a key enabler. Various interventions including organization-wide communications, focus on value creation, incentives, and capability development were implemented to build commitment and manage different stakeholder groups. Specific messages were deployed through high impact communication tools to build wider stakeholder support. The Upstream leadership provided sponsorship and visible support to drive implementation and ensure that value from CoE is recognized. This multi-pronged approach helped embed CoE within the inherent fabric of upstream entities, enabling it to deliver business value.

Keywords:
Kuwait government, intervention, expertise, technical challenge, knowledge management, upstream coe, Collaboration, objective, Upstream Oil & Gas, CoE
Subjects:
Professionalism, Training, and Education, Information Management and Systems, Communities of practice, Knowledge management
Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers
You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.