Oilfield Economics & Project Evaluation is a core commercial capability for organisations making investment decisions across exploration, appraisal, development, production and field abandonment. The Institute For Oil & Gas Training delivers this Oilfield Economics & Project Evaluation Fundamentals Training Course to strengthen the financial, technical and commercial judgement required to evaluate petroleum assets and capital-intensive projects.
Oil and gas projects involve long investment cycles, substantial capital commitments, uncertain production performance and complex operating cost structures. Effective project evaluation therefore requires more than calculating a simple return. Decision-makers need to understand how reserves and resources classification, production profile, capital expenditure phasing, operating cost assumptions, fiscal considerations, field life determination and abandonment liabilities affect project economics.
This course provides a structured approach to analysing the economic performance of oilfield developments and petroleum investments. Participants learn how to connect subsurface assumptions, production forecasts, development plans, operating requirements and financial parameters within an integrated economic evaluation.
The programme focuses on the practical interpretation of project economics for corporate decision-making. Participants examine revenue forecasts, capital expenditure, operating expenditure, cash flow, discounting, project returns, economic limits and investment criteria. The emphasis remains on commercially relevant analysis that supports disciplined decisions throughout the asset lifecycle.
A major focus is understanding the relationship between technical assumptions and financial outcomes. Reserves and resources classification influences the basis of an economic assessment, while the production profile determines revenue timing and influences project value. Capital expenditure phasing affects funding requirements and cash-flow exposure, while operating cost assumptions influence profitability throughout field life.
Participants also examine field life determination and the economic limit test as essential components of petroleum asset evaluation. A field does not remain economically attractive simply because hydrocarbons remain technically recoverable. Economic evaluation requires an assessment of future revenues, operating costs, required investment and abandonment obligations to establish the point at which continued production is no longer commercially justified.
The course also develops understanding of investment decision gates. Projects progress through stages requiring increasingly robust technical and commercial evidence. Participants learn how economic analysis supports screening, concept selection, development approval, investment authorisation and subsequent portfolio decisions.
The Institute For Oil & Gas Training positions the programme for professionals who need to communicate economic findings clearly across technical, financial, commercial and executive functions. The content connects engineering assumptions with financial consequences so that project teams can assess value consistently and present commercially defensible recommendations.
The programme is particularly relevant to organisations managing upstream portfolios, field development programmes, mature assets, brownfield investments and capital-intensive petroleum projects. It provides a common economic language for multidisciplinary teams and supports stronger alignment between technical evaluations and corporate investment requirements.
Understand the fundamental principles of Oilfield Economics & Project Evaluation across the petroleum asset lifecycle
Interpret reserves and resources classification and its relevance to economic assessment
Assess production profile assumptions and their influence on project cash flow
Develop structured approaches to capital expenditure phasing
Evaluate operating cost assumptions across different stages of field life
Understand revenue, expenditure and cash-flow relationships within oilfield projects
Apply discounting concepts and understand the role of the hurdle rate in investment evaluation
Assess project economics using relevant investment measures and decision criteria
Apply the economic limit test to production and field life decisions
Understand the principles of field life determination from an economic perspective
Recognise the commercial significance of abandonment cost provision
Evaluate the effect of key technical and commercial assumptions on project value
Support investment decision gates with structured economic analysis
Identify economic sensitivities and key value drivers within petroleum projects
Communicate project evaluation findings effectively to technical, financial and executive stakeholders
Strengthen commercial decision-making across upstream oil and gas investment activities
The Institute For Oil & Gas Training uses a practical, business-focused delivery methodology designed around the way oil and gas projects are evaluated within operating organisations.
Participants work through realistic oilfield development and production scenarios covering exploration assumptions, reserves and resources classification, production forecasting, development expenditure and operating economics. The case studies demonstrate how individual assumptions influence project value.
Practical exercises focus on building and interpreting project cash flows. Participants examine capital expenditure phasing, operating cost assumptions, production revenues, economic limits and investment metrics to understand how changes in project assumptions affect the overall evaluation.
Production profiles are assessed alongside development expenditure and operating requirements. Participants explore the commercial consequences of production timing, decline behaviour, plateau performance and field maturity within an economic model.
Participants work through investment decision gates and assess whether projects satisfy defined commercial requirements. These exercises develop the ability to distinguish technical feasibility from economic attractiveness and to communicate the implications of assumptions to decision-makers.
The course uses scenarios reflecting common upstream business situations, including new field development, mature field optimisation, incremental investment, project deferral and end-of-field-life decisions. The focus remains on commercial reasoning and practical application.
Economic evaluation involves input from reservoir engineering, production, drilling, facilities, finance, commercial, procurement and management functions. The delivery approach encourages cross-functional interpretation of assumptions and demonstrates how different disciplines contribute to an integrated investment case.
The Institute For Oil & Gas Training course strengthens the connection between technical project assumptions and corporate investment decisions. Sponsoring organisations gain a more consistent approach to evaluating petroleum projects and communicating their economic implications.
Improved understanding of production profiles supports more disciplined revenue forecasting and project planning. Teams become better equipped to identify how production timing affects cash flow, investment recovery and overall project value.
Structured analysis of capital expenditure phasing supports stronger capital planning. Project teams can assess the timing of major expenditure commitments against expected production and revenue generation, helping management understand funding exposure and investment requirements.
Greater discipline around operating cost assumptions improves the transparency of field economics. Organisations gain a clearer basis for assessing how operating expenditure influences project profitability, particularly as assets move from development into mature production.
The course also supports better end-of-life planning. Understanding abandonment cost provision and economic limit testing helps organisations incorporate late-life obligations into project evaluations rather than treating abandonment considerations as a separate issue.
A consistent approach to field life determination supports more informed production and investment decisions. Teams can distinguish between technical recoverability and economically sustainable production when reviewing mature assets.
The programme also strengthens investment governance. Economic analysis provides structured evidence for investment decision gates, allowing stakeholders to assess projects against defined commercial requirements before progressing to additional commitments.
Better communication between technical and commercial teams is another organisational benefit. When engineers, economists, finance professionals and managers use consistent economic terminology and understand the financial implications of technical assumptions, project discussions become more focused and decision-ready.
The course supports portfolio-level thinking by helping professionals understand how individual projects consume capital and contribute to overall value. This perspective is relevant when organisations must compare development opportunities, brownfield investments and mature-field expenditure within constrained investment programmes.
The result is stronger economic discipline across the asset lifecycle, from early project screening through development, production optimisation and eventual abandonment planning.
Participants develop a stronger understanding of how petroleum projects create, preserve or destroy economic value.
They gain the ability to interpret the principal assumptions behind an oilfield economic evaluation rather than treating financial outputs as isolated figures. This helps professionals challenge assumptions constructively and understand the commercial consequences of technical decisions.
Participants strengthen their ability to analyse production profiles and connect production behaviour with project cash flow. They also develop greater confidence in reviewing capital expenditure phasing and operating cost assumptions.
The programme improves commercial awareness for technical professionals by demonstrating how reservoir, drilling, facilities and production decisions affect project economics. Finance and commercial professionals gain stronger insight into the technical assumptions underlying upstream investment cases.
Participants also develop practical understanding of the economic limit test, field life determination and abandonment cost provision. These capabilities support more comprehensive assessment of mature assets and end-of-field-life decisions.
The course strengthens investment communication skills. Participants learn how to present economic assumptions, value drivers, sensitivities and investment criteria in a way that supports management review.
Professionally, the programme enhances the ability to participate effectively in multidisciplinary project teams, investment committees, asset reviews and development planning discussions. It supports professionals who are expected to contribute commercially informed analysis to major petroleum investment decisions.
Designed for petroleum economists responsible for project economics, asset valuation, forecasting and investment analysis.
Relevant for finance, commercial and business planning professionals who evaluate upstream capital allocation and project performance.
Provides reservoir professionals with stronger understanding of how reserves, production profiles and recovery assumptions influence economic outcomes.
Helps production specialists connect field performance, operating costs and production forecasts with asset economics.
Supports engineers involved in field development planning, project screening and technical-economic evaluation.
Useful for asset managers responsible for field performance, investment planning, portfolio value and lifecycle decisions.
Relevant to project managers overseeing capital-intensive development programmes and investment decision processes.
Supports professionals assessing petroleum opportunities, project economics, commercial attractiveness and investment cases.
Provides a practical framework for evaluating capital requirements, project returns and portfolio-level investment considerations.
Suitable for managers and executives who review project economics and participate in investment decision gates.
This Module establishes the commercial foundations required for effective petroleum project evaluation. The focus is on understanding how technical asset information is converted into economic assumptions and how reserves, resources, production expectations and project scope influence investment analysis.
SPE Petroleum Resources Management System
PRMS provides a recognised framework for petroleum resources classification and evaluation
Classification supports consistent communication of petroleum quantities and project maturity
Economic evaluation connects resource volumes with commercial project conditions
Explain the foundations of oilfield economics
Distinguish key categories within reserves and resources classification
Understand how production profiles influence economic outcomes
Identify the technical and commercial assumptions required for project evaluation
Recognise the principal drivers of upstream project value
Connect petroleum volumes and production expectations with economic analysis
This Module focuses on expenditure assumptions and the development economics of petroleum projects. Participants examine how capital expenditure phasing, operating cost assumptions and project schedules influence cash flow and investment requirements.
ISO 15663 Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries — Life cycle costing
Provides a recognised reference for life-cycle cost considerations
Supports assessment of costs across the asset lifecycle
Helps distinguish initial expenditure from longer-term operating and maintenance costs
Explain the role of capital expenditure in project economics
Structure capital expenditure phasing within an economic evaluation
Assess operating cost assumptions across field development stages
Understand the relationship between expenditure timing and project cash flow
Identify key cost drivers affecting upstream project value
Integrate production, revenue and expenditure assumptions within an evaluation framework
This Module develops the financial evaluation techniques used to assess petroleum investment opportunities. Participants examine project cash flow, discounting, hurdle rate requirements and investment measures used in corporate decision-making.
IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources
Provides the accounting framework for exploration and evaluation expenditure under IFRS
Supports understanding of the financial reporting context surrounding exploration and evaluation activities
Accounting treatment remains distinct from internal investment appraisal and project economics
Construct and interpret petroleum project cash flows
Explain the importance of discounting in investment evaluation
Understand the role of net present value and internal rate of return
Apply hurdle rate concepts to investment assessment
Identify the economic effect of changes in key assumptions
Interpret sensitivity and scenario results for management decision-making
This Module addresses late-life economics and the conditions that influence continued field operation. Participants examine economic limit testing, field life determination and abandonment cost provision as integral components of full-lifecycle asset evaluation.
IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
Provides the IFRS framework for recognising and measuring provisions
Relevant to understanding the accounting treatment of qualifying abandonment and decommissioning obligations
Accounting provisions must be distinguished from internal economic modelling assumptions
Explain the purpose of the economic limit test
Apply economic reasoning to field life determination
Understand the relationship between production decline and operating economics
Incorporate abandonment cost provision considerations into lifecycle analysis
Identify economic factors affecting mature-field decisions
Assess the commercial implications of continued production and end-of-field-life planning
This Module integrates the technical, operational and financial concepts covered throughout the course. Participants apply structured project evaluation principles to investment decision gates and develop a complete view of how economic evidence supports corporate capital allocation.
ISO 55000 Asset Management
Provides principles for structured asset management and value realisation
Supports lifecycle-oriented thinking about assets and investment decisions
Encourages alignment between organisational objectives, asset performance and value
Integrate technical and financial assumptions into a coherent project evaluation
Apply economic analysis at investment decision gates
Review production, capital and operating assumptions before investment approval
Identify the principal value drivers and sensitivities affecting a project
Incorporate field life and abandonment considerations into lifecycle economics
Present economic findings clearly to management and investment stakeholders
Support disciplined capital allocation through structured project evaluation
Attendees who successfully finish the course receive a Certificate of Completion from The Institute For Oil & Gas Training.
The certificate is issued upon completion of the full training programme and attendance in accordance with the course participation requirement established by The Institute For Oil & Gas Training.
Fees include tuition, course materials and refreshments. Need different dates or a different city? Ask about your preferred date.
The course covers reserves and resources classification, production profiles, capital expenditure phasing, operating cost assumptions, cash-flow analysis, discounting, hurdle rates, economic limit testing, field life determination, abandonment cost provision and investment decision gates.
The programme is designed for petroleum economists, reservoir and production engineers, petroleum engineers, asset managers, project managers, finance and commercial professionals, planners, business development teams and senior managers involved in petroleum investment decisions.
The Institute For Oil & Gas Training uses practical case studies, economic evaluation exercises, production profile analysis, group decision exercises and real-world oil and gas scenarios to connect economic concepts with operational investment decisions.
Yes. The programme addresses economic limit testing, field life determination, production decline, operating cost assumptions and abandonment cost provision so participants can evaluate assets across the full production lifecycle.
Participants will be able to interpret petroleum economic assumptions, assess production and expenditure profiles, apply project evaluation principles, understand hurdle rate requirements, evaluate economic limits and support investment decision gates with structured commercial analysis.
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Next: 18 Jan 2027
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