Interview with Bernard Looney
Bernard Looney talks to members of staff on the drilling floor, during a visit to the Deep Ocean Clarion rig in Brazil, August 2011
Since becoming executive vice president for BP’s new Developments division, Bernard Looney has spent much of his time visiting the company’s drilling teams around the world, to hear what is on people’s minds and inspect operations for himself. As he explains to BP Magazine, it’s all part of his drive to create an environment of constant enquiry and learning
"We had a teacher
at school who used to say that asking a
question was the quickest way to learn. But
it would only really work if you were
prepared to truly listen to the answer.”
So recalls Bernard Looney, BP’s executive vice president of Developments – one of the three new upstream divisions created by the company in November 2010. It’s a lesson that has an acute bearing on what he considers the single most important element of his job – to create an environment that encourages constant enquiry and learning.
This is not surprising, given that Looney is now responsible for the part of the business in which last year’s tragic accident in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) occurred. To show he takes this responsibility seriously, Looney has spent much of 2011 visiting teams and carrying out inspections at operating sites around the world.
“I wanted to listen to what is on people’s minds, to get a sense of how people are feeling in the organisation, and understand what will help people do their jobs as well as possible,” he says. “I also wanted to inspect the operations, to see for myself,because how do I really know from my office in London?”
So recalls Bernard Looney, BP’s executive vice president of Developments – one of the three new upstream divisions created by the company in November 2010. It’s a lesson that has an acute bearing on what he considers the single most important element of his job – to create an environment that encourages constant enquiry and learning.
This is not surprising, given that Looney is now responsible for the part of the business in which last year’s tragic accident in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) occurred. To show he takes this responsibility seriously, Looney has spent much of 2011 visiting teams and carrying out inspections at operating sites around the world.
“I wanted to listen to what is on people’s minds, to get a sense of how people are feeling in the organisation, and understand what will help people do their jobs as well as possible,” he says. “I also wanted to inspect the operations, to see for myself,because how do I really know from my office in London?”
The question 'how do you know?' is one that Looney believes every member of his team should be asking all the time, when it comes to safety and risk management. Many of the enhanced processes and systems that are being put in place within Developments have been created to help provide such assurance. By getting out onsite, Looney himself is demonstrating it's okay to ask questions and that to do so can only have a positive impact on the business.
What Looney has seen as he travels around BP's operations has given him real confidence, describing the teams he meets as "amazing people doing extraordinary things." One of his big priorities is to ensure that BP has the right skills in place over the long term. "We're going to hire around 2,000 new people across upstream this year and in Developments, we are recruiting specialists with a range of capabilities. Most importantly, however, we need to make sure the 19,000 people who already work for us have what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively and feel that we're supporting them. We're putting a lot of work into understanding their career aspirations and developing 10-year career road maps to help them reach their goals."
What Looney has seen as he travels around BP's operations has given him real confidence, describing the teams he meets as "amazing people doing extraordinary things." One of his big priorities is to ensure that BP has the right skills in place over the long term. "We're going to hire around 2,000 new people across upstream this year and in Developments, we are recruiting specialists with a range of capabilities. Most importantly, however, we need to make sure the 19,000 people who already work for us have what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively and feel that we're supporting them. We're putting a lot of work into understanding their career aspirations and developing 10-year career road maps to help them reach their goals."
As a driller by background and former head of BP's North Sea business, Looney knows the challenges that face his division and takes the responsibility of leading it very personally. "I spent four months in Houston last year working with our response teams, and I would say that having been through such an experience has left me with a very real emotional connection to the journey we are undertaking. The whole team has a deep commitment to never experiencing something like that again in our careers or our lives. So, first and foremost, my job is to make sure that our wells and projects are built safely," he says.
To do that, Looney is overseeing a number of significant structural changes, including the way that wells are drilled for BP. For the past two decades, BP's upstream business has been organised on a regional basis, meaning that within an overall management system, different local organisations created their own systems and processes for designing, constructing and managing wells. That, says Looney, has been changed with the creation of the global wells organisation.
"Now, all our drilling and wells activity in the world is conducted through one single organisation," he explains. "We have a single head of the global wells organisation – Richard Lynch – who is there to drive standardisation and compliance with our standards and procedures into everything we do. That is what we believe will make a fundamental difference."
In 2010, BP also created a central developments organisation, following success in driving consistency and standardisation into the construction of facilities in regions, such as Trinidad and Azerbaijan. The decision was taken at the end of last year to expand the concept, creating the global projects organisation – led by Neil Shaw.
In 2010, BP also created a central developments organisation, following success in driving consistency and standardisation into the construction of facilities in regions, such as Trinidad and Azerbaijan. The decision was taken at the end of last year to expand the concept, creating the global projects organisation – led by Neil Shaw.
"This has changed the way BP's major projects are delivered," says Looney, "allowing the global projects organisation to implement a standard approach to contract procurement, risk management, inspection and review, as well as creating new standard metrics to measure success. The global projects team is developing a single local Operating Management System (LOMS), something the global wells organisation will emulate.
"OMS is a structure that works well," he continues, "and will help us be more systematic in the way we learn and improve. We don't want to just fix things once. We want to be able to share across regions and projects. The whole principle is that we improve every year, and that those improvements sustain for decades."
"OMS is a structure that works well," he continues, "and will help us be more systematic in the way we learn and improve. We don't want to just fix things once. We want to be able to share across regions and projects. The whole principle is that we improve every year, and that those improvements sustain for decades."
Remotely operated vehicle controllers on the Deep Ocean Clarion rig in Brazil
The benefits of this more centralised approach are already starting to show up in specific projects. Over the next few years, BP expects to install around 300 subsea 'Christmas trees' – pieces of equipment that are attached to the tops of wells to control the flow of hydrocarbons – in its operations around the world. It's a huge piece of work and the first time that the global subsea hardware team will be responsible for worldwide delivery of subsea equipment to the project teams in each region. "I think this is quite different for the industry and we believe it's going to mean significant standardisation of processes across our global operations. This will change the game," says Looney.
Another area of significant improvement is expected to come from implementation of the recommendations contained in BP's report into the Deepwater Horizon accident. Published in 2010, the report made 26 recommendations designed to help prevent an accident such as the Gulf of Mexico tragedy from occurring again. The recommendations relate to the work of the Developments division, and Looney has ultimate responsibility for ensuring they are implemented. With 185 specific actions and more than 700 milestones to meet, it's a big task. So where do you start?
"You have to start with getting the right team in place," he says. "Then, it's about agreeing a plan and making sure we are all crystal clear on the expected outcome. So that when the recommendation says 'we must do x', we all actually understand what x means and what actions need to be taken to ensure that we've done what was recommended."
"You have to start with getting the right team in place," he says. "Then, it's about agreeing a plan and making sure we are all crystal clear on the expected outcome. So that when the recommendation says 'we must do x', we all actually understand what x means and what actions need to be taken to ensure that we've done what was recommended."
BP's newly-created safety and operational risk (S&OR) team plays a key role in all this, helping the Developments division create standards of work, write protocols and eventually carry out audits as it completes each action. The idea is that if accountability for the standards lies with S&OR, then any decisions to allow deviation can be taken by someone with an exclusive S&OR lens. "I think that's healthy," says Looney. "It ensures that people making the final decisions are in the best, and most informed, position."
Looney's top priority is to deliver safe and compliant wells, as well as safe design and quality-build projects. Clearly, well "Implementing BP's internal report recommendations and creating the global wells organisation are both crucial in mitigating that risk, but if the GoM accident proved anything, it's that we must be prepared with the appropriate equipment and resources to respond quickly should another incident occur." control remains one of the division's key risks. "Implementing BP's internal report recommendations and creating the global wells organisation are both crucial in mitigating that risk, but if the GoM accident proved anything, it's that we must be prepared with the appropriate equipment and resources to respond quickly should another incident occur."
This is where BP's new global response team comes in. Led by Richard Morrison and reporting jointly to Looney and Lamar McKay, head of BP America, the team has spent much of the past year travelling to more than 20 countries to share the lessons learned on relief well drilling, spill response and how to manage thousands of potential responders.
The aim is to ensure that BP's businesses around the globe are even better equipped and ready to handle a worst-case scenario. Many have already begun turning those lessons into physical action, transforming their ability to respond to a crisis. In Angola, for instance, agreements have been executed ensuring access to vital equipment and a full-scale capping stack has been built and deployed in preparation for drilling.
Meanwhile, a package of response tools has been constructed and is now housed in Houston in climate-controlled facilities to maintain the equipment's integrity, with plans in place so that it can be deployed anywhere in the world within 72 hours. "We have contracts in place to make that happen and we have others in the industry coming to us asking for the specifications so that they can do the same," says Looney.
Meanwhile, a package of response tools has been constructed and is now housed in Houston in climate-controlled facilities to maintain the equipment's integrity, with plans in place so that it can be deployed anywhere in the world within 72 hours. "We have contracts in place to make that happen and we have others in the industry coming to us asking for the specifications so that they can do the same," says Looney.
BP has also been sharing its lessons learned with governments around the world in order to help make drilling safer. In May 2010, the Brazilian regulator – National Agency of Petroleum (ANP) – approved a deal between BP and Devon Energy that will see BP move into eight of the country's deepwater blocks. At the time, ANP general director Harold Lima said that "BP had proved itself to be one of the best-prepared companies today in operational safety in deep waters."
The Brazilian government's vote of support is key for a company that had made it clear that its future still lies in the deepwater. As well as Brazil, BP has announced new deals in Australia, the South China Sea and India, all of them located in deep water. Meanwhile, it has begun drilling in both Brazil and Angola, and will drill a deepwater well in the UK next year. BP is also in discussions with the US government to demonstrate its continuing commitment to meeting all of the government's requirements in order to get back to work. The Gulf of Mexico remains a critical part of BP's business.
The Brazilian government's vote of support is key for a company that had made it clear that its future still lies in the deepwater. As well as Brazil, BP has announced new deals in Australia, the South China Sea and India, all of them located in deep water. Meanwhile, it has begun drilling in both Brazil and Angola, and will drill a deepwater well in the UK next year. BP is also in discussions with the US government to demonstrate its continuing commitment to meeting all of the government's requirements in order to get back to work. The Gulf of Mexico remains a critical part of BP's business.
In deep water or elsewhere, projects such as these send a strong signal that BP is determined to keep its promises, delivering safe, reliable operations that add shareholder value. "We will operate safely and deliver on expectations," says Looney. "We have wells we need to drill, and projects to bring onstream and run reliably. History has taught us that those two things go hand in hand – operate safely and we will deliver good results for our shareholders."
