An Approach to Reducing Project Delays and Improving Efficiency in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

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Authors

Musa Adekunle Adewoyin
University of Salford, Manchester, UK
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6514-3694

Keywords:

Project Delays, Oil and Gas Sector, Schedule Overrun, Project Efficiency, Stakeholder Management, Risk Management, Project Management, Foreign Investment, Economic Impact, Material Supply Chain, Cost Overrun, Infrastructure Development

Synopsis

A number of oil and gas projects in Nigeria, operated by IOCs – Total Energies, ExxonMobil, Chevron and indigenous Dangote have had their fair share of delays amounting to losses in ROI, and inability to timely meet consumer needs. Reviews have revealed that project delays are recurring decimal, with specific focus to Nigeria as compared to developed countries – like the United States and the United Kingdom.

This research is aimed at delivering an approach to managing project delay causes in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and explore methods of improving assets and project efficiency, by identifying the correlation between them, the leading causes of delays, their impact on project, and a proactive recovery approach towards managing delays.

With the aid of the mixed approach, quantitative and qualitative analysis were carried out by engaging industry professionals and other key stakeholders in survey questionnaires and interview sessions, in order to verify and validate the applicability of the research literature and response mechanism. The research philosophy employed both positivism and interpretivism paradigm, aligning each to the respective data analysis approach - quantitative and qualitative.

The major findings as per causes of delays were identified as poor project client planning, questionable client leadership decision making, key materials supply concerns from contractors as well as bureaucratic approval processes. Notably, two out of the four first level causes were client-dependent. Also revealed were the interlink between the causes, for example, material shortages due to poor planning or leadership decisions. Other sections of this research are in agreement that project delays have cascading effects of reducing benefit realisation, denting corporate reputation and declining returns-on-investment (ROI).

Using the bowtie analysis which is a combination of a fault tree and event tree, the primary causes (issues) of the major events were extracted through thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, where factors such as lowest bidder selection, poor material quality, unclear scope definition and lack of synergy between stakeholders were identified; in relation to project schedule overrun – while mitigative and preventive procedures and practices are expected to reduce the chances of delays.

This research output could add to existing bodies of knowledge by providing easy-to-understand, quick glance delay control frameworks, that can improve decision-making, improve leadership and provide a resilient project management approach within the Nigerian oil and gas eco-system.

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Published

February 8, 2025

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Copyright (c) 2025 Musa Adekunle Adewoyin

Details about the available publication format: E-Book

E-Book

ISBN-13 (15)

978-93-49307-74-2

Details about the available publication format: Book (Paperback)

Book (Paperback)

ISBN-13 (15)

978-93-49307-62-9

How to Cite

Adewoyin, M. A. . (2025). An Approach to Reducing Project Delays and Improving Efficiency in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. Deep Science Publishing. https://doi.org/10.70593/978-93-49307-74-2
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