When are we Going to Address Organizational Robustness and Collaboration as Something else than a Residual Factor?

Abstract

Abstract We see an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of work processes and change management in e-field initiatives. However, it is argued in this paper that the E&P business in general tends to lack a framework and the concepts to approach the social nature of work and collaboration. Several studies show the challenges of realizing global concepts, standardized work processes and seamless integration of data. The paper discusses how the social nature of work must be addressed. It also shows what a more open-ended understanding of the work practices of subsurface professionals’ can mean for "intelligent energy". Seven propositions based on an understanding of integrated collaborative environments as information ecologies are set up and presented using examples from ongoing e-field/integrated operation projects. The work practices presented are from the subsurface and production optimization domain. Examples are from Statoil, using my company as an example of an industry that has particular work practices also found elsewhere in the business. This kind of work is knowledge intensive, highly dependent upon information and communication technology for the retrieval and presentation of data and information. A shared understanding among professional subsurface and petroleum engineering professionals of this information is enabled with the help of primary and articulation work. These two types of work enable communication, collaboration and decision making. Finally, in the conclusion some suggestions for development work within integrated collaborative environments based on the propositions will be presented.