An oilfield development project was bid and won by a turnkey contractor, but the project stalled before execution had commenced.. From the contractor's viewpoint the risks were high with only modest returns (if all went well), and by the client's standard the field was too small to be interesting when they had other bigger fields to develop.

The way to unlock the project was to allow the successful bidder to participate in the upside of the field development. The opportunity was offered to the contractor's project management who recognised the possibilities. A deal was negotiated whereby the contractor took over operating rights to the field and established a wholly owned independent oil company for this purpose, and the field owner became a non-participating partner. In a subsequent development the contractor brought in an established medium-sized oil company to share its participation in the field, bringing operating expertise and additional funding.

A true "win win" resulted - the contractor gained increased returns which were more commensurate with the risks involved, and the client received its revenue without having to tie up capital and resources in the field development.

The lesson from this is that project management isn't just a question of competent administration, and all Project Managers need to be alert to business opportunities - they should in fact regard themselves as the MD of their own business and act accordingly.