Making record performance repeatable through alternative contract models

Over the past century, the oil and gas industry has made quantum leaps in exploration, development, and production. The technical capability to deliver high performance is well established. What has proven far more difficult is repeatability. Performance improvements often stall at the pilot phase, struggling to cross the invisible boundary between “successful trial” and “standard way of working.” As a result, organizations find themselves celebrating record wells while most of their operations continue underperforming relative to that potential. Solving this problem requires the industry to embrace new contract models that reward consistency, dependability, and shared outcomes. Moving forward, the key challenge and opportunity is to make top-tier performance the operating standard, not the exception.