Case Study
Petrofac
Driving EPC Excellence with Wrench SmartProject
Petrofac is a provider of integrated EPC services across the oil and gas industry.
In 2018, Petrofac’s Engineering & Production Services (EPS) East division won a three-year project management contract for the Karachaganak Gas Debottlenecking (KGDBN) Project in western Kazakhstan. The project, owned by Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO)—a consortium of ENI, Shell, Chevron, Lukoil, and KazMunayGas—involved boosting gas treatment capacity by installing additional processing units.
At this stage, engineering was complete. What remained were the procurement, construction, and commissioning phases—along with the challenge of managing one EPC contractor, over 120 vendors, and KPO’s internal team.
Turning Technology into a Business Advantage
Petrofac had already been working with Wrench SmartProject and saw an opportunity to differentiate. Instead of just offering traditional PMC services, they proposed something bolder: bring in a fully integrated digital platform that would connect all stakeholders, enforce quality processes, and align seamlessly with KPO’s existing systems. They even offered to strengthen KPO’s internal project team.
The strategy worked.
KPO spent six months putting SmartProject to the test—running it, probing it, and validating its capabilities. Once satisfied that it met their requirements, they approved its use. The platform was hosted on the cloud, with Petrofac teams in Sharjah and KPO teams in Kazakhstan collaborating in real time.
How SmartProject Transformed the Project
- Unified Collaboration: Engineering drawings from Italy, procurement data, and deliverables from 120+ vendors were all funneled into SmartProject and routed through structured workflows for review and approval.
- Seamless Procurement & Cost Control: Budgets, purchase orders, commitments, and earned-value data were imported and monitored in SmartProject dashboards, ensuring clear visibility and accountability.
- End-to-End Document & Correspondence Management: Every document, email, and communication was tracked with audit trails, giving the project team full confidence in accuracy and compliance.
- Real-Time Progress Monitoring: S-curves and reports were automatically generated from Primavera data, keeping leadership fully informed.
- Brownfield Shutdown Planning: SmartProject allowed shutdown activities to be carefully planned and monitored with minimum downtime—crucial for a live operating field.
The Outcome
With SmartProject, Petrofac, KPO, the EPC contractor, and over 120 vendors worked together as one unified team. Responsibilities were clearly defined, approvals were faster, and accurate real-time data empowered proactive decisions. The result: fewer delays, better cost control, and smoother execution of a complex brownfield project.
SmartProject helped Petrofac not only reassure a demanding client but also prove the value of digital project delivery in one of the world’s most challenging operating environments.
“Wrench provided dedicated and invaluable support during the implementation of an integrated Project Management Solution for Petrofac’s EPS East business. They helped facilitate several elements of our solution in line with our expectations. The ‘Wrench Smart Projects’ platform has been stable, and their team of competent subject matter experts have been highly receptive to feedback, proactively supporting our delivery success.”
