60 seconds with...

HUGO ASHKAR
Global Projects Risk Manager at BP

Hugo Ashkar provides his insight into how BP takes a holisitic and
evergreen approach to project risk management.

Hugo, can you please tell us about your background?
I have worked in oil and gas projects for five years. I
presently hold the role of Risk Manager for our capi-
tal projects group called Global Projects Organization.
Prior to this role, Ive worked in other industries like
aerospace and software, in specialty engineering disci-
plines like risk, reliability, safety and quality engineering.
What do you see as some of the biggest risks to the
large capital projects today, particularly in the cur-
rent market environment?
The price of oil is the first of the line of risk we face.
We sanction projects at a specific price so the mere
existence of the project hinges on the visibility of
the project within the current market environment.

Once the project is defined, the risk profile evolves with-

Can you tell us a little bit more about BPs overall
project risk management approach?
From a project point of view, our risk management
approach is both holistic and evergreen. The holistic
aspect comes from the considerations of all elements
of risk within a project. Safety is our core value so we
do pay a lot of attention to safety and operational risk.
Beyond safety and operational risk, we look at strate-
gic and commercial risks, and compliance and control
in the lifecycle of the project: from the early stage of de-
veloping a concept, to understanding the limitations, the
size of the field, the risk-reward uncertainties, to the de-
veloping of a sound engineering solution over the project.
And finally, during the execute stage, the risk pro-
file evolves into more of the sign and construc-
tion stages of what we do: risks associated with
heavy lifting, construction activities, vessel to ves-
sel interactions, vessel to platform interactions, etc.

risks that may impact the commitment of delivering the
project in a safe manner. The evergreen part comes from
the active risk management processes we have within We have a strict adherence to
the project teams. We break down the project in stag-
es, and for each stage, we conduct a minimum of one,
our core values. One of

sometimes more, risk ID workshops that refresh the them is safety.
risk register for the project and maintain it evergreen.

We have monthly risk reviews where we performance
manage the risks from the point of view of completing
them; completing the actions, status of actions and so
on. Finally, at project closeout, we deliver the residual
risks to the operations organization who will be opera-
ting the asset for the duration of its plant life.
What are your thoughts on the most effective
approach to risk governance?
The key measures for effectiveness of a risk program is
twofold. One, the program has to be evergreen.
This is not an annual thing, like something we do,

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like income tax preparation, for instance. The ever-
green aspect of the risk management process is what
represents its highest value. And as such the process
has to be able to withstand the passage of time and
the ongoing flurry of activities within a project team.
The second aspect: it cannot be a bolt-on. The risk
management process has to be part of what we do.
If we conduct leadership team meeting reviews, we
have a risk section in it. Once a month, we discuss
top risks. It has to be part of our daily or weekly ac-
tivities. Those are what I would consider to be measures
of success of an effective risk management program.
How does BP promote a strong risk management
culture?
We do it in different ways. First, we have a strict ad-
herence to our core values. One of them is safety, as
I said before. The other is an ongoing focus on the
development of site leaders that lead our safety pro-
grams in every site we operate: a continuous refresh-
ment of risk assessment tools, and an active participa-
tion and endorsement of the leadership team because
the project leader drives the culture of every project.
The project leader is accountable for the risk manage-
ment program within his own project. He may seek
help from risk engineers or risk vocals we have in the
teams, but he drives the risk management program
so it has to be promoted from the top on an ongo-
ing basis and we have to have clear accountabilities on
risk ownership and risk actions and risk mitigations.
Finally, in terms of mitigating project risk, what do
you see as the common threats when it comes to
project risk?
I would say the common threats have to do with
the high-risk activities either in the asset, if its
an onshore asset, or near the offshore platform.
If we do the count of the highest risks we have faced in the
last five years, I would say the vast majority of risks have
to do with vessel activities around offshore platforms,
heavy-lifting activity, transfer of personnel between floa-
tels and platforms, and the transportation related risks.
Finally, I would say, specialized activities around offshore
platforms like diving. Those would be the common
threats that we see in the safety and operational risk arena.

Hugo Ashkar
Global Projects Risk Manager
BP

Hugos current role in BP is the Risk Manager for the Global Projects Organization
(GPO), in the Exploration and Production Segment. Hugo leads the execution of risk
management activities for GPO. He works with and leads a community of risk profes-
sionals that integrate the risk discipline across the GPO portfolio of projects, drive stan-
dardization, and deploy learnings.

Prior to BP, Hugo held leadership roles in the Aerospace industry (The Boeing Company & McNeal Schwendler Cor-
poration) in the specialty engineering areas of Risk Management, Reliability, Safety, Quality, and Systems Engineering.

Hugo graduated from California State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He earned M.S. degree in
Systems Architecture Engineering from USC. He grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and lived his adult life in Los
Angeles, California and in Houston, Texas. Hugo has also worked and lived temporarily in Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Ara-
bia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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 INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC?

10-12 October, 2017

London, UK

Hugo Ashkar will discuss project risk governance in todays volatile and ever changing environment
at the upcoming Operational Excellence & Risk Management Europe Summit - returning to
London this 10-12 October, 2017.

Join Hugo and other 100+ heads of OE, Operations, Assets and HSE at this executive level sum-
mit for three days packed with roundtables, panels, case studies and workshops and learn from over
40 leading experts that have successfully executed on strategy. Confirmed speakers include: EDP
Renewables, NASA, Irving Oil, Oceaneering, Veolia, Arkema, Shell UK, Co-chair Deepwater
Horizon Joint

This is your best opportunity this year to benchmark against your peers and walk away with the
tools you need to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce operational risk and build a sustainable culture of
operational excellence.

To find out more download the 2017 agenda or visit the official website
opexandriskmanagementeurope.iqpc.com

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