The past few years have seen an increase in the number of petroleum mega projects being proposed and executed. Record oil prices have given rise to increasingly ambitious and complex international alliances in the energy industry. These large, long term and capital intensive projects carry a great deal of cost and schedule risk which is very challenging to mitigate. We have found that some of this risk can be managed through an emphasis on accountability at all levels of the project organization. Results-based accountability strategies create clarity throughout these complex projects; they ensure that everyone from the senior managers to casual labourers are working together for the same organizational goals.

Using a tool called an Accountability Agreement we start with the project