PMI 2007 Project of the Year Finalist: Battling the Elements in Alberta Canada

  PM Network  

Mother Nature just seems to have it out for some projects.

Oil companies must, of course, go where the oil is—even if it’s in a remote area known as Firebag, about 440 kilometers (273 miles) north of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For construction company Jacobs Canada Inc., that meant battling frigid temperatures and dark days as it built an oil cogeneration facility for Suncor Energy Ltd.

But innovative project design and a team-wide commitment to collaboration helped the two Calgary, Alberta-based companies weather any storm that came their way—and finish the facility on an accelerated schedule.

“The fact that we were able to complete this project three months early for less than originally budgeted can be attributed to a strong project management team on both sides that properly planned work and did the thinking on things like labor attraction, material planning and [offsite construction],” says Terry Jones, project director, cogeneration and expansion project, Suncor.

That kind of innovative thinking also made it an award-winning project. In 2007, the Firebag cogeneration plant was named a PMI Project of the Year Finalist. Minimize the footprint

The cogeneration project is one piece in a suite of projects at Firebag designed to maximize Suncor’s ability to access heavy oil deposits below the earth’s surface. …

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