John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer, CB&I Asset Solutions
Ask me how a West African asset will be performing three years from now, and I won’t start with the reservoir data. I’ll ask you one question – who is making the decisions on site, every single day, and how good are they at it?
It may not be the obvious response, but it is the honest one.
An asset’s success is rarely decided by one big strategic call. It’s decided by hundreds of smaller operational decisions – on safety, production, maintenance, integrity, wells, supply chain and cost – made well and made consistently.
Of course, the big calls matter too. And right now, West Africa has no shortage of them, with traditional operators divesting assets, several countries looking to revitalise domestic production, some national oil companies taking on greater operational responsibility, a strengthening of regional collaboration and equitable growth, many ambitious field development programmes taking shape, and ageing infrastructure needing to work harder for longer.
Good work is built one job at a time
Some opportunities begin with a new development. Others begin with an acquisition, a brownfield project, or a decision to keep a mature asset producing safely and economically, for longer. On paper, these look like very different jobs. On the asset itself, the underlying challenge is the same – turning potential into dependable, repeatable, safe performance.
There’s a principle I keep coming back to. Good work is built one job at a time.
Performance is built slowly, through thousands of ordinary, planned decisions made well and delivered safely – and it can be damaged quickly by one that isn’t. That’s why delivery discipline and a relentless focus on safety isn’t a slogan for us. It’s the whole game.
We’ve seen this in our contracts in the region. On one assignment commencing in 2023, involving a change of operatorship, we swiftly transitioned more than 110 colleagues into the business. Since then, the team has reduced the high and medium-priority inspection backlog to zero, closed around 300 anomalies, and lifted production efficiency above 95%– reaching 99% in 2025. The site has now run three years without a single lost-time incident and delivered roughly US$2 million in budget savings.
There was no single fix. This progress came from steady, disciplined work, sustained over time, and led by people who understand how each decision affects the wider asset.
The asset doesn’t care how the contract is organised
The everyday realities of running an asset cut across the neat boundaries our industry draws around engineering, maintenance, operations, wells, integrity, projects and supply chain. A maintenance decision affects production. An engineering modification has consequences for operations. A supply-chain delay becomes an integrity issue.
At CB&I, our Asset Solutions teams act as the integrator – bringing our own operations, maintenance, engineering, wells, integrity and project capability together, and coordinating an extended specialist supply chain around a single operating plan.
That means sourcing the right expertise, managing the interfaces, and staying accountable for the result. One team across the whole asset, not a patchwork of fragmented scopes and suppliers.
The model has to fit the customer, not the other way round. Some operators want to retain substantial internal capability. Others want a partner to take on more. The best arrangement is the one that gives the customer strategic control while putting clear operational accountability in the right place.
A transition is much more than a transaction
Over the years, we’ve handled more than 50 transitions. Each one may have begun with a change of ownership, operatorship or service partner. But the real challenge is always operational – people, systems, suppliers, permits, maintenance plans and operating responsibilities all have to move across without compromising safety or production.
A smooth handover matters. The real test comes later.
Our work with GEPetrol in Equatorial Guinea shows what that looks like in practice. We supported the transition of the Block B assets into GEPetrol as national operator, and continue to provide integrated support across the Serpentina FPSO, the Jade platform and associated onshore facilities.
Since then, the combined team has delivered safe and efficient day-to-day operations as we support GEPetrol’s journey towards becoming a fully independent national operator. Together, we have achieved a major milestone. 15 safe crude oil offtakes, representing approximately 15 million barrels from the Zafiro field. We have also completed front-end engineering design for reconnecting stranded wells – unlocking more value from infrastructure that’s already there.
Keep knowledge and decisions close to the asset – and customer
Local capability changes the pace and quality of an operation. People who understand the country, the asset, the supply market and the stakeholder landscape spot issues earlier and resolve them faster. They know which suppliers can mobilise, how decisions will land, and when a practical solution today beats a theoretically perfect one delivered weeks late.
We saw a small but telling example of that recently, when a prospective customer asked, with less than a day’s notice, to visit one of our facilities in the region. Think of it as an impromptu site inspection. Our senior team was there within hours, ready to show them around an asset they were proud of. That confidence and speed of response come from having strong local teams with the authority to act, rather than waiting for every decision to travel round the world and back.
It’s also why we operate a local delivery model as standard. Wherever we work, we aim to employ local people, nurture local supply chains, and develop local talent and capabilities. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, we hosted a supply chain engagement event bringing together around 70 local suppliers, where we looked at ways to build synergies. And across the wider region, we’ve helped clients build their internal systems and skills, not just run assets on their behalf. It isn’t just good citizenship – it reduces our costs, de-risks delivery, and builds long-term relationships with the stakeholders who matter most in-country.
For us, the strongest model combines that in-country understanding with access to CB&I’s wider technical network. Local teams lead the operation, drawing on specialist engineering, wells, integrity or project expertise when they need it – while training and knowledge transfer build local capability for the future, strengthening the operation today in the process.
A stronger platform, and a simple ambition
Our Asset Solutions business already had the people, the operating model and the West African delivery record, dating back 20 years. Joining CB&I has added financial strength, capacity to invest, and an owner who sees this as a business to grow. That means faster decisions and more headroom to focus on doing a first-rate job for our customers.
The fit goes deeper than the balance sheet, though. Both businesses share a culture of getting the job done safely – removing unnecessary noise, keeping decisions close to the customer, and staying focused on the outcome the asset – and the customer – actually need.
It sounds simple. It is simple. It’s just not easy, which is exactly why it matters.
West Africa’s opportunity will take many forms – like new developments, acquisitions, brownfield investments, and field-life extensions. The big contracts will always attract the headlines. The value will be won afterwards, decision by decision, day by day.
That’s the type of work we’re built for.
| About CB&I For over 130 years, CB&I has been delivering the infrastructure our world depends on. In 2026 CB&I acquired Petrofac’s Asset Solutions business, combining decades of experience operating, maintaining and extending the life of complex energy assets, with CB&I’s existing Storage Solutions business, financial strength and global reach. It has a strong and growing West African presence, with operations and project experience across Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania and Senegal. The company is a Silver Sponsor of AOW: ENERGY, taking place in Accra from 1-3 September 2026. |