FORCE PROCESS GUIDELINES

Objective of FORCE

FORCE is a forum of oil companies and the authorities that organises topical workshops. Each workshop focuses on the member companies' needs in development and demonstration of tools and methods to improve oil recovery. The objective of the forum is to provide structured opportunities for the participants to discuss, with each other and with research institutions, universities, service companies, and/or consultants:

· current development in tools, methods and research related to improved oil recovery; and

· current problems concerning reservoir characterisation, reservoir engineering and well-related technologies.

· Companies are the driving force for defining problems

· Proposals/Topics with member companies willing to do the work to advance them are carried forward

· FORCE accepts unsolicited proposals only from member companies

· No activity by a member company in FORCE, including acting as a project facilitator, implies eventual financial support of any project. Only signing on to the project when the final proposal is completed involves a financial commitment

· Topics are narrowly defined

· Each workshop has 5-8 topics

· FORCE is ongoing - topics change with each meeting. Eventually most topics of importance to many members will be covered.

Board Meetings
FORCE Board meetings are held twice each year. In addition to other business, the Board meeting is the time Workshop Topics are determined for the next Workshop. An integral part of the Topic selection is the designation of a Workshop Committee, including a facilitator who heads the Committee. The Board determines the date for the Workshop and the timeline for submission of proposal abstracts by the Research Providers.

Workshops
Workshops are held at the direction of the Board, generally twice each year. Topics included in the Workshop are defined by the Board. The number of Topics in each workshop should be about 5-8, based on space constraints. The Workshop should last 1-3 days, as directed by the Board with input from the Administrator. The Workshop is organised by the FORCE Administrator.

The Workshop Committee and facilitator work with the FORCE Administrator to organise, plan and carry out the Workgroup Meeting on their Topic. Plenary sessions may also be held, before or after the Workgroup Meetings, or both before and after.

Workgroup Meetings
The Workshop Committee and facilitator work with the FORCE Administrator to organise, plan, and carry out the Workgroup Meeting on their Topic.

The Workgroup Meeting has two sessions, generally to be carried out on the same day. The first session is a discussion period, and the second session is for problem definition.

All member companies and invited Research Providers may attend the first session. It is run by the facilitator selected by the Workshop Committee, with assistance from other Workshop Committee members. Comments from all participants are solicited and encouraged, within an allotted time span. The objective of the discussion is to clarify the problem(s) of the topic.

The second session involves only member companies. Specific project(s) based on the topic are defined. Each project should have a member company willing to be the Project Facilitator. Any topic lacking a Project Facilitator will be dropped, but should be included in the minutes prepared by the Workshop Committee. The topic should be discussed sufficiently that the Project Facilitator can write a Request for Proposal and carry through the subsequent discussions with the Research Provider (s).

Minutes to the Workgroup Meetings are written by the Workshop Committee, generally by the Workshop topic facilitator. Minutes should include

· participants list (both member companies and Research Providers)

· problems discussed

· projects identified

· Project Facilitator for each identified project, and

· list of interested member companies for each identified project.

Topics
Topics are narrowly defined problem areas, defined by member companies. Two factors will decide which topics are carried forward to the Workshop . The first is the requirement that at least two companies agree to form a Workshop Committee for each topic. The optimal number of topics in each Workshop is 5-8, based on time and space constraints. If necessary to limit the number of Topics, the second factor comes into play - a vote by the Board to prioritise which Topics should be included in the Workshop. Given the first factor, it is hoped the second factor will not often come into play.

Each topic should be defined closely enough that only one (or a very few) research projects can eventually provide the answer. This is key to controlling the process.

 Request for Proposal (RFP)
The Project Facilitator is responsible to write an RFP. It should be about one page in length. The RFP should be delivered to the FORCE Administrator along with the list of Research Providers to whom it should be sent. The RFP must include

· brief title of the problem

· Project Facilitator name

· deadline for submission of proposal abstract to FORCE Administrator, and

· extended description of the problem as defined by the Workgroup.

The extended description should define the problem to such an extent Research Providers can write a proposal abstract. The content is left to the Project Facilitator. Possibilities for inclusion as part of an extended statement of the problem are any or all of the following:

· specific deliverables

· field examples of the problem

· laboratory examples of the problem

· reference to previous research or published information about the problem

· desired time frame for beginning, completion, or extent of project, and

· desired budget framework.

The Administrator is responsible for distributing the RFPs to the list of providers. A form to attach to the proposal abstract should be attached with each RFP. This form should be designed to help track proposals.

Proposal Abstracts
Proposal abstracts are prepared by Research Providers at the invitation of the Project Facilitator, with input from member companies. This invitation comes in the form of an RFP addressed to that Research Provider on a specific problem. Abstracts should be about 3 pages long. Proposal abstracts should be sent to the FORCE Administrator within the timeline defined in the RFP.

The proposal abstract must contain the following information in a clear format:

· name of Research Provider, including mailing address

· name of principle investigator, including phone number, fax number, and email address if available

· brief title of problem (copied from RFP)

· providers title for project

· approximate cost

· approximate project duration

· proposed project start-up or completion date, if requested in RFP

· specific deliverables

· expertise or competence brought to project

· extended discussion of proposal, and

· subcontractors or research partners in the project.

It is expected the extended discussion will make up most of the proposal.

Proposal abstracts will be sent by the FORCE Administrator to all member companies' Board member and to the Project Facilitator. The participants list from the workshop discussion should be included to assist the Board member in internal distribution. Proposal abstracts should be considered as confidential information within FORCE member companies and should not be shared with other companies or researchers without the permission of the Research Provider. 

Project Abstracts Review
All member companies are given an opportunity to review and comment on project abstracts. This feedback should be given directly to the Project Facilitator, although it can also be sent through the FORCE Administrator. Feedback can be by phone, fax, email or face-to-face.

The method of review of the project abstracts is left to the Project Facilitator. The input from member companies should be considered. Interested member companies that wish to be kept informed or involved in the process should notify the Project Facilitator. The Project Facilitator should strive to co-operate with such requests. The Project Facilitator may at any time inform all member companies of progress in the proposal negotiations, and should do so if requested.

When proposals from Research Providers are eliminated, the FORCE Administrator must be notified so they can be informed in a timely fashion. Also, when the decision is made to work with one (or a cluster of) Re search Provider(s), the Project Facilitator should notify the FORCE Administrator.

The objective of the review is to obtain a research proposal and contract that addresses the problem defined in the RFP. When this is achieved, the contract and proposal should be sent to the FORCE Administrator for distribution to the Board.

In case a research proposal cannot be defined, the Project Facilitator should write a short explanation of the status and why a proposal cannot be defined. The letter should go to the FORCE administrator for distribution to the Board. If another company wishes to pick up the negotiations (or start over), the Project Facilitator should forward the relevant information to the new Project Facilitator. Any company proprietary information is excluded from this provision. 

Project Execution
Once a research proposal is agreed upon and it has been distributed to companies for review, it is no longer a part of FORCE . Project execution is left to the companies participating in the project. 

Action Timeline
The recommended (approximate) timeline for actions is the following:

Board Meeting

Roles within FORCE

FORCE Board
The FORCE Board sets the overall policy and has the final say on decisions within FORCE. This document deals only with the Board role in the process and does not in any way limit the authority of the Board. The Board can alter or amend these guidelines at any time.

The Board defines the topics for the workshops, based on input from the member companies. Each workshop topic must have at least 2 member companies willing to carry the work forth as a workshop committee. However, any company can organise a topic separately.

The Board sets the dates for the workshops and the submission of proposals, and provides a suggested timeline for the project start-up.

Workshop Committees
Each workshop topic must have a Workshop Committee. The Workshop Committees are responsible for the topic preparation, workgroup meetings on that topic, and summary afterward. Each Workshop Committee must have a facilitator, who is responsible to the FORCE Board.

The Workshop committee:

· prepared a one page announcement of the topic prior to the workshop

· decides what Research Providers should be invited to their topic discussion based on demonstrated competence in the topic

· co-ordinates with the other member companies and invited institutes to prepare an agenda

· leads the discussion during the workgroup discussion

· assures that all selected topics have a Project Facilitator, and

· writes minutes of the discussion.

The Workgroup Committee co-ordinates with the FORCE Administrator to plan the workgroup meetings. If there is a plenary session, the Workshop Committee facilitator gives a short summary of the discussion and defines the problems decided on by the work group. The Workshop Committee must assure that each defined possible project has a responsible company to follow (Project Facilitator) and that companies interested in assisting and advising the Project Facilitator are identified.

 Project Facilitators
Each Project Facilitator is responsible for carrying the possible project to conclusion, which is either a detailed proposal or a decision to drop the project without a proposal. Project Facilitators write a Request for Proposal (RFP) defining the project in clear enough terms that Research Providers can use it to write their proposal abstract. The RFP is delivered to the FORCE Administrator. The Project Facilitator also provides the FORCE Administrator with a list of Research Providers who are invited to submit project abstracts. Both of these activities are done with assistance from interested member companies. Project Facilitators should focus solution ideas from Research Providers, request Research Providers to work together, and eliminate proposals. The final product is a complete project proposal from the Research Provider(s), which is given to the FORCE Administrator for distribution to all member companies. If the Project Facilitator cannot achieve a complete project proposal, the Project Facilitator should report the basis for the decision to drop the project to the FORCE Board, by means of a letter to the FORCE Administrator. 

FORCE Administrator
The FORCE Administrator provides the ongoing support for the FORCE forum.

The FORCE Administrator

· communicates with member companies

· organises the FORCE Board meetings

· trains the workshop facilitators before each workshop

· organises the workshops

· distributes the topic announcements to member companies and Research Providers

· invites Research Providers based on Workshop Committee list

· provides all invited Research Providers with FORCE guidelines and expectations for their participation

· distributes the workshop minutes and RFPs to member companies and Research Providers

· collects project proposals from Research Providers, and

· assists Workshop Committees and Project Facilitators with paper flow.

The workshop facilitator training should be as soon as practical after the topics are defined. All preparation before workshops should be in close co-operation between the FORCE Administrator and the Workshop Committees.

Research and Technology Providers
The group designated "Research Providers" includes (but is not limited to)

· research institutes

· universities

· service companies

· consultants, and

· member company research and development providers.

The FORCE Board delegates to the Workshop Committees the selection of Research Providers to be invited to workshops. Attendees from Research Providers should be competent in the area under discussion. Research proposals from Research Providers are generally not to be presented at workshops.

During the Workshop discussions, Research Providers

· participate in the workshop discussion

· assist in focusing the problem definition

· suggest what is or is not possible with current technology or technology which can be developed, and

· discuss possible overlaps with other projects.

Research Providers receiving RFPs can submit to the FORCE Administrator an extended abstract of about 3 pages for projects they hope to contribute to. This abstract should contain rough time and cost requirements, as well as outlining the Research Provider background and proposal for the work. The proposal abstract should address the problem identified in the RFP.

When requested by Project Facilitator, Research Providers develop a complete project proposal. Occasionally they will be asked to co-operate with another Research Provider to achieve the goals set by Project Facilitator. 

Member Companies
The work of FORCE is carried out by work groups and facilitators. No company is required to provide facilitators or participate in a workgroup or any other phase of FORCE. However, any topic or project lacking sufficient support to carry out the work of preparing the topic or the proposal will be dropped. It is important for member companies to be aware of this natural selection process that occurs at each stage of the process.

Member companies should be prepared to discuss topics or problems at the Board meeting.

Member companies are encouraged to provide input to the Project Facilitator while the project is being defined and the proposal is being written. In this way, interested companies will be able to tune the proposal to their needs and the time needed for internal review after the proposal is completed can be minimised.

No financial commitment is made or implied by participation in the process of defining projects, until the time a contract is signed. This includes participation in a Workshop Committee or as a Project Facilitator.