Qatar Shell
The learning and inspiration I received from Brathay has laid a foundation to shape my future goals and contribute to the development of a world class supervisory and operating team.
The Organisation
Qatar Shell’s Pearl GTL (Gas to Liquid) Project converts natural gas drawn from the largest reserve in the world into crude oil. It will be the world’s largest source of gas-to-liquids (GTL) products, producing 140,000 barrels of GTL products each day. The company was formed as a joint venture between the State of Qatar and Royal Dutch Shell. The Pearl GTL site in Qatar covers two square miles with a construction workforce numbering 40,000.
The Challenge
Qatar Shell had a demanding schedule to enable the plant to meet a go-live date. They invited Brathay to support and accelerate the development of leadership capability at all levels in a rapidly evolving organisation. Plant supervisors were recruited from across the world due to their technical ability. However, it was felt their leadership capability needed considerable investment for it to reach the ‘world-class’ status to which the company aspired.
Activities
Brathay designed and delivered a suite of leadership programmes as an integral part of the Pearl induction process. The programmes combined tailored experiential learning with facilitation learning that was directly transferable to the GTL operating environment.
Supervisors developed a strong sense of awareness of their personal impact. We emphasised the importance of continual review and feedback as a way of improving performance. The programme is a foundation and catalyst for the supervisors. It has helped them identify how their approach to leadership will inspire and motivate their operator teams.
The programme is also designed to embrace Shell’s core values and provide a proactive intervention culture for health and safety. Enhanced coaching skills will enable the supervisors to create and develop high-performing operator teams and promote the mindsets and attitudes that will deliver world-class performance.
Outcomes
By complementing state-of-the-art technical training with impactful leadership development, provided both in the UK and on site in Qatar, Qatar Shell has now created a cadre of world-class supervisors. Individual supervisors now see themselves as members of a highly capable and influential supervisory team. They see themselves as pathfinders and champions for the GTL site – developing themselves, the supervisory team and their operator teams respectively. The subsequent performance and coaching culture will ensure that the learning both lasts and continues.
“It has been a fascinating experience since I came to Brathay. The learning and inspiration I received from Brathay has laid a foundation to shape my future goals and contribute to the development of a world class supervisory and operating team.”
Pearl GTL Supervisor
