Improve Planning of Gas Pipeline Construction Projects

Construction projects in the oil and gas sector require a heavy budget and a long construction time. As construction projects become larger and more complex, new planning methods are needed. The use of traditional planning methods for project management has not been responsive, and most projects face problems such as widespread delays, cost overruns, rework, wastage, and inadequate resource utilization. One of the challenges of oil and gas projects is the issue of delay and inadeqate resource utilization. Traditional planning techniques such as Critical Path Planning or PERT do not meet all linear projects' requirements. Planning for construction projects is often performed in a critical manner. In this way, the impact of resources and machinery is not well understood, and the uncertain nature of construction projects is not applied. In linear projects, similar activities are repeated in different positions. Pipeline construction projects require effective planning to ensure maximum utilization of resources and reduce time outage due to the constant movement of resources and machinery. Completing projects at a specified cost and time requires proper planning that the project can deliver on time. The current research introduces a framework to improve gas pipeline project planning using modern computer tools such as construction simulation. This framework aims to examine the impact of the number of resources on the project process, estimate realistic project duration, increase resource productivity, carefully evaluate construction operations, and ultimately reduce project time and cost. This framework would enable project employers and contractors to have greater flexibility in planning discussions and increase their supervisory capacity. The framework is presented in collaboration with the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company in the form of a case study of the Dehgolan to Miandoab gas transmission pipeline.