Pressured by limited budgets and shareholder demands, oil and gas companies are searching for ways to improve returns and better allocate capital, leaving some to wonder whether complex deepwater projects can compete with headline-grabbing, lower-cost shale plays.

“From our view, the answer is a resounding yes,” Roy Krzywosinski, vice president of global facilities engineering for Chevron, said May 2 at OTC. “Deepwater resources still represent significant opportunity.”

But making the most of the opportunity requires R&D collaboration and standardization among industry players, according to Krzywosinski. It’s an area that has seen plenty of action in recent years as the downturn ushered in more partnerships to reduce development costs and cycle times.

Yet there have been challenges, and they less often concern intellectual property. Collaboration can be time-consuming.

Krzywosinski pointed out that it has been reported that it can take up to 15 years to develop and deploy a new technology. A fair amount of time is taken before research even begins—establishing the collaborative effort, determining work scopes and building alignment, he said, noting it could take one to three years when the goal should be one year or less. Between five and eight years are typically spent on most of the research, and the lack of a funding model plays a critical role.

“We need to provide appropriate funding levels to move the research along in a predictable manner,” Krzywosinski added. Deployment could take between three to seven years, but such opportunities should be a focus along the entire timeline.

While the time line may vary depending on the type of technology being developed, the bottom line is essentially the same—the process takes too long. The cycle time needs to be reduced by 50%, Krzywosinski said.

“You can’t stand still in this place or you’ll get lost. You don’t want to get in there and play ‘whack a mole’ for one or three years,” he said in response to questions. It’s an area in which the deepwater industry can learn from the shale industry, which has taken a manufacturing approach to operations, shortening drilling times and costs.

Successful R&D collaboration should take a lean, simplified approach to administration, focusing on quick delivery of solutions with targeted development time lines to address specific business needs, Krzywosinski said. Those involved must also agree on a “clearly defined scope,” which he admitted is easier said than done with the chances of “competing interests coming into play.”

“Too often the critical conversation that underpins a successful deployment is held way, way too late in the R&D development cycle,” he said. “In terms of technology, it should go without saying that the more you deploy technology, the higher your return on investment is. If we’re not prepared to implement the technology that we develop then we’re wasting a lot of time, resources and effort.”

As the industry evolves, its R&D collaboration model needs to as well. He used the DeepStar program as an example. The program, a joint industry technology project focused on deepwater technologies, was formed in 1991. Its creation has given birth to several technologies used today such as steel lazy wave risers and deepwater mooring reliability. But time has brought changes—some operators involved in the project have moved out of the deepwater space, he said. Targeted assets are different, and new technological obstacles exist.

The environment has led to a new Offshore Operators Committee enhanced program framework. At the framework’s center is a smaller, more focused R&D core surrounded by what Krzywosinski called operator-led “a la carte projects” funded by those needing specific solutions.

The new framework will be released soon, Krzywosinski said, after announcing the DeepStar is signing up additional operators.

Standardization also has the potential to lead to higher returns in the current price environment.

Objectives should include prioritizing the highest value opportunities, developing procurement-ready packages and eliminating preferential engineering, according to Krzywosinski. There is a business case in standardization, although the size of the prize may differ; suppliers can help by helping pinpoint areas where cost-savings are possible.

Chevron sees standardization along with R&D collaboration as a “critical success factor moving forward.”

“We need to have, as an industry, a sense of urgency. We’re essentially in a race to make deepwater resources as cost competitive as possible,” Krzywosinski said. “Costs must come down and ultimately recovery must go up. As in the past, technology plays a key role.”