Financial Modelling and Petroleum Project Economics
A two-module, ten-day programme in financial modelling and petroleum project economics, from modelling foundations through applied petroleum investment decision-making.
10 Days (2 Modules)
Programme overview
Petroleum project decisions are made through financial models, spreadsheets that translate technical, commercial and fiscal assumptions into the cash flows an investment committee actually votes on. A model built on poorly structured assumptions, or analysed without testing its sensitivity to what is genuinely uncertain, can make a marginal project look attractive or a strong project look weak, regardless of the underlying economics.
Financial Modelling and Petroleum Project Economics is delivered across two modules and ten days. Module I builds the financial-modelling foundation, cash-flow modelling, time value of money, investment appraisal and the discipline of structuring assumptions transparently. Module II applies that foundation specifically to petroleum project economics, covering the fiscal considerations, sensitivity and scenario analysis, and treatment of uncertainty and risk that petroleum investment decisions require, culminating in an applied workshop building a complete petroleum project model.
Why this programme matters
A petroleum project's investment case lives inside its financial model, and every assumption embedded in that model, explicitly stated or not, shapes the recommendation it produces. Professionals who can build a transparent, well-structured model, and then stress-test it through sensitivity and scenario analysis rather than presenting a single deterministic answer, give investment committees a genuinely defensible basis for a decision that will commit capital for years. Those who cannot are, in effect, asking decision-makers to trust a black box.
Learning objectives
- Apply financial-modelling principles to build a transparent, well-structured project model.
- Model project cash flows and the operational and commercial assumptions behind them.
- Apply time-value-of-money concepts and investment-appraisal techniques, including NPV and IRR, within a financial model.
- Structure and document modelling assumptions so they can be reviewed and challenged.
- Understand the economic and fiscal considerations specific to petroleum projects.
- Apply sensitivity analysis to identify which assumptions most affect project value.
- Apply scenario analysis to test a project's economics under different conditions.
- Incorporate uncertainty and risk explicitly into petroleum project economic evaluation.
- Apply the completed model to support a real petroleum project investment decision.
Key programme highlights
- Financial modelling principles and structuring a transparent project model
- Modelling project cash flows and the assumptions that drive them
- Time value of money and investment appraisal within a financial model
- Structuring and documenting modelling assumptions
- Petroleum project economics and fiscal considerations
- Sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis for testing model robustness
- Treating uncertainty and risk explicitly within petroleum project economics
- Applying financial modelling directly to petroleum project decision-making
Training methodology
The programme is delivered through facilitator-led instruction, hands-on spreadsheet-based modelling exercises, and an extensive applied case study that participants build up progressively across both modules, culminating in a complete petroleum project financial model presented and defended in Module II.
Who should attend
- Petroleum Project Economists and Analysts
- Finance Professionals supporting petroleum investment decisions
- Project Managers and Engineers involved in project economics
- Investment and Portfolio Analysts
- Senior Executives responsible for petroleum capital-investment decisions
Organisational impact
- More transparent, defensible financial models supporting petroleum investment decisions
- Improved ability to test project economics under uncertainty before capital is committed
- Stronger internal capability to review and challenge modelling assumptions
- More consistent economic evaluation practice across petroleum project proposals
- Better-informed investment committee decisions, grounded in tested rather than single-point analysis
Personal impact
- Practical, hands-on financial-modelling skill applicable beyond petroleum projects
- Confidence structuring and documenting modelling assumptions transparently
- Applied skill in sensitivity and scenario analysis
- A working understanding of petroleum-specific economic and fiscal considerations
- Greater credibility presenting and defending a financial model to an investment committee
Course outline
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Considering this for your organisation?
Talk to our corporate learning team about delivering this programme, or a bespoke variant of it, for your team.