Joel Chukwudi Ogbaji
Port Harcourt,Nigeria
Summary
Versatile and accomplished management professional offering over 19 years of extensive experience in managing projects from development to delivery encompassing planning, monitoring, and controls in various phases of project lifecycle.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work history
Principal Planning Engineer
Renaissance Africa Energy Company
2025.06 - 2026.04
- Responsibilities:
- Technical Planning & Scheduling
- Master Schedule Development: Create, maintain, and baseline the integrated master schedule (IMS) for large-scale, complex projects. This involves integrating schedules from all disciplines (engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning).
- Schedule Integrity & Quality Assurance: Perform rigorous quality checks on the schedule. This includes logic validation, ensuring the absence of open ends, verifying constraints, and checking for unrealistic durations or resource allocations.
- Critical Path Analysis: Continuously monitor and report on the project's critical path and near-critical paths. Identify the sequence of tasks that directly impact the project completion date.
- Baseline Management: Manage the process of freezing the baseline schedule and controlling any subsequent changes through a formal change management process
- Strategic Leadership & Governance
- Develop Planning Strategy: Establish the overall planning and scheduling philosophy, procedures, and protocols for the project or organization. This includes selecting the right methodologies (Critical Path Method - CPM, Earned Value Management - EVM) and tools (Primavera P6, MS Project).
- Lead the Planning Team: Manage, mentor, and develop a team of junior planners, schedulers, and planning engineers. Delegate tasks and ensure the team's output is of high quality.
- Stakeholder Management: Act as the key point of contact for all schedule-related matters for senior management, clients, contractors, and other stakeholders. Translate complex schedule data into actionable insights for decision-makers.
- Governance & Compliance: Ensure that all planning activities adhere to internal standards, client requirements, and industry best practices
- Analysis, Reporting & Forecasting
- Performance Measurement: Implement progress measurement systems (PMS) to measure project performance by integrating scope, cost, and schedule. Calculate and analyse key metrics like Schedule Variance (SV), Cost Variance (CV) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI).
- Forecasting: Predict future project performance and forecast the expected completion date (ECD) based on current progress, trends, and potential risks. Answer the crucial question: "Where will we finish, and when?"
- What-If Scenario Analysis: Model the potential impact of changes, delays, or mitigation plans on the overall project completion. This helps management evaluate options and make informed decisions.
- Executive Reporting: Prepare concise, clear, and visually effective reports and dashboards for different levels of management, highlighting progress, issues, trends, and forecasts.
- Interface & Change Management
- Interface Management: Coordinate and manage schedule interfaces between different contractors, packages, and stakeholders to ensure seamless integration and avoid misalignment.
- Change Control: Evaluate the schedule impact of change orders, variation requests, and trends. Ensure all changes are properly reflected in the schedule and their impact is communicated.
- Risk Management & Integration
- Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA): I collaborate with the risk team in the quantitative schedule risk analysis to assess the probability of achieving key milestones and the overall project completion date.
- Delay Analysis: Analyse and forensically investigate the root causes of delays and disruptions. Assess extension of time (EOT) claims from contractors or prepare claims for the client, providing robust schedule-based evidence.
- Integration with Cost & Risk: Ensure the schedule is fully integrated with the project cost report and the risk register, so impacts are understood across all project dimensions.
Senior Planning Engineer
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
2020.11 - 2025.05
- Responsibilities:
- Responsible for developing overall Project Master Plans and Schedules for all Project Phases throughout the project lifecycle from initiation to close-out.
- Provide Planning input to different project gates deliverables like the Project Execution Plan (PEP), Risk Management Plan, Risk Register and Change Management Plan.
- I perform Project Planning which includes Scheduling, Monitoring, Forecasting, and Progress Reporting on weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis through various Management reports
- Determines and track critical-path activities for assigned discipline or specialties and identifies significant activities supporting inter- discipline requirements
- Establishes and implements methods (Benchmarking using previous completed project performance metrics) for determining activity durations within assigned disciplines or specialties
- Participate in the evaluation of Technical Proposals of the various EPC Bidders as a key member of the Technical Evaluation Team to ensure compliance with Overall projects objectives, performing schedule analysis, reviewing and validating man-hour allocations and resource histograms, progress measurement methodology, and compliance to planning and reporting instructions and procedures, with no deviations or exceptions
- Participate in the review and validation of the various EPC Contractors Planning Packages including Execution Program Plans, Resource Plan, and progress measurement and reporting system to ensure compliance with overall projects requirements and that a proper system is in place for effective overall projects project control requirements and in compliance with contractual objectives
- Participate in the monitoring of the various EPC Contractor's performance, conduct time and progress variance analysis and Review/ Validate Contractor's progress reports to ensure performance deviation from the agreed plan is determined and reported on timely basis. Highlight areas of concern and suggest corrective actions/ mitigation measures for implementation by Contractor and Project Team.
- Conduct "what if" and schedule risk analysis when required, to anticipate unforeseen changes to the project and quantify potential impact & mitigation plans.
- Collate and validate the various EPC projects progress achieved for all assigned Contracts to calculate overall projects Value of Work Done at every month end for the purpose of Service Entry Sheets (SES). Review & validate reported progress for all assigned contracts in coordination with all EPC PMTs and stakeholders. Provide all relevant overall projects schedule input and estimated progress phasing for annual Budget preparation, subsequent revisions, and supplementary Budgets. Analyze reasons for progress and schedule variance for providing input to Budget variance report.
- Aligns and collaborates with the Cost Engineer in providing project controls using the progress measurement system (PMS)
- I participate in developing and aligning my team’s Goals to the Business Goals
Senior Planning Engineer
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo)
2018.02 - 2020.09
- Responsibilities:
- Develops and integrates the Field Support Vessel Schedule program using the Rig Sequence and Hardware Availability Plan for Bonga Drilling operations
- Prepares schedule data for proposals and contract negotiations as requested; Checks and confirms that the correct scope of work is reflected on assigned schedules.
- Establishes and implements methods for determining activity durations within assigned disciplines or specialties.
- Responsible for tracking and reporting the Projects' Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Reviews the Contractors' Schedules, validating contractual milestones, timelines, and activity logic.
- Determines critical-path activities for assigned discipline or specialties and identifies significant activities.
- Identifies, analyzes, and monitors schedule deviations for assigned disciplines or specialties including subcontractor submittals and recommends corrective action/work-around solutions.
- Participates in the review and assurance of other team’s key projects schedules.
- Develops and writes the schedule commentary in the monthly performance reports. Identifies and reports activities that have a critical or potential impact on the schedule and prepares and presents the Critical Items Action Report
- Analyses and reports the Field Support Vessel (FSV) Optimization and Utilization using the FSV daily progress reports (DPRs) which aids in future planning of activities.
- Develops and Provides the Asset Support Short Term & Mid-Term Integrated Activity Planning
- Responsible for the Co-Ventures (Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), NAPIMS (Government agencies)) Monthly and Quarterly Performance Evaluation Reports and Projects' future projections.
- Develop, Integrate and align my team’s Goals to the Business Goals
Planning Engineer
Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria (SPDC)
2008.07 - 2018.02
- Responsibilities:
- Providing specialist expertise, timely and high-quality planning support for the Major Pipeline and Corporate Matrix department in SPDC Port Harcourt enabling timely and high standard project delivery in line with approved execution plans, scope and contracting strategies.
- Responsible for the schedule development (Levels 1,2 and 3), evaluation and control with minimal or no supervisory oversight.
- Organize workshops to present and review project schedules with all the concerned stakeholders to take their buy-in before baselining the schedules.
- Prepare the project manpower histogram, resource loading/allocation, highlighting resource constraints that impact project.
- Participating in reviewing scope changes, extra work authorizations, change orders and the like; carrying out schedule impact analysis in this context when required.
- Work with planning and scheduling team as well as with project leaders and superintendents to evaluate construction progress.
- Develops and updates the Integrated Schedule basis report.
- Develops & implement a simple progress measurement system on projects.
- Provide timely Management reports to the company which include (Weekly updated schedule using primavera project planner 6.0, Schedule highlight reports and projects’ monthly report etc.)
- Participated in project planning audits/reviews, peer assists technical challenge sessions to ensure consistent application of Shell Planning Engineering standards.
- Review and approval of contractor project control systems (project schedules, measurement systems, reporting templates etc.)
- Review and approval of contractor deliverables including Weekly/ Monthly Reports.
Planning Engineer
Diccee Nigeria Ltd.
2007.03 - 2008.07
- Provided Planning support for the rehabilitations of Bonny Terminal Crude Oil Storage Tanks (2Nos with a budget of $20ml) and Flare Repairs Works
Site Engineer
Zakhem-Oilserv Ltd.
2006.01 - 2007.01
National Youth Service Corps
Katsina State
2004.09 - 2005.08
Education
B.Eng. - Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
Nigeria 1998.10 - 2003.10
Skills
- Integrated Projects Planning/Scheduling
- Strategic Business Planning
- Project progress measurement system/Project Controls
- Resource loading, Manpower management/histogram
- Systems Application and Product in data processing (SAP)
- Project Planning Software
- Power BI
- Think-Cell
- Excellent Time Management
- Strategic Planning– Shown and demonstrated the ability to develop, analyze and align the teams’ Goals to the Business need Skilled in implementing project planning and scheduling strategies, plans and procedures reflecting both company and contractor roles, responsibilities, and expectations Good in providing monthly project performance reports and other management reporting/presentations
- Project Schedule Analysis and Execution – Adept in conducting project schedule and critical path analysis, as well as coordinating development and implementation of work breakdown structures (WBSs) Analyzing deviations from the baseline in the project master schedule highlighting bottlenecks/delays and proposing corrective actions
- Vendor Planning – Expertise in promoting and maintaining overall integration and integrity of contractor schedules within the program suite of project schedules Performing probabilistic analysis on both the integrated and contractor schedules using Oracle’s Pert Master Risk Expert
- Resource Management- Skilled in Resource loading/allocations, project manpower histogram and resource levelling which is part of the Project Management Office (PMO) requirement
- Technical Skills – Proficient in the use of Primavera Project Planner (P60 Rev 152), Used Systems Application and Product in data processing (SAP); Good knowledge of MS Office applications 2016
- Interpersonal and Communication Skills – Good communicator with an ability to work under pressure within fast-paced, time-sensitive environments Proven ability to effectively interact with people of diverse nationalities, comfortable working in a multicultural setting
Certification
- Certified user of Primavera Project Planner 6.0 rev 15.2
- Pert Master Risk Expert (Hands-on training by Shell Petroleum Development Company)
- System Applications and Products in Data processing (SAP)
- Microsoft Power BI and Think-Cell Data Visualization
REFERENCES
It will be provided on request.
MAJOR PROJECTS ACROSS CAREER SPAN
Full Rehabilitation of Crude Oil Storage Tanks (13nos.) with an estimated budget of $200mls in Bonny and Forcados Terminals, Nigeria (2006-2014), Forcados Terminal 48’’Crude Loading Platform Project……(2010), 24’’ NCTL Permanent Crude Oil Metering Projects (2015-2017), Subsea Leak Detection System (2018-2019), Agbada Nag Domestic Gas Plant Project (2020-2021), Southern Swamp Associated Gas Solutions Project (SSAGS Step 3A) $68ml- (2022- 2025), Southern Swamp AGS Electrical Interdependency Projects in four locations - (2022 -2026), Otumara Community Electrification Interdependency Projects (2022 – 2026), Iseni Hook Up Oil Project (4Wells) with a budget of $176ml(2024-2027), SSAGS 3A and 3B Oil Project (8Wells) with a budget of $367ml….. (2023 – 2027), Opukushi Gas Supply Project (1 Well) …. (2025 – 2027)
Accomplishments
- Coordinated the cadence and cross-functional collaboration that enabled the timely completion of the SSAGS 3A (Kanbo) Drilling project in Dec'2025. Partnered closely with drilling engineers, logistics teams, and field operations to align schedules, resolve bottlenecks, and maintain momentum across all phases. This integrated approach ensured seamless execution and delivery within planned timelines.
- Drove strategic meetings and cross-functional alignment that secured Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Southern Swamp Associated Gas Solution Project SSAGA 3A (Ogbotobo) in Oct'2025, targeting drilling of 4 wells with a project cost estimate of $275ml. Facilitated engagement across subsurface, Wells team, drilling, commercial, and project teams to ensure timely resolution of key issues, alignment on technical and financial deliverables, and readiness for execution.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Date of Birth: 3rd Oct 1978
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Marital Status: Married
- Driving License: Nigerian Driver’s License
Timeline
Principal Planning Engineer
Renaissance Africa Energy Company
2025.06 - 2026.04
Senior Planning Engineer
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
2020.11 - 2025.05
Senior Planning Engineer
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo)
2018.02 - 2020.09
Planning Engineer
Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria (SPDC)
2008.07 - 2018.02
Planning Engineer
Diccee Nigeria Ltd.
2007.03 - 2008.07
Site Engineer
Zakhem-Oilserv Ltd.
2006.01 - 2007.01
National Youth Service Corps
2004.09 - 2005.08
B.Eng. - Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Enugu State University of Science and Technology
1998.10 - 2003.10