Louise Jacobsen Plutt

As Senior Vice President for bp wells, Louise Jacobsen Plutt is accountable for drilling, completions, and interventions activities across bp’s global portfolio. Prior to her current role, Louise was SVP - Procurement, driving a safe, ethical and competitive supply chain. Louise joined bp in 2001 as a drilling engineer in the Gulf of America. She has spent most of her 25 years at bp in the Upstream previously holding engineering, operational and leadership positions in a variety of locations, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan. Louise holds a petroleum engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines. Louise is married and has a fourteen-year-old-son that keeps her busy. She enjoys spending as much time as possible with family and friends, being outside and traveling.

Session Overview

Thursday, 5 November

11:35

Upstream Plenary Hall B 11:35 - 12:05

EPC and OFS delivery super-cycle: managing execution risk as capacity tightens

A growing pipeline of upstream developments is placing mounting pressure on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors and oilfield service (OFS) providers. With around $40 billion of upstream projects reaching FID in early 2026 and Middle East investment continuing to scale, contractor backlogs are building and project pipelines expanding faster than capacity can respond. Geopolitical disruption has further strained supply chains, logistics and contractor availability across key producing regions. Competition for specialised engineering, fabrication capacity and skilled labour is intensifying as multiple large projects advance simultaneously across offshore and onshore basins. Logistics disruptions, tariff-driven cost escalation and complex global supply chains are adding further strain to execution planning and project economics. In a delivery super-cycle where contractor capacity is the binding constraint, the ability to align development schedules, manage supply chain risk and sequence projects effectively will determine which operators deliver on time and which face costly delays.

Attendee Insights:
Examine how operators, EPCs and service providers are managing contractor backlogs and cost escalation, and how collaboration is helping safeguard project delivery in a more disrupted execution environment.