Project Controls PMO Delivery — Natara

The brief

SOMA was engaged through RRL Group to deliver a full project controls function within the PMO for Natara, a industrial processing facility in Hartlepool. The scope covered scheduling, cost management, risk analysis and reporting across multiple concurrent capital and operational improvement projects on a complex, COMAH-regulated site.

The flagship initiative, Project NEO, required end-to-end project controls support from front-end engineering through to construction, commissioning and handover. Alongside this, SOMA provided controls across a portfolio of concurrent site improvement and compliance projects.

The challenge

The site had no established project controls framework — cost, schedule and risk were managed inconsistently across projects. Multiple concurrent workstreams spanned different engineering disciplines and contractors, each needing integrated oversight.

• The client’s corporate stage-gate governance (PPM framework) required formal cost estimates, schedule baselines and progress reporting at each gate.
• A COMAH-regulated environment demanding rigorous risk management and full auditability of project controls data.
• Limited visibility of actual spend versus forecast at both project and portfolio level.
• 9+ concurrent projects across disciplines — from major capital investment to environmental compliance, fire suppression, and demolition.

Our approach

SOMA embedded a dedicated project controls team within Natara’s operations, working as a genuine extension of the client’s team. Our approach was built around four disciplines:

• Planning and scheduling — integrated project schedules for Project NEO and the wider portfolio, baseline programmes, weekly progress tracking, milestone reporting aligned to the client’s stage-gate milestones.
• Cost management — structured cost controls framework including forecast templates, CTR catalogues, budget tracking and regular actual-versus-forecast reporting. Cost estimates prepared at each stage gate.
• Risk analysis — formal risk registers across all active projects, regular risk reviews, risks linked to schedule and cost impacts. On a COMAH-regulated site, every project had a live register feeding directly into decision-making.
• Reporting and governance — weekly progress reports, coordination meetings, formal stage-gate presentations, change magnitude assessments, project charters and PPM evaluation criteria.

What we delivered

Across the PMO, SOMA delivered a comprehensive suite of project controls tools and deliverables:

• Scheduling: integrated schedules, baseline management, weekly tracking, milestone reporting.
• Cost management: estimate and forecast templates, CTR catalogues, budget tracking, actual cost reporting, RFQ templates and procurement support.
• Risk management: project risk registers, review facilitation, risk-to-schedule and risk-to-cost linkage, DSEAR risk inputs.
• Governance: Project Execution Plan, stage-gate presentations, change magnitude assessments, project charters.
• Reporting: weekly progress reports, coordination meeting frameworks, stakeholder RACI matrices.
• Document control: numbering system, document registers, correspondence management, meeting minutes templates.

Project portfolio

Beyond the flagship Project NEO, SOMA provided project controls across a diverse portfolio of site improvement and compliance projects:

• Project NEO — major capital investment: front-end engineering through construction and commissioning.
• Biofilter Upgrade — environmental compliance improvement works.
• Fire Suppression Systems — safety-critical infrastructure upgrades.
• N₂ Distribution System — process utility infrastructure.
• Site Demolition Works — clearance and decommissioning of legacy assets.
• Roads and Pathways — site infrastructure improvements.
• Site Master Plan — long-term site development and phasing strategy.
• Pressure Relief and Condenser Upgrades — process safety improvements.