Firms & Faces - October 2011

Firms

Technip acquired Global Industries in a deal worth $1.07 billion and expected to close early 2012. Technip sees the merger increasing its market reach in the Gulf of Mexico, Asia- Pacific and Middle East regions. Global Industries currently has about 2300 employees and operates 14 vessels, including two S-lay newbuilds. ‘The subsea market looks likely in 2011 to show a record amount of orders for our industry and our own backlog at end-June 2011 is above its previous peak,' said Technip chairman and CEO Thierry Pilenko.

Transocean made an offer to acquire Aker Drilling in a cash deal worth $1.43 billion. The company will also assume Aker Drilling's net debt of about $800 million.

Schlumberger is combining its fishing and intervention services – including pipe recovery, wellbore departure, wellbore abandonment, and thru-tubing well intervention tools and services – and will deliver them through an expanded Servco. Servco, which has provided oilfield fishing services since 1946, was purchased by Smith International in 1968. Subsequent related acquisitions, some operated under the name Smith Services, included Red Baron, AZ International, Tri-Tech, Star Oil Tools and Canfish. Smith International merged with Schlumberger last year.

The boards of NKT Holding and Subsea 7 have initiated a formal process to explore strategic alternatives for the future development of the NKT Flexibles joint venture they established 12 years ago. The JV is building a dedicated flexible pipe plant in Brazil, expected to be ready for commercial operation in 2013, and the aim of the review is to confirm whether or not the current owners are best suited to undertake such a development.

Subsea specialists Marin Group and Ecosse Subsea Systems have formed an alliance to offer a one-stop excavation and trenching service to the oil, gas and renewables industries worldwide.

Baker Hughes consolidated its consulting services into Gaffney, Cline & Associates. In 2008 and 2009, Baker Hughes acquired several consulting companies – including Gaffney, Cline & Associates, EPIC and the consulting division of Helix RDS. The new organization boasts around 300 consultants, working in all oil & gas industry sectors. GeoMechanics International, also acquired in 2008, is now part of the newly organized Baker Hughes subsurface integrity and evaluation group.

Siemens Energy last month opened a new E10 million, 10,000m2 facility in Trondheim, Norway, to serve as the global research and development centre for the company's subsea oil & gas business.


Faces

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation & Enforcement, formerly the Minerals Management Service, ceased to exist 1 October following its wholesale reorganization and a slew of personnel changes. BOEMRE directorMichael Bromwich (pictured) will temporarily head up the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) while a permanent director is chosen, and current BOEMRE senior advisor Tommy Beaudreau will lead the newly formed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Other BOEM appointments include:Walter Cruikshank, deputy director; Renee Orr, strategic resources chief; Ellen Aronson, Pacific region director; James Kendall, Alaska region director; and John Rodi, acting Gulf of Mexico director, while BSEE appointments include Chris Barry, director of the National Offshore Training Center; Lars Herbst, Gulf of Mexico regional director; Jaron Ming, Pacific region director; and Mark Fesmire, Alaska region director.


Philippe Guys (pictured) has succeeded Roland Festor as managing director of Total E&P UK, based in Aberdeen. He has been with the French supermajor for over 30 years, principally in drilling, production and R&D posts around the world, and most recently served more than four years as MD of Total E&P Qatar.


Michael Fowler (chairman) and Ian Bosserio (director) will act as short-term executive directors of Nexus, working alongside COO Michael Maloney, following the sudden resignation of MD Richard Cottee. The search is on for a new CEO for the Australian independent, whose assets include Crux and Longtom.


Dr Pailin Chuchottaworn (pictured) has succeeded the retiring Prasert Bunsumpun as CEO of PTT Public Company of Thailand. Chuchottaworn previously served as president and CEO of PTT's integrated petrochemical arm and COO of its upstream business.


Dr Rex Gaisford has been appointed a non-executive director of Northern Petroleum. Previously with Amerada Hess and Britoil, Gaisford launched the UK North Sea's pan-industry CRINE cost reduction movement back in the 1990s and was its first chairman. For the last ten years, he has been CEO of consulting firm RCM.


Steve Hatton (pictured) has become commercial director of Magma Global, manufacturer of high performance carbon/ polymer pipe for harsh subsea applications. A 30-year veteran of subsea equipment and riser systems design, he co-founded 2H Offshore with Hugh Howells in 1993 and latterly served as its VP and principal director under new owner Acteon.


Tim Eyles (pictured) is the new MD at 2H Offshore group. Eyles, who joined the company in 1998, will continue to jointly run its Woking, UK engineering office. At the same time 2H has appointed David Walters (pictured) as principal director and joint leader of its Houston office.


Terrance Ivers has been named CEO of the compression and solutions business unit of Siemens' oil & gas division, replacing Donald Weir. Ivers was previously president of Amec Paragon and served as COO for Alliance Wood Group Engineering.


Bengt Larssen (pictured) has been appointed VP exploration at Aker Geo, the geosciences division of Aker Solutions. Larssen spent 16 years in various management positions at Schlumberger/Western Geco and two years at Tromsøbased oil company Front Exploration.


Darrell Howard has joined Baker Hughes as president of the integrated operations division. He previously served as VP technical support for the BP-Eni Vico Indonesia joint venture.


Robert-Jan van Acker (pictured) has been named as the new chief executive of oil & gas marine contractor Sea Trucks and will succeed the company's owner and president Jacques Roomans in the CEO role later in the year. Van Acker was previously senior EVP of the Svitzer Group and led the Svitzer team in its joint venture with Sea Trucks for last year's removal of the firedamaged West Atlas jackup rig in the Timor Sea.


Dr René Umlauft has taken over as CEO at the Augsburgbased large-bore engine and turbomachinery manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo. He was previously with the renewable energy division of Siemens.


Iain Light has been named as the new head of Applus RTD. Energy director for Lloyd's Register in London for the past four years and before that with DNV for many years, he succeeds Rob Van Doorn and will be based in Applus RTD's Rotterdam headquarters. Bengt Eide (pictured) has joined Applus RTD from Aker as offshore projects operations director for the UKCS and Norwegian North Sea.


Esa Ikäheimonen has become CEO and CFO of Asia Offshore Drilling following a change in its shareholder structure and management. He also serves as CFO and SVP of Seadrill Management.


Andrew Norman became CEO of JDR on 19 September, joining from Dresser Flow Technology Europe, where he was president. Having sold its Rotterdam-based marine cables division to Fugro earlier this year to focus fully on its umbilical systems and subsea power cables business, JDR named Pat Herbert (pictured), CEO for the last ten years, as its executive chairman and Patrick Phelan as MD commercial. Recent additions to the management team include Peter Sayles, as MD operations and Martin Boden as CFO. Bob Solberg stepped down as non-executive chairman but remains a director.


Michael Stockinger has been appointed COO of CGX Energy ahead of the company's anticipated start-up of operations offshore Guyana. Stockinger, a 35-year industry veteran, has previously managed drilling operations for Murphy Oil, Anadarko, Kerr-McGee and Conoco.


Colin Percival (pictured) has rejoined Clough as EVP capital projects for Australia's west coast. Percival, most recently executive GM strategy and development at UGL Resources, is a former operations manager with the Clough Oil & Gas group.


Kerry Girlinghouse (pictured) has been named VP of well control engineering at Wild Well Control. Girlinghouse has been with the company since 2004 and most recently served as senior technical advisor within the engineering division.


Ricardo Rosa steps up from VP to EVP and CFO at driller Transocean, which also named Arnaud Bobillieras EVP operations integrity and Ihab Toma as EVP operations.


David Newman has joined Simmons & Company as director and head of engineering in the E&P corporate finance group. Newman previously led technical evaluations on acquisition & divestiture transactions at Griffis & Associates.


Alastair Stagg Richard Davies Alastair Stagg (pictured) has stepped up from operations manager to regional manager Europe, Middle East, Africa and India of the Fugro Geos metocean measurement division. Richard Davies (pictured) becomes commercial manager at the division's Wallingford, UK headquarters; Ben Williams (pictured), takes over as the new Fugro Geos operations manager in Houston; and Kit Moss, becomes divisional manager for metocean measurements in the Singapore office.

 Ben Williams

 


Kenny McAllister (pictured) has stepped up from VP sales and operations to CEO at Brinker Technology. He joined the company last year from Halliburton, where he was a key account manager.


Rory Hebert has joined the Laredo Offshore Services management team in New Orleans as manager, maintenance and repair. Previously with the Central Gulf Shipyard, he will be responsible for maintaining LOS' marine assets.


Mechanical engineer Kenny Anderson heads up the newly opened Aberdeen office of Norwegian-headquartered offshore decommissioning specialist AF Decom Offshore.


Chris Barton (pictured) has been named SVP business development for KBR's oil & gas business unit, based in Houston. Before joining KBR, he was McDermott International's VP business acquisition, Asia Pacific, in Singapore.


John Abadie has been promoted from SVP western hemisphere operations to EVP and COO at Cal Dive International, replacing COO Scott Naughton who has retired. Cal Dive also promoted G Kregg Lunsford to EVP and chief strategy & business development officer.


Allan Brown (pictured) has been appointed GM of the Underwater Centre in Tasmania, Australia, joining from its sister base in Fort William, Scotland.


Stephen Burgdorf has been appointed Flexlife's VP business development for North America, based in Houston.


Martyn Conroy (pictured) has joined subsea asset rental company Ashtead Technology as sales director of its offshore division, based in Aberdeen. He previously worked for Expro, First Subsea, Hydratight and RBG.


Oscar Lopez has joined T&T Bisso as assistant project manager and onsite coordinator.


Gary Phillips has been named as Tracerco's new head of operations in Aberdeen. He was previously the company's reservoir technical manager 

Offshore Achie vement Awards : The Offshore Achievement Awards are ready for a comeback thanks to the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen section and main sponsor Taqa Bratani. The prestigious awards, first launched by Scottish Enterprise 25 years ago, are open to entries from UK-registered companies in both the offshore oil & gas and renewables sectors. Offshore Engineer is again serving as a media partner for the awards, which open for entries this month. The winners will be announced at a blacktie event at Aberdeen's Ardoe House on 15 March 2012.

Pictured celebrating the relaunch of the awards are (left to right) Ian Phillips, director of CO2 Infrastructure and SPE's representative managing the OAA s; Total E&P UK's Masud Javaid (SPE Aberdeen chairman), and Taqa Bratani MD Leo Koot.

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