ABS, the leading provider of classification services to the global marine and offshore industries, announces the appointment of Howard Fireman to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a move that strengthens alignment and generates further synergies across all of ABS' technical programs.
Fireman, who will report to ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki, assumes this role following former Senior Vice President and CTO Todd Grove's appointment as ABS Group President and CEO.
Technology continues to be a core element of the ABS mission of protecting life, assets and the environment. Fireman's appointment further strengthens the ABS commitment to technology and innovation needed to support our members and clients.
Fireman joined ABS in 2013 following a 35-year career with the US Navy, where he was recognized as a technical leader in ship design, total cost of ownership, systems engineering, design integration, research and development and operational support. He also served as Chief Naval Architect and Director of Surface Ship Design and Systems Engineering.
Fireman holds a BSE and MSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan and has a Master's degree in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins University.
"ABS continues to lead the industry in advancing the application of technology to meet today's marine and offshore challenges while anticipating those on the horizon," ABS Chairman and CEO Chris Wiernicki said. "Howard's strong technical experience will be important to continue our long history of innovation and drive our global research and development agenda."
This appointment was effective April 20.
About ABS
Founded in 1862, ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.
Angela Durkin from Baker Hughes will join Maersk Drilling as new Chief Operating Officer (COO). She will assume her new role 1 May 2015 taking over from Jørn Madsen and report directly to CEO Claus V. Hemmingsen.
“We are very pleased that Angela Durkin will join Maersk Drilling. Angela brings vast experience with her from Baker Hughes, and with her technical competencies and enormous international experience from an oilfield service provider in the drilling industry, she is just the right fit for Maersk Drilling. I am confident that with Angela on board, we will have an even stronger foundation for partnering and working together with our customers in order to increase overall efficiencies and to bring down costs in the drilling operation and well completion,” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, CEO in Maersk Drilling and member of the Executive Board in the Maersk Group. Angela Durkin will assume the position as COO after Jørn Madsen, who will take up the position as CEO for Maersk Supply Service.
“Jørn has served Maersk Drilling for almost 25 years and has most recently been instrumental in the growth strategy and operational excellence success, which Maersk Drilling has seen during his tenure as COO. I wish to thank Jørn for his tremendous contribution to Maersk Drilling, and I am sure that he together with the team in Maersk Supply Service will build further on their already well-established success,” says CEO Claus V. Hemmingsen.
Angela Durkin holds a master degree in electronics from the Technical University in Braunchweig, Germany. She started her career in Baker Hughes in 1996 as a MWD Operator. She has held various positions such as Business Development Manager, Country Manager for Denmark, Vice President for Operations and Technical Support. Her latest role was as Corporate Vice President for Health, Safety and Environment.
She will report directly to CEO Claus V. Hemmingsen and be a member of the Senior Management Team in Maersk Drilling.
Subsea cable and connector specialist Hydro Group has teamed up with mechanical engineering group EnerMech to launch an innovative new product offering to the market.
In response to significant customer demand, Hydro Group and EnerMech have combined expertise to deliver a new hydraulics hose product, offering lay-up and over-sheathing of hydraulic hoses for use in umbilical, topside and well intervention projects in the oil and gas industry. The partnership could generate in the region of £500,000 in the next 12 months.
Graham Wilkie, Sales Director at Hydro Group said: “Building on three decades of proven capability and industry experience at Hydro Group, we know collaboration, diversification and innovation are key to surviving in challenging markets. Knowledge sharing with EnerMech has resulted in an important market offering which brings together expertise from both companies.”
The bundled hose, which are available in ¼” to 2” size from Hydro Cable Systems, a Hydro Group company, integrate hydraulic components with electrical and fibre optic cables, resulting in a more compact and easier to handle assembly.
Mr Wilkie continued: “The new hose bundles offer significant benefits to installers and users for flying lead, workover umbilicals, well intervention, Topside and BOP control and injection systems. The bundles also allow greater versatility when faced with awkward routing or high dynamic usage, and may incorporate strength members such as aramid braiding, steel wire central ropes and aramid central ropes to the customer’s specification.”
EnerMech supplies a broad range of mechanical services to the international energy industry and has a 40 year heritage in hydraulic services including engineering and design, hydraulic component supply and hose integrity management.
Gary McRobb, EnerMech Business Development Manager, said: “Innovation and offering integrated solutions for our global clients is a central tenet of everything we do at EnerMech. Together with Hydro Cables Systems we are able to provide full engineering support, sourcing and supplying hoses, including high specification hoses such as High Collapse Resistance (HCR), and can also supply fully fitted, flushed and pressure-tested umbilicals which can also be deployed onto a reeler at the customer’s request.”
Further expanding the product offering and several recent increases to capabilities has meant the creation of new jobs for Hydro Group. Staff numbers at the firm’s Aberdeen base rose to over 100 for the first time this year and projected turnover for 2015 is predicted to rise by 12% from £9million thanks to increased development of new and existing markets.
Hydro Group has seen a period of significant investment in new machinery, with this new capability allowing the company to extrude up to 120mm diameter over composite bundles or single hoses. Final produced lengths can be supplied from 50 to 2000 metres depending on the size of hose, number of components and the finished diameter of the umbilical.
Mr Wilkie added: “Training and information transfer will be mutual between EnerMech and Hydro Cable Systems, for the benefit of customers and the market as a whole. Evolving our product offering in line with client demand is paramount and the new hose bundles, as an extension of our current products, represents significant growth potential.”
Hydro Group is at the forefront in the development and innovation of subsea product technologies, with involvement from prototype concept through to design, manufacture and project management. Hydro Group manufacture the complete package including FAT at its state-of-the-art facilities in Aberdeen, Scotland; umbilical cables, electrical and optical connection systems / assemblies for data, power and signal transmission.
HBW Resources, LLC (HBW), an integrated strategic consulting and advocacy firm focused on energy and transportation issues, and CSA 
Ocean Sciences Inc. (CSA), a firm specializing in services related to environmental impacts of activities throughout the world, have announced a global strategic partnership to perform a variety of services in support of offshore commercial projects worldwide. This new offering will combine HBW's unique skills in consulting and advocacy for energy and transportation projects with CSA's offshore environmental expertise to present a combined level of global capabilities that is unmatched.
Through this strategic partnership, HBW and CSA will jointly pursue a number of commercial opportunities, including non-technical risk assessments utilizing HBW's PRIME+ platform for offshore projects. HBW Resources established the PRIME + (Project Risk, Intelligence, Mitigation and Evaluation) process as a way to proactively identify and map non-technical risks to energy and infrastructure projects, prioritize them according to their likelihood and impact, and allow for proactive mitigation and management of project risks.
The combined service, PRIME + H20, will assess non-technical risks associated with offshore projects, quantify and qualify those risks in terms of impact to projects and likelihood of occurrence, and develop implement mitigation strategies to avoid those risks.
"Non-technical risks account for 73 percent of cost and schedule failures for energy projects today," said Jack Belcher, executive vice president, HBW Resources. "We are pleased that our strategic partnership with CSA Ocean Sciences will provide the unique ability to deliver unmatched risk assessments and other services to offshore projects that will avoid and mitigate those risks and associated cost and schedule failures."
"By combining CSA Ocean Sciences offshore technical and environmental expertise with HBW's energy, government and regulatory expertise, our partnership will offer the offshore industry an unprecedented ability to identify and mitigate risk and provide valuable service to our clients, said Al Hart, Executive Vice President of CSA. "Our PRIME + H20 and other service offerings will provide companies a safe harbor in the uncertain offshore environment we face today."
CSA offers a wide range of marine services, including environmental impact analyses worldwide, drawing upon the extensive knowledge of its qualified personnel in addition to the techniques, facilities, equipment, and business considerations of applied sciences and technologies. Over the last 45 years, CSA has successfully conducted approximately 2,500 studies for more than 500 clients, including the oil and gas industry; engineering/surveying firms; utility companies; law firms; land development companies; and local, state, federal, and international government agencies.
Enhanced geomechanics technology and services strengthen geoscience portfolio
CGG announces that its GeoConsulting Business Line has acquired Taurus Reservoir Solutions Ltd., based in Calgary. Taurus offers reservoir and geomechanical simulation and engineering technology along with consulting services to the global petroleum industry. With an offering that spans single-well to large field-scale solutions, Taurus brings new subsurface understanding to both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.
CGG’s GeoConsulting Business Line offers a broad range of geological and geophysical (G&G) consulting services and non-exclusive products to the E&P industry. The addition of Taurus will strengthen CGG’s G&G expertise and help clients make more informed decisions across the E&P lifecycle, from where to drill and how to best complete wells, to optimizing production over the life of the field.
Sophie Zurquiyah, Senior Executive Vice President, Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir, CGG, said: “We are delighted to extend the scope of our Geoscience portfolio further towards the reservoir with the geomechanical and engineering capabilities of Taurus. The leadership Taurus has developed globally in its domain fully aligns with CGG’s culture and the addition of its technology and expertise will enable us to further assist our customers in meeting their increasingly complex reservoir development and production challenges through tighter integration of the geoscience and engineering disciplines.”
Dr. Tony Settari, President and co-founder of Taurus, added: “We are very pleased to join CGG and look forward to bringing our technology and expertise in geomechanics, classical reservoir engineering and fracturing to the Geoscience portfolio of CGG. This unique combination will yield solutions that better address the most difficult subsurface challenges and enable oil and gas companies to further reduce the risks and costs associated with the production of hydrocarbons.”
ABS Group of Companies, Inc. (ABS Group) is pleased to announce the appointment of Todd Grove as its new President and CEO. Grove most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for ABS Group's parent company, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). With more than 30 years at ABS, in various senior technical and operational management roles across the world, Grove is a proven leader with a successful track record.
Grove holds a bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan, an MBA from the University of Houston and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.
ABS Group is a global leader in providing technical services that better enable companies to operate safely, reliably, efficiently and in compliance with applicable regulations and standards. Operating in over 30 countries, ABS Group offers services to the offshore and marine markets, the energy and power sectors, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and to governments and governmental agencies globally.
With his global operational leadership experience and industry-recognized expertise in the marine and offshore markets, Grove is uniquely qualified to strengthen the alignment between the two organizations and to lead ABS Group into the future as the preferred strategic partner for ABS.
"ABS Group has a strong, sound strategy for the future and we are fortunate to have someone of Todd's experience and background to take on this important role," Chairman of ABS Group of Companies, Chris Wiernicki said. "I have great confidence in his ability to lead the ABS Group team to execute its business plans and I am optimistic about the organization's future."
Commenting on his new role, Grove said "I very much appreciate this opportunity and I look forward to leading such a well-known and respected brand. ABS Group has a unique range of technical services focused on meeting the needs of a strong, diverse client base. These services and the quality of our employees make me extremely confident in maintaining and growing the business across the globe."
Jee Ltd, a leading independent multi-discipline subsea engineering and training firm, has secured a six figure contract with E.ON Exploration and Production (E.ON E&P), to deliver subsea integrity management and engineering services for its North Sea assets.
The three year contract, which was awarded in March 2015, involves Jee supporting E.ON E&P’s Subsea Technical Authority, by providing annual integrity management services for its subsea assets. The scope of work includes flowlines, risers, umbilicals and structures on EON E&P’s Huntington, Babbage, Hunter/Rita and Johnston assets.
Vivek Chhabra, Senior Engineer at Jee Ltd, said: “This is a significant contract win for Jee, with the scope of work involved reinforcing our integrity management and engineering reputation and capabilities.
“Effective integrity management can lead to significant cost saving potential for companies by minimising operational interruptions and reducing downtime. At a time when cost saving is so imperative to the industry, and as subsea assets are maturing and reaching the end of their design lives, good integrity management has never been more important.
“We are delighted to be working with the E.ON E&P team, and believe our experience positions us perfectly to support this project. We look forward to strengthening our relations with E.ON E&P now and into the future, by successfully delivering optimum engineering services for the company,” concluded Mr Chhabra.
Jee is an independent subsea engineering and training company with offices in Aberdeen, London and Tonbridge. Jee’s multi-disciplined capabilities and integrated services cover the spectrum of subsea engineering for the whole life-of-field for the global oil, gas and renewables industries.
FMC Technologies, Inc. and Technip have signed an agreement to form an exclusive alliance and to launch Forsys Subsea, a 50/50 joint venture that will unite the skills and capabilities of two subsea industry leaders. This alliance will redefine the way subsea fields are designed, delivered and maintained.
Bringing the industry's most talented subsea professionals together early in the project concept phase, Forsys Subsea will have the technical capabilities, products and systems to significantly reduce the cost of subsea field development and provide the technology to maximize well performance over the life of the field.
By combining the industry-leading technologies of the parent companies, Forsys Subsea will reduce the interfaces of the subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) and subsea production and processing systems (SPS). It will also simplify the seabed layout, reducing complexity, accelerating time to first oil, and maximizing sustainable peak production. This unique combination will drive a new, step-change approach to how equipment designs and installation methods converge in a new generation of subsea architecture.
Gathering the expertise and experience of its parent companies, Forsys Subsea will focus on:
• Early involvement in the concept selection phase of front-end engineering and design, when ability to influence cost is greatest.
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• Integrated life-of-field well surveillance, monitoring, data interpretation and advisory services.
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• Joint R&D to drive technological innovations that will boost efficiency and further reduce development costs.
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In addition, the alliance will be uniquely positioned to deliver and install a seamless subsea infrastructure from seabed to topside by eliminating interfaces and by integrating SPS with SURF, attaining the highest reliability and uptime and the lowest total ownership cost available in the industry.
"The world needs new sources of oil, and deepwater holds the greatest promise of meeting this demand. But these sources are expensive to develop, and operators will not pursue them unless they can significantly reduce costs," said John Gremp, FMC Technologies Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This requires not just incremental improvements, but step changes and new ways of thinking. Service providers must be involved at the project concept stage, provide innovative technology that reduces costs, standardize processes and equipment for greater efficiency, and execute flawlessly. The creation of Forsys Subsea with an industry leader such as Technip embodies this new way of thinking to a degree that's never been done before."
"In today's fast-changing environment, clients require closer relationships with, and more integrated solutions from, their partners of choice. This imposes a new way of working in the industry," said Thierry Pilenko, Technip Chairman and CEO. "Beyond products, we need to design optimized development concepts. Beyond concepts, we need to be strongly focused on the practicalities of project execution. Simplicity, standardization, innovation, technological creativity and delivering tangible results to clients — this is exactly what Forsys Subsea is about, and we are delighted to make this step a reality with FMC Technologies."
After closing and upon launch of the joint venture, Forsys Subsea will have a workforce of 320 people and will be supported by the 58,000 employees of FMC Technologies and Technip. The company will be headquartered in London, with regional hubs in Oslo, Houston, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore.
The leadership team of Forsys Subsea will include Rasmus Sunde (FMC Technologies) as CEO, Alain Marion (Technip) as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Arild Selvig (FMC Technologies) leading front end engineering and Gerald Bouhourd (Technip) leading life of field.
FMC Technologies and Technip will have 50/50 ownership of Forsys Subsea. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Believed to be the very first ‘all female’ managed marine seismic project management company in the world, Aqua GeoProjects is set to make a splash across an industry sector that until now has been a traditionally male-oriented environment. And with four industry- experienced women heading up the new company, this operation is aiming to do things a little differently!
The senior management team, consisting of Managing Director, Claire Jennings, PR and Quality Manager, Kelly Richards, Marketing, Emma Duncan and Senior Project Manager, Kerry Thain, between them have more than 35 years global marine seismic experience, having successfully delivered projects in Norway, Azerbaijan, Panama, Greenland, Ecuador and the Russian Federation.
Aqua GeoProjects provides cost-effective geophysical project management and bespoke seismic solutions for marine surveys within the oil and gas industry. The service offering includes bespoke shallow water vessel design, seismic project mobilization, technical outfitting, and specialized marine management services.
Drawing upon their extensive operational experience in deep-sea, shallow-water and transition zone seismic surveying, the Aqua GeoProjects team offers a range of niche-market services and qualified project personnel to a diverse client base.
Claire started Aqua GeoProjects in May 2014, and is motivated by the challenge of building the company as a niche player in the industry. “My desire is to build a prosperous business focusing on both the success of our clients and the health and happiness of our employees” Claire says.
In the early part of her marine seismic career, Claire was responsible for all areas of marine seismic operational project support, including supervising survey vessel crew changes and logistics provision in port locations all around the world. In more recent years, Claire’s focus has been towards financial management and project budgeting, and she has previously filled the role of Chief Commercial Officer for WGP Exploration. “Our driving ethos is to help our clients derive maximum benefit from every project that they undertake;” Claire says, “and in so doing, build upon our reputation for reliability, flexibility and professionalism.” “Being an all-female management team does make us a little different within the industry, but that does not mean that we should be under-estimated. We compete strongly and robustly for every project and we always ensure that we deliver on the projects that we undertake.” The company’s services include geophysical vessel outfitting and mobilization, design and fabrication, project management and procurement, experienced personnel provision and technical solution consultancy and transition zone operations.
Unlike larger seismic contractors, who must focus efforts on the collection of seismic exploration and reservoir monitoring data for their clients, Aqua GeoProjects provide the same levels of experience gained within the larger areas of the industry to smaller scale operations in emerging areas, where bespoke solutions are more often required and that need to be reliable, cost effective and scaled to fit the project budget. The company promises to solve extraordinary marine survey and seismic data collection problems, without costing the operator a fortune.
Leading classification society ClassNK (Chairman and President: Noboru Ueda) held a press conference on 20 April in Singapore to promote the activities of its new Global Research and Innovation Center (GRIC).
Joined by representatives from Nanyang Technological University, ClassNK Executive Vice President Tetsuya Kinoshita explained the rationale behind GRIC and the current goals for the center.
The two main sectors that GRIC will cover are:
• Maritime technologies: Research and development into creating new technologies and improving existing technologies in the fields of safe/smart ships such as condition-based monitoring technology, and eco-technology covering areas such as alternative fuel engine technologies, and emission control
• Marine renewable energy: Establishing a marine energy test site for the tropics to support R&D in energy storage systems, biofouling materials, energy converters, prototype design testing, and creating possibilities to provide energy for maritime industry usage like in ports and harbors.
“The establishment of the Global Research and Innovation Center represents ClassNK’s commitment to developing innovative solutions,” said Mr. Kinoshita. “GRIC’s location in Singapore will make R&D projects accessible to international industry partners, and allow us to work with top academic institutions such as NTU and other sectors of the maritime cluster here in Singapore. We are excited to be building a smarter and greener future for the entire maritime industry from here in Singapore.”
In addition to presentations on ClassNK activities, representatives from both ClassNK and NTU gave in-depth presentations on the marine energy feasibility study and maritime energy test bed projects, as detailed below:
BMT Scientific Marine Services (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, a leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has been selected by Hess Corporation to supply an Integrated Marine Monitoring System (IMMS) for the Stampede Tension Leg Platform (TLP) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The system includes instrumentation to measure the environmental conditions impacting the TLP and the platform dynamic responses. The IMMS displays real-time sensor data in an easy to understand format to support platform marine operators, as well as collecting detailed data sets to support long term integrity monitoring of the asset.
The Stampede TLP is another addition to the long list of floating production facilities that BMT has instrumented and serviced in the Gulf of Mexico over the past 15 years.
BMT provides innovative IMMS for a wide range of floating offshore oil facilities including the associated subsea risers and mooring systems. It delivers custom-engineered products from design through procurement, assembly, installation and operational support service. In addition, BMT deploys temporary monitoring systems for performance assessment, acceptance trials and forensic investigations. In combination with its extensive monitoring system experience, BMT provides data management and technical analysis of data acquired by the various permanent and temporary integrated marine and structural integrity systems.
Anders Opedal (photo) is appointed executive vice president and takes on a new position as chief operating officer (COO) in the corporate executive committee (CEC) on 1 April.
Opedal will be responsible the corporate improvement programs and for driving operational efficiency across Statoil's business areas.
"I am pleased to announce that Anders assumes this new position in the CEC. He will be a driving force in our effort to further improve the safety and efficiency of our operations. I really look forward to his contribution to develop a highly profitable, competitive and resilient Statoil," says president and CEO Eldar Sætre.
Anders Opedal comes from the position as senior vice president of projects in Statoil's Technology, Projects and Drilling business area, where since 2010 he has been responsible for Statoil's approximately NOK 300 billion project portfolio. Previously he has held a range of positions in drilling and well, procurement and projects. Anders Opedal joined Statoil in 1997 as a petroleum engineer in the Statfjord operations.
"We must prepare for challenging times ahead. Uncertainty and volatility will remain a key part of our business environment. Against this backdrop, I have decided to establish a COO role to drive our corporate-wide efforts to strengthen safe and efficient operations across Statoil. The current line accountability for the safe, efficient and reliable operation of our assets remains unchanged," says Sætre.
Over the last few years Statoil has continuously improved its safety performance, and the serious incident frequency (SIF) for 2014 was at an all-time low. Statoil started to address the cost and efficiency challenge of the industry well ahead of the downturn in the oil price seen over the last few months.
The staffs and services project, strong prioritization of spending levels, organizational efficiency projects in the line (OE), and last but not least the Statoil technical efficiency program (STEP), are examples of how Statoil have been addressing this fundamental challenge of efficiency and competitiveness.
"The COO will play a key role in the further development of Statoil. I want Anders to lead the process of reviewing the corporate operating model with emphasis on simplification and efficiency," says Sætre.
Anders has an MBA from Heriot-Watt University and an engineering degree from NTH. He lives in Sandnes, Norway.
The new Singapore Service Centre (SSC) will streamline customer support and enhance customers’ experiences by giving them a single point of contact for all operational issues.
Singapore is a growing maritime hub, which has hundreds of ship managers with approximately 1,500 DNV GL classed vessels managed from Singapore. The new SSC, together with our existing technical helpdesk DATE (Direct Access to Technical Experts), will provide customers easier and improved access to DNV GL’s services.
“From product to customer support, we are continually working to improve our service offerings to our customers. By implementing initiatives such as the new SSC and DATE we will help ship owners and operators increase their operational efficiency and safety,” said Steen Lund, Regional Manager South East Asia & Pacific, DNV GL - Maritime. “The opening of the Singapore Service Centre simplifies the entry points into our organization for our customers.”
Caption: DNV GL's Clean Technology Centre in Singapore.
Streamlined Support
With the opening of the new Service Center, every customer will have clearly defined points of contact to DNV GL. Key account managers will manage the relationship with customers. DATE will remain the helpdesk for technical issues, while the SSC will provide operational solutions.
Customers can contact the SSC via email or telephone with their enquiry. SSC will handle this locally and if necessary consult with DNV GL experts in Høvik or Hamburg to provide the customers with the best solution. Customers who would like to discuss operational challenges and their potential options can speak to an expert to get an insight into potential solutions and plan accordingly.
“The Singapore Service Center will be manned by experienced Fleet in Service surveyors who understand the challenges faced by superintendents and fleet managers and therefore are best placed to address their needs. This will not only streamline and speed up processes, but also create a valuable platform for discussion,” said Sean Hutchings, the Area Manager for Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines.
“With the SSC we are taking a step forward in ensuring that our customers’ needs are addressed as efficiently and promptly as possible. It will let them tap into our global network and best-in-class service and expertise more easily than ever before,” said Pawan Sahni, Head of Singapore Service Centre, DNV GL – Maritime.
The SSC is currently available to customers in Singapore with plans for rolling out the service to other countries in South East Asia in the near future.
About DNV GL
Driven by our purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organizations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. We provide classification and technical assurance along with software and independent expert advisory services to the maritime, oil and gas, and energy industries. We also provide certification services to customers across a wide range of industries. Operating in more than 100 countries, our 16,000 professionals are dedicated to helping our customers make the world safer, smarter and greener.
About DNV GL – Maritime
DNV GL is the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry. We enhance safety, quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance of the global shipping industry – across all vessel types and offshore structures. We invest heavily in research and development to find solutions, together with the industry, that address strategic, operational or regulatory challenges.
Oceaneering International, Inc. will be recognized at the 2015 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) with the presentation of two Spotlight on New Technology Awards for its Deepwater Pile Dredge and Magna Subsea Inspection System™ products. The awards honor innovative technologies based on broad appeal to the industry, proven capabilities through full-scale application or successful prototype testing, and significant impact with benefits beyond existing technologies.
The Oceaneering Deepwater Pile Dredge is an electrically-driven system with pumps that provide water jetting and suction to excavate piles at any depth. The jetting provides a 360° pattern to fluidize the soil inside the pile, and then suction pumps remove the soil from the pile. The Oceaneering Magna Subsea Inspection System is a versatile screening inspection tool that assesses the mechanical integrity of assets at a high rate of speed without disrupting production. The advanced system is ROV-deployable, inspects 360° around the pipe, and provides real-time data of the wall condition with a single deployment.
Oceaneering is one of three companies to receive multiple 2015 Spotlight awards. The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) will take place May 4-7 in Houston, and the 2015 awards will be presented on May 4 in the NRG Center Rotunda Lobby. The Spotlight on New Technology Awards—a program for OTC exhibitors—showcase the latest and most advanced hardware and software technologies that are leading the industry into the future.
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Jay Johnson appointed Executive Vice President, Upstream; Joe Geagea named Executive Vice President, Technology, Projects and Services
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) confirmed today that George L. Kirkland (photo), vice chairman and executive vice president, Upstream, will retire from the company, effective June 15. He will be succeeded by James W. (Jay) Johnson, as executive vice president, Upstream, effective June 16.
"George's business acumen and deep operational knowledge of our industry have helped create enormous value for Chevron and our shareholders over many years," said John Watson, chairman and CEO. "I am confident our track record of success in the upstream will continue under Jay's leadership, as his broad base of experience has prepared him well for the job."
Kirkland, 64, joined Chevron in 1974. He was named executive vice president of Upstream in 2005 and elected vice chairman in 2010. During his career he has held numerous assignments across the company's worldwide operations, including leadership roles in Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as president of the North America and international upstream businesses. Under his stewardship, the company enhanced its position as an industry leader – it applied advanced gas injection technology to grow production at the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, developed groundbreaking Lower Tertiary resources at the Jack and St. Malo fields in the Gulf of Mexico, assembled a world-class shale oil and gas position in North America, enhanced functional capabilities and base business reliability, and developed long-lived liquefied natural gas assets at Gorgon and Wheatstone in Australia. Under his leadership, the company consistently reported peer-leading performance.
Johnson, 56, joined Chevron in 1981 and has been senior vice president of Upstream since the beginning of 2014. Previously, Johnson was president of Chevron's Europe, Eurasia and Middle East Exploration and Production Company and managing director of its Eurasia business unit, responsible for upstream and transportation activities in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. Johnson also was managing director of Chevron's Australasia business unit, responsible for exploration and planning for the development of the Wheatstone and Greater Gorgon area gas fields. Past positions also include work in production operations, major capital projects, shipping and strategic planning.
Watson also announced that effective with Kirkland's retirement, Joseph C. (Joe) Geagea is appointed executive vice president of Technology, Projects and Services (TPS).
TPS includes a number of key functional groups that support the enterprise with services such as major capital project development; drilling and upstream base business operations; energy and information technology; health, environment and safety; procurement, and workforce development.
Geagea, 55, joined the company in 1982. He has been senior vice president of TPS since the beginning of 2014. Previously, he was president of Chevron's Gas and Midstream group, managing director of the company's Asia South business unit and president of downstream operations in East Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan.
Both Johnson and Geagea will report to Watson.
UTEC Survey, an Acteon company, has announced award of a 3-year Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Technip, North America.
The award confirms a three-year extension to its current North America MSA with Technip, an agreement which encompasses a full range of survey services including, but not limited to, pre-lay and as-built surveys, pipeline and flexible installation support, acoustic and laser spool-piece metrologies and shore based dimensional control services.
UTEC has held Technip's North America MSA for projects operated out of Houston since 2008 and the latest announcement is viewed as an important development in the relationship between the two companies.
Commenting on the news, UTEC's Americas Regional Manager, Dave Ross, said: "UTEC continues to grow its reputation in both North America and overseas, and this award further underlines the company's position as a market leader."
UTEC CEO Martin O'Carroll added: "We are pleased to reinforce our long-term relationship with Technip by providing global capabilities, key core values and teams of highly skilled and motivated people who safely deliver high quality services to a growing number of key clients all over the world."
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