Kreuz Subsea Adds To Senior Management Team

Singapore-based Kreuz Subsea, a global integrated subsea services business, has named a chief commercial officer and director of marine assets to its senior management team as the company works to expand.

Pradeep Verma has joined Kreuz as chief commercial officer, while Marek Kaminski joined as director of marine assets, the company said in a news release.

Verma will be responsible for strengthening the company’s position in its core markets of India, Asia-Pacific, and the growth of business into the Middle East market. He last served as head of business development—offshore for Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Previously, Verma held the position of regional proposals and commercial head at McDermott International.

Kaminski has joined the firm from Subsea 7, where he held the role of regional vessel and asset manager. He also worked at EMAS Offshore Ltd. and Rubicon Oilfield International prior to this role.

As director of marine assets, Kreuz said Kaminski will be responsible for the overall supervision of the company’s owned and chartered fleet.

Statoil Dishes Out Drilling Contracts Worth $1.5 Billion

Statoil said April 3 it has awarded drilling contracts to Archer, KCA Deutag and Odfjell Drilling for drilling, completion, intervention services, plugging, maintenance and modifications on 18 of Statoil’s fixed platforms.

The contracts take effect from Oct. 1, 2018, initially for a period of four years. The total value is estimated at more than $1.5 billion. The contracts include three two-year extension options. The work will employ about 2,000 people per year.

Long-term contracts will increase the predictability and ensure stable operating conditions for the suppliers and Statoil.

One of the intentions of the contracts is to improve the collaboration between Statoil, the drilling contractors and service contractors. A common incentive program will stimulate safe and efficient operations through close collaboration and integration of work.

Energy XXI Names Industry Veteran Board Chairman

Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc. said April 2 that industry veteran Gary C. Hanna has joined the Houston company’s board of directors as chairman.

Hanna has more than 30 years of executive experience in the E&P and oil service sectors, with extensive experience in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region. He formerly served as CEO of EPL Oil & Gas Inc., which Energy XXI acquired for $2.3 billion in 2014.

The new appointment, which is effective March 29, will replace Energy XXI’s former board chairman Michael Reddin. As previously disclosed, Reddin decided to not stand for re-election following the end of his term. He will remain on the board until Energy XXI’s upcoming annual meeting of stockholders, according to the company press release.

Hanna most recently led the blank-check company KLR Energy Acquisition Corp. through its combination with privately-held Tema Oil and Gas Co. that formed Delaware Basin pure-play Rosehill Resources Inc. in April 2017. He currently serves as chairman of Rosehill’s board and has served as a member of the boards of Hercules Offshore Inc. and Aspire Holdings Corp. for the past two years.

Sophie Zurquiyah Named CEO of CGG

Sophie Zurquiyah has been named CEO of Paris-based CGG Group, a geoscience company providing geological, geophysical and reservoir capabilities to the global oil and gas industry, effective April 26.

She replaces Jean-Georges Malcor.

Zurquiyah was previously COO and senior executive vice president in charge of the Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir segment, technology and global operational excellence. She joined CGG in 2013 after 22 years in the oilfield services industry, working for Schlumberger in global executive positions that included business, operations, functional to technology, based in France, the U.S. and Brazil.

The CGG board also announced Helen Lee Bouygues will replace BPI France Participations and Heidi Petersen will replace Didier Houssin, resigning from board position, for the remainder of its term, until the general meeting called to approve the financial statements for the fiscal year ending Dec.31, 2020.

Shell Names Former Maersk Oil CEO Gretchen Watkins As Next US Boss

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s U.S. boss, Bruce Culpepper, will step down at the end of the year and will be replaced by former Maersk Oil CEO Gretchen Watkins, the company said in a statement on March 27.

Shell's head of unconventionals, Greg Guidry, who oversees the Anglo-Dutch company's shale production in North America and Argentina, will step down on June 31, when he will be replaced by Watkins.

Watkins will retain her role as head of unconventionals when taking over as Shell U.S. country chair, the company said.

Shell, which has large offshore production and a number of refineries in the U.S., has earmarked its shale business as a key growth engine for the next decade.

It aims to boost its overall shale production by 200,000 boe/d to 500,000 boe/d between 2017 and 2020, mostly in the U.S. with some production in Argentina, Guidry told Reuters in March.

North America accounted for roughly one-fifth of Shell's total oil and gas production in 2017 and over one-third of its refining capacity.

Endeavour Energy Kicks Off North Sea Asset Sale, Sources Say

Endeavour Energy UK Ltd. has launched the sale of its North Sea oil and gas assets at an ambitious price target of $500 million, according to two industry sources and a document seen by Reuters.

The sale is part of group asset sales after Endeavour’s U.S. parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

The U.K. company and its administrators have hired audit firm Deloitte as their corporate finance adviser on the sale, dubbed “Project Arrow,” the document showed.

Information documents for the portfolio, which include nonoperating interests in five producing fields, a development project and some fields that have ceased production, were sent to potential buyers in February, with bids expected at the end of last month. The sources said the sale price target was ambitious given that some of the fields are no longer producing oil.

The transaction could either be a sale of the share capital of Endeavour or a sale of individual assets or a package of assets.

Endeavour Energy could not be reached for comment and Deloitte declined to comment.

IKM Subsea Secures PTTEP Drilling Contract Offshore Myanmar

IKM Subsea Singapore signed a contract with PTTEP for its appraisal campaign offshore in Myanmar, the company said April 3.

IKM Subsea will provide a Merlin WR200 electrical propulsion system with a BOP intervention tool and an

IKM technology designed and built diamond wire cutter for the project onboard the rig. This is IKM’s second deepest dive in Southeast Asia as the water depth ranges from 200 m (656 ft) to 2,000 m (6,561 ft).

Borr Drilling Says CEO Leaves Following Paragon Purchase

Offshore rig firm Borr Drilling said its CEO Simon Johnson was leaving the company in light of its acquisition of rival Paragon Offshore.

Borr Drilling offered to buy Paragon Offshore for $232.5 million in February.

The company said Johnson had agreed to terminate his contract in view of the Paragon transaction. He had previously worked at Noble Corp., which spun its older assets into Paragon Offshore in 2014, just before an oil market downturn started.

Paragon emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. last July, eliminating about $2.3 billion of debt‍.

Borr Drilling, founded in 2016 by chairman Tor Olav Troeim, also said March 22 it was no longer looking to expand its fleet significantly.

Borr Drilling will seek to raise $250 million in issuing up to 54.3 million new shares at a price of $4.6 per share to finance the Paragon acquisition, the company said. The issue is equivalent to 11.4% of outstanding shares.

—Staff & Reuters Reports