InterMoor Appoints New Global CEO

InterMoor has tapped Mark Jones, vice president at Acteon, to serve as global CEO for the company.

Jones will be responsible for building more structure and greater collaboration among business units, focusing on areas of growth and mobilizing new services across the regions, InterMoor said in a news release.

Jones has significant experience within the oil industry, having been managing director for a division of EXPRO and head of strategy and business development for Siemens Subsea.

In addition, InterMoor announced Blair Wilson will take on the role of global director of operations, reporting directly to the CEO.

WorleyParsons Enters UK North Sea Market

Australia-based WorleyParsons has joined the U.K. North Sea market now that the company has completed its acquisition of AFW Oil and Gas UK Ltd., which provides engineering, construction, operation, maintenance and hookup services.

With offices in the U.K. and the Middle East and more than 3,000 employees, AFW has been operating in the North Sea for more than 45 years, according to a news release.

The acquisition, which was announced in October, is valued at about $232 million.

DeepOcean Names Ottar Maeland As CEO

DeepOcean’s board of directors has appointed COO Ottar Mæland as acting CEO, the company said Oct. 30.

After leading DeepOcean through a successful ownership change, the current CEO of DeepOcean Bart Heijermans has will step down from his position effective Nov. 18, but he has agreed to remain on the board as a nonexecutive director.

“We are confident that, thanks to his expertise and knowledge of the company and the markets we are operating in, we will continue to drive the positive future development of DeepOcean,” said Terje Askvig, chairman of the board.

Fugro’s Revenue Plunges, Sending Shares Lower

Dutch deep-sea energy prospector Fugro reported a steeper than expected drop in third-quarter revenue Oct. 30 and said it expects negative cash flow for the full year, sending its shares down more than 10%.

Fugro is still suffering the impact of a rout in oil prices that have fallen by more than 50% from mid-2014 highs, affecting its business as makes it uneconomic to prospect for the hard-to-reach subsea deposits in which it specializes.

The company reported a 19.5% drop in third-quarter revenue to $422.71 million. Fugro said it expects cash flow from operating activities after investments to be negative for the full year, due to the later than expected start of one of its projects.

In August the company, which reported a 14.5% decrease in first-half revenue, said it expected the decrease in revenue for the full year to be less severe than in the first half and that it expected positive cash flow from operating activities after investments for the full year.

“This quarter results were unfortunately impacted by technical downtime of some vessels and hurricanes,” CEO Paul van Riel said in a statement.

TechnipFMC To Acquire Plexus’ Exploration Wellhead Business

TechnipFMC reached an agreement with Plexus Holding Plc to acquire its wellhead exploration equipment and services business for jackup applications, the company said.

In conjunction with TechnipFMC’s global footprint and market presence, the company said it expects the acquisition to expand its portfolio in the mud line and HP/HT arena, boosting its products and services to the global jackup exploration-drilling market. Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.

The business will be integrated into the TechnipFMC’s surface technologies segment and will include the transfer of key personnel from Plexus, with their specialized know-how, to ensure continuity and ongoing customer support. The business will continue to operate from the existing location in Dyce, Aberdeen in the U.K.

Richard Alabaster, president of TechnipFMC’s surface technologies business, said in a statement. “I am very pleased that we have reached this agreement, which fits within TechnipFMC surface technologies’ strategy to extend and strengthen our position in exploration-drilling products and services while leveraging our global field presence. It also enhances TechnipFMC’s capability in HP/HT applications.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

BP’s Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg To Step Down

Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP’s chairman who helped navigate the British company through the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, announced his intention to step down after nearly eight years in the post.

BP rarely replaces both its chairman and CEO in close succession, so the decision means current CEO Bob Dudley, who also took office in 2010, is likely to remain in his position for some time yet, according to company sources.

Svanberg will chair the annual general meeting to be held in May 2018 and will remain in his position until a successor is in the post, the company said in a statement.

The 65-year old joined BP’s board on Sept. 1, 2009, and became chairman on Jan. 1, 2010—four months before the worst offshore disaster in U.S. history that left 11 workers dead.

“Together we were able to honor our commitments to the Gulf while rebuilding BP into a safer, stronger company. We devised a strategy to weather the downturn in the oil market while returning to growth,” CEO Dudley said in a statement.

Svanberg, from Sweden, played a key role in the aftermath of the disaster, when the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and which cost it over $60 billion in clean-up costs and penalties.

BP will continue paying for the Macondo spill into the next decade, but the company has been able to regain its footing in recent years and increase production after selling more than $50 billion of assets.

Ethos Bags Brunei Deal

Shell has awarded Ethos Energy a five-year maintenance service agreement for the provision of engineers and improvement of compressor packages on the Champion 7 offshore platform in the South China Sea offshore Brunei.

The maintenance service agreement includes provision of two resident critical rotating equipment engineers to improve the reliability and availability of four compressor packages on Brunei Shell Petroleum’s Champion 7 offshore platform.

“Our value-add solution for this contract revolved around cost reduction, inventory and contractor management whilst providing our customer with a one stop shop for all aspects of the project,” said Sean Carter, senior vice president of APAC region at Ethos Energy.

The work scope also includes the improvement of the preventative maintenance planning via inventory management and overhaul/outage services for numerous engines and compressors.

Ethos Energy did not reveal the exact value of the contract but did say it was “a multi-million dollar deal.”

—Staff & Wire Reports

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