reaching out in nigeria

beacon
Transocean
in the
spotlight
spring 2009
Reaching
Out in
Nigeria
Transocean’s team in Nigeria goes
above and beyond, running an
outstanding operation, giving back
to local communities … and always
reaching for more!
6 That’s a wrap! Construction complete on
3 more newbuilds!
8 2009 Safety Vision Meeting: We all know
Steven Newman got down. Find out what else
went down (hint: it included our TRIR!) in Mumbai.
27 2009 Employee Photo Contest Now Open!
spring 2009 Beacon
1
Contents
Departments
6
Measuring
our Success
4 Letters
20
Nigeria
in Focus
It’s true that life and work
in Nigeria have their
challenges, but take a closer
look and you’ll see that
Transocean co-workers are
pros at overcoming any
obstacles – and even having a
little fun, too.
5 Safety
Milestones
5 Performance
Milestones
Around RIG
6 Newbuild News
8 Safety Meeting
9 AMU Perfect Day
Responsibility
22 Limbe Wildlife Center
23 Udaan School
23 Humane Society
RIG People
24 Spotlight on
12
Issue 1
2
Beacon is published by Transocean Corporate Communications
for employees, retirees, customers and other key audiences.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Contact
us at corpcomm@mail.deepwater.com
Beacon spring 2009
25 Anniversaries
26 On the move
Executive Editor: Guy Cantwell
Managing Editor & Contributing Writer: Courtney Wilcox
Art Director: James McAnear
viewpoint
Dear co-worker:
This note comes to you
from our new office in
Geneva, which is right in
the middle of Transocean’s
global operations. I hope
my recent move here will allow
me to see more of you worldwide,
more easily. Over the past couple of months
for instance, I’ve had the opportunity to visit
co-workers in India, where I attempted to make
a speech in Hindi during the 2009 Safety Vision
Meeting (page 8), Korea, where I participated in the
naming of the newbuild Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1
(page 7), as well as Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia,
Singapore and Scotland.
That said, the move to Switzerland has definitely
been a change, which is also a subject on my mind
as I introduce this brand-new publication to you!
Beacon takes the place of our companywide
magazine, Offshore Frontiers, and our
companywide monthly newsletter, FIRST
Monthly, at quite a significant cost savings
to us and hopefully without sacrificing our
commitment to providing you timely, accurate
communications about what’s happening at
our company and with the many co-workers
who are the key to our success. Our Corporate
Communications team is working to bring you
the best of both worlds here in Beacon, as well as
expanding content for you to read online at our
Employee Communications intranet site FIRST
Online (http://first.rigemployees.com). Let us
know what you think about this, and every, issue
by e-mailing corpcomm@mail.deepwater.com.
As we continue to make our way through 2009,
our focus remains on providing our customers
with the best, safest service in the offshore
industry. Nobody does that better than you – in
fact, there are plenty of examples right here in this
issue – and I thank you for your continued service,
dedication and professionalism.
Bob Long
CEO
On the cover: A shot of residents at Port Harcourt’s Compassion Center for Disabled Children where Transocean has donated muchneeded supplies and funds, as well as a lot of time and attention over the years.
spring 2009 Beacon
3
Measuring our Success
Feedback, statistics, achievements, media mentions and more.
INBOX: Letters from our customers
Dhirubhai Deepwater
KG1 – Korea
AT THE OUTSET, LET me
thank you for your kind
hospitality during the
naming ceremony of
Dhirubhai Deepwater
KG1 in Korea last
week. We are thankful to you and your
team for hosting this
wonderful dinner
and accompanying
cultural programs.
My compliments
to you and your team for
bringing onstream this state-of-the-art, ultradeepwater rig. Once again thanking you and
your colleagues at Transocean for your efforts
and your kind hospitality.
P.M.S. Prasad
President and CEO, Reliance Industries
> Editor’s note: Read more about this and two
other newbuild naming ceremonies in the
“Around RIG” section starting on page 6.
Roger W. Mowell - Malaysia
IT’S BEEN A LONG AND POSITIVE
working relationship we’ve had between Talisman Malaysia and the Roger W. Mowell rig
and crew, and your recent safety milestone is
a great example of why that is. As you know,
it was just reported that you have all achieved
1 million man hours of work without a single
LTI. For you to have achieved this over
the long period despite the large and busy
workload you have is not only an admirable
achievement, it is also one which clearly demonstrates the excellent attitude and leadership
you all have toward safety and performance.
It is obvious to me from this that you are indeed taking proper care and planning time in
your work, and that you are always watching
your mate’s back, too.
As we all know, we never have to look far for
a sobering reminder of how important safety
attitude and performance are. It’s easy to let
the focus slide, so with my deep thanks and
4
Beacon spring 2009
congratulations, please also accept my encouragement to keep your eye squarely on the
ball. Time to start again and go for another
million now. Think safe, work safe, home safe.
Well done!
JONATHAN WRIGHT
Senior Vice President, Talisman Malaysia, Ltd.
Transocean Rather, Paul B. Loyd, Jr.
and GSF Galaxy I – North Sea
THE HSE PERFORMANCE OF OUR
North Sea Drilling and Completions operations saw a dramatic improvement from 2007
to 2008, and I’d like to acknowledge the
major contribution your teams have played in
achieving this step change in performance.
• 2008 TRIR was reduced by 40%, and 30%
lower than any previous year at least since
2004
• Spills are 65% down and spill volume is
99% down even accounting for a 23% increase in activity
I am not overlooking that we had two HiPo’s
(one on the Paul B. Loyd, Jr.), and we did still
injure a number of people, so I know everything is not as we want it to be but this should
not take away from the significant improvement we have seen over the last year.
Your team’s efforts on all three rigs have played
a significant part in this improved performance
and I’d ask you to pass on my personal thanks
to all involved for their efforts.
Morty Denholm
Wells Director, BP
GSF Adriatic VIII - Nigeria
JUST A NOTE TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE
thanks for the continuing commitment to
safety that Transocean has demonstrated on
the GSF Adriatic VIII. In one of the most remarkably challenging working environments
in the world, that team has built a culture of
commitment and demonstrated what can be
done when every person genuinely believes
that they can work without being injured …
without pain … NO HURT.
This rig now holds the record in ExxonMobil
Drilling for the longest continuing series of
Hurt-Free days (500 and counting). Thank
you for all your team’s support across the
entire chain of command.
Dave Anglin
Global Drilling Manager, ExxonMobil Drilling
GSF Galaxy II - North Sea
As the final sections of stair tower
are being removed from the platform and final
preparations to move the rig away, I would
like to express my thanks to all the Transocean
crews for welcoming the Petrofac team on
the rig, and for the excellent cooperation and
teamwork they provided. We have had growth
in scope (eroded x-mas trees etc.) and changes
to plan on the platform and rig programmes,
and your team has consistently put themselves
out to accommodate these in a positive and
constructive manner. Above all, your teams
have set an example and standard in their
attitude and approach to safe working which
the platform teams intend to emulate and carry
forward. I know this, because they told me.
Martin Bennett
Project Manager, Centrica
GSF Adriatic IX - Gabon
I would like to congratulate all
of the AD9 personnel on achieving a period
of three contractual years without suffering
a single Lost Time Accident. Each year Total
Gabon sets demanding HSE objectives and
for the last three years the Adriatic 9 has
consistently delivered a performance which
has exceeded these objectives. You have
been an example for the subsidiary. This
achievement is a testament to the efforts
made by each and every individual who has
worked on the rig during the Total Gabon
contract. Well done.
Michael Ryan
Drilling and Wells Division, TOTAL
HEADLINERS
Media Mentions
SAFETY MILESTONES
The GSF Adriatic II achieved eight years
without a Serious Injury Case (SIC) on
Dec. 16, 2008.
The Deepwater Horizon achieved six years
without a SIC on Feb. 28, 2009.
Discoverer Clear Leader Named
“Great Ship of 2008”
Transocean’s newbuild drillship
Discoverer Clear Leader was
featured on the December 2008
cover of the Maritime Reporter and
Engineering News, as one of the
magazine’s “Great Ships of 2008.”
Visit FIRST Online to read more and
to download the issue!
Discoverer Clear Leader
Featured on Offshore
Magazine Cover
The January 2009 Offshore
Magazine cover featured the
Discoverer Clear Leader as part of
ongoing news media coverage of
Transocean.
PERFORMANCE
MILESTONES
“The Deepwater Horizon’s crew takes personal
ownership of their safety process onboard,” said
Rig Manager Performance John Keeton. “To all
on the Deepwater Horizon please accept my
heartfelt congratulations to all and my gratitude
for being part of this team.” > Read the full text
of John’s submission to the March 2009 NAM
newsletter at FIRST Online!
The GSF High Island VII working offshore
Cameroon achieved 1,000 days without a
recordable incident (almost three years!) on
Dec. 31, 2008. > This just in! Congrats to
the HI7 team for being named a 2008 FIRST
Excellence Award recipient.
The GSF Magellan achieved one year without
a recordable incident in December 2008, and
three years without a SIC on Jan. 20, 2009.
The GSF Monarch achieved one year without
a recordable incident in December 2008.
The D.R. Stewart team reported 500
consecutive days injury free on Feb. 20, 2009.
The Roger W. Mowell in February reported one
million man hours without a SIC – and received
a nice letter from customer Talisman Malaysia.
Check it out in the letters section!
Jim Cunningham set 11 drilling records
in the West Africa South division during
2008, including six “average ROP (rate of
penetration) for hole section” and five “daily
meterage records.” The crew is pictured here
after they achieved their 11th record on Dec.
30, 2008.
The M.G. Hulme team on February 5
successfully completed Oberan 2, which is
the first well for ENI in Nigeria. This well was
previously considered un-drillable however
with use of Continuous Circulating
System the team executed
2009
the well in line with client
TRIR Target:
expectations. Congrats!
0.82
2009
SICR Target:
0.27
The Ron Tappmeyer team reported one year
without a recordable incident on Jan. 25, 2009.
“This is more proof of the great results that can
be achieved by a team that gains momentum
supporting the right tools, processes and is
committed to improvements,” said Marcelo
De Azeredo, QHSE Manager, India Division.
“When we start sharing beliefs and expectations,
is when the team culture starts to emerge and
solidify.”
The GSF Compact Driller achieved six years
without a “Day Away from Work Case”
working for Chevron on Jan. 31, 2009. Rig
Manager, Performance, Terry Brown accepted
a plaque from Mike Haas, Chevron’s Manager
of Drilling and Completions.
The GSF Adriatic IX achieved three years
without a SIC on Jan. 19, 2009.
The GSF Explorer achieved one year without a
SIC on Jan. 21, 2009.
“The winners in this deal are all of the people
who work with us and depend on us, but
primarily the people who matter most, our
families,” said Wullie Strachan, Rig Manager
Performance. “Let’s keep taking every day as
it comes and ensure that we plan effectively to
avoid risk, and should we see a change, make
sure we manage it. Great job.”
Safety Snapshot
TRIR*
SICR**
Asia and Pacific Unit (APU)
Far East and Australia (FEA)
Egypt and Middle East Division (EME)
India Division (IDI)
0.74
0.70
0.71
0.83
0.58
0.42
0.53
0.83
Europe and Africa Unit (EAU)
Gulf of Guinea Division (GGA)
North Sea and Mediterranean Division (NSM)
Norway Division (NRY)
West Africa South Division (WAS)
0.85
0.21
1.18
0.57
1.01
0.43
0.00
0.71
0.57
0.34
North and South America Unit (AMU)
North America Division (NAM)
South America Division (SAM)
0.92
0.68
1.22
0.23
0.00
0.52
0.82
0.42
by Unit and Division YTD March 31, 2009
Company Total
*Total Recordable Incident Rate per 200,000 hours worked.
**Serious Injury Case Rate per 200,000 hours worked.
spring 2009 Beacon
5
Around Rig
Development Driller III at KeppelFELS shipyard
in Singapore, February 2009.
NewbuildNews
Three More Newbuilds Mark
Construction Completion in Asia
Three formal “naming
ceremonies” for the drillship
Discoverer Americas,
semisubmersible Development
Driller III and the drillship
Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1
were held in February at
shipyards in Korea and
6
Beacon spring 2009
Singapore. Transocean
management and project teams
joined shipbuilders, clients,
vendors and other guests to
celebrate the occasions and
look on as each event’s sponsor
blessed the ships.
Discoverer Americas – Okpo, South Korea
Deepwater Champion
Strikes Steel
Sponsor Birthe Haldorsen Gronas, wife of StatoilHydro Drilling Superintendent Tore Gronas, did
the honors to formally name the Discoverer Americas at DSME’s shipyard in Okpo, South Korea
on February 2. The rig will go to work for client StatoilHydro in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following
systems integration, sea trials, mobilization to the Gulf and client acceptance. Guests at the event
in Korea enjoyed the naming event at DSME followed by a luncheon, and a dinner hosted by
Transocean in Busan.
As the construction process ended for three of
Transocean’s newbuild drillships in February,
another was just getting started! Project teams
on January 30 cut first steel on the newbuild
drillship Deepwater Champion at the Hyundai
Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, South
Korea. “Steel cutting” is the beginning of the
ship construction where the first pieces of
steel plate are cut. Steel cutting is followed by
several months of block construction (a block
is a large piece of the ship) and outfitting
(putting all the equipment, piping, cabling,
stairs, lights, etc., that go in a block). Next up:
Keel laying, which is expected this summer.
The rig is scheduled for delivery in 2010.
Development Driller III – Singapore, Singapore
Sponsor Lyn Thierens, wife of BP’s Gulf of Mexico Drilling & Completions Wells Director Harry
Thierens, was greeted by a Chinese New Year-themed lion dance at KeppelFELS shipyard in
Singapore to kick off the formal naming ceremony of the Development Driller III on February 7.
Following sea trials, mobilization and customer acceptance, the rig is contracted to work for BP in
the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. EVP of Performance Rob Saltiel congratulated everyone involved in this
achievement.
Discoverer Luanda Keel
Laying Ceremony in Okpo
Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 – Geoje, South Korea
Sponsor Anuradha Prasad, wife of Reliance CEO P.M.S. Prasad (see page 4), cut the ceremonial
rope at the naming ceremony of the ultra-deepwater drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1 on
February 23, releasing banners, balloons, confetti and fireworks that marked the end of the ship’s
construction and the beginning of a process to complete system integration tests and mobilization
to its first drilling location for Reliance Industries offshore eastern India in the Krishna Godavari
basin. At the event, Transocean CEO Bob Long highlighted the importance of the company’s longterm relationships with client Reliance and DDKG1 shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries, and
recognized SHI’s on-time, incident-free performance.
> View more photos at FIRST Online!
The Discoverer Luanda is a few steps ahead
of Deepwater Champion in the construction
process, as project teams at DSME in Okpo,
South Korea, held a keel-laying ceremony
for the rig on January 12. After striking steel,
“keel laying,” which is the act of placing the
first hull blocks into the drydock (building
dock) to start putting together the main
ship hull, is the next major drillship-building
milestone. The keel is the very bottom of the
ship hull. Keel laying is the act of placing the
first hull blocks into the drydock (building
dock) and starting to weld them together to
make the main ship hull. At this time, the
main ship blocks are normally finished and
have been placed beside the drydock so they
can be easily set inside the drydock.
spring 2009 Beacon
7
Around Rig
Transocean Safety Vision Meeting 2009
Mumbai, India
These divisions met or
exceeded The 2008 TRIR
target of 0.87.
Egypt and Middle East 0.62
Transocean’s senior management team in
February met to attend what CEO Bob Long
has called the most important meeting of his
year: the 2009 Safety Vision Meeting. Held
this year in Mumbai due to the India Division
reporting – for the second year in a row – the
company’s lowest TRIR of 0.56 as of Nov. 30,
2008, the meeting has become an annual
staple at Transocean to set safety goals and
improvement plans for the new year, as well
as celebrate the prior year’s safety successes.
ranked, and the top three proposals from each
group were voted on by all attendees, resulting
in the proposals that will move forward into
implementation. The top proposals make up
a “Safety Vision Clear Agreement Document”
outlining how to implement each one across
the company in 2009.
Attendees also discussed the formula for
safe and effective operations – Leadership,
Compliance and Accountability – during
“This meeting is held to celebrate our successes, challenge ourselves to
continue to meet the vision and to bring together a management team
that is the best in the industry. By taking the actions in the Safety
Vision Clear Agreement Document, we can move further
toward achieving the vision of incident-free operations … all the time,
everywhere.”
– Steven Newman, President and COO, as he closed the Safety Vision Meeting
Participants at this year’s meeting, including
executive, unit and division management,
focused on three areas key to ensuring
continued improvements in the company’s
safety performance: 1. Dropped Object
Prevention; 2. Integrity Management and
Major Hazards; and 3. THINK Planning
Process.
Making Plans to Improve HSE Performance
Attendees worked in groups to brainstorm
these topics, sharing lessons learned and ideas
from the company’s divisions, and developed
a list of actions that could be implemented to
improve HSE performance. These actions were
8
Beacon spring 2009
Gulf of Guinea
0.68
India
0.77
West Africa South
0.79
North East Asia
0.84
Celebrating Our Successes
The 2009 Safety Vision Meeting wrapped
up with a dinner to honor the India division
team, celebrate their achievements and
to congratulate all the divisions that met
or exceeded the 2008 TRIR target of 0.87
incidents per 200,000 hours worked. In fact,
if the reporting window had been extended
through December 2008 to determine the
lowest TRIR and where the 2009 Safety
Vision Meeting would be held, the Egypt and
Middle East division would have triumphed
with 0.62 TRIR.
The highlights of this year’s dinner
entertainment included a special dance
performance by Steven Newman, which he
promised the India Division team he’d do if
they were to host the Safety Vision Review
for two years in a row, and a welcome speech
made by Bob Long – in Hindi! If you haven’t
yet seen it, visit FIRST Online to view the
video Steven Newman’s dance, performed to
Indian pop hit “Mauja hi Mauja.”
discussions led by Steven Newman, President
and COO; Rob Saltiel, EVP Performance; and
Arnaud Bobillier, EVP Assets. Each Business
Unit’s senior vice president chaired related
group breakout sessions.
“We all left the meeting with a firm belief
that by focusing on Leadership, Compliance
and Accountability and implementing some
of the actions proposed in Mumbai, we
can continue to develop our safety culture,
improve our HSE performance, reduce our
serious near hits and dramatically cut the
number of dropped objects,” said Adrian
Rose, VP of QHSE.
Steven Newman, President and COO, performed a
dance in honor of the India Division’s strong safety
performance.
AMU Employees Prove Unit-Wide
‘Perfect Day’ is Within Reach!
Going Forward
In addition to the planning involved in
improving the company’s HSE performance,
attendees left armed with the official safety
targets for 2009. These include a TRIR of 0.82,
a SIC rate of 0.27 and, of course, zero fatalities.
> Look for updates on Transocean’s current
safety performance in each issue of Beacon in
the “Measuring Our Success” section.
Highlights of the Safety
Vision Clear Agreement
Document
Phase I – Making it Personal
•Plan Perfect Day visits by rig
management across the company
to deliver a personal message
on leadership, compliance and
accountability
•Make personal calls to OIMs by
Rob Saltiel, Arnaud Bobillier and
Larry McMahan pledging their
support and outlining 14 Asset
and Performance Expectations
Phase II - Implementation of
the top Solution Proposals
•Form Dropped Object Steering
Committees Offshore
•Include Dropped Object
Checklists on the THINK Risk
Assessment Prompt Card
•Initiate Division Manager Dropped
Object Incident Reviews
•Implement a formal Red Zone
policy
•Conduct more detailed scenariobased drills
•Provide Integrity Checklists for
Rig Manager visits offshore
• Increase awareness at all levels
offshore on the use of Operations
Integrity Cases (OIC) and Major
Hazard Risk Assessments (MHRA)
Thousands of Transocean employees working
in the company’s North and South America
business unit (AMU) produced outstanding
results on March 3 as the entire unit, for the first
time ever, set a goal and made a plan to achieve
a “perfect day” with no QHSE incidents or
company-related operational events.
heads to develop an implementation plan,
which included applying the THINK planning
process to all activities, conducting START
tours and conversations, tracking START
participation, calling planned “Time Outs”
and focusing on DROPs and hands-free lifting.
Follow-up conference calls were held with rig
OIMs to discuss expectations and review the
plan, and then meetings were held with the
crews to discuss Safety Leadership.
Rigorous application of the tools provided in
Transocean’s Company Management System,
including THINK and START, paid off: The
company’s North America division achieved
a “Perfect Day” on all 18 rigs and shorebased
facilities, and the South America division
achieved a “Perfect Day” on 13 of 14 rigs and
all shorebased facilities. The rig that did not
achieve the perfect day in SAM experienced
a minor spill of drilling mud, which was
contained on board.
“Achieving a perfect day, every day, is always
the goal in our operations, and we wanted
to prove that it doesn’t just happen by
chance,” said Chris Ness, Sr. Vice President,
AMU. “Each of our AMU employees proved
that by working together and following our
company management system, perfect days
can be expected!”
To accomplish this, division meetings were
held with Operations Managers, Rig Managers
(Performance and Asset) and department
Thanks to everyone in the AMU for
their continued efforts to enhance our
performance every day.
With Many Thanks!
Thanks to the following AMU teams for achieving a perfect day on March 3:
North America Division
GSF Development Driller II
Deepwater Navigator
Cajun Express
GSF C.R. Luigs
Falcon 100
Discoverer Americas
GSF Grand Banks
GSF Arctic I
Discoverer Clear Leader
Henry Goodrich
GSF Constellation I
Discoverer Deep Seas
JOIDES Resolution
GSF Monitor
•Incorporate planned Time Out For
Safety (TOFS) policy
Discoverer Enterprise
Transocean Amirante
Sedco 135-D
Discoverer Inspiration
Transocean Marianas
Sedco 706
•Require a written THINK Plan
with each TSTP (Task Specific
Think Procedure)
Discoverer Spirit
NAM office Locations
Sedco 707
Deepwater Nautilus
South America Division
Sovereign Explorer
•Incorporate a THINK Plan
monitoring system
Development Driller III
Deepwater Discovery
Transocean Driller
GSF Development Driller I
Deepwater Millennium
SAM office locations
•Improve Hazard Identification
Training
Sedco 710
Deepwater Horizon
spring 2009 Beacon
9
Around Rig
Asset Reliability Team Presents Maintenance
Findings in April
Project teams are analyzing feedback
gathered from Transocean people worldwide
to support the first phase of the company’s
Asset Reliability initiative, which is an effort
to make better-informed asset management
decisions that will optimize performance
and modernize maintenance practices. Led
by Doug Cooper, Manager, Maintenance
Strategy, and working with Lloyds Register,
the project team will report their findings
from eight site visits, eight rig visits and
a multitude of telephone interviews to
executive management in April.
effectively introducing any subsequent phases
of the Asset Reliability project, and we thank
everyone who supported our visits.”
“Our visits with many employees working
on and offshore gave us good insight into
our people’s perceptions of how asset and
performance management are presently
working,” said Bill Ambrose, Director,
Maintenance and Technical Support. “This
feedback will play an important role in
> For more information about Asset
Reliability, call Doug Cooper at +1 713-2327074 or e-mail ar@deepwater.com.
AR project teams visited with Transocean people on
and offshore Houston, Aberdeen, Stavanger, Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Cairo and Paris to benchmark
current maintenance and operating practices.
QHSE Group Kicks Off Operations Safety Development Program
The QHSE group
has spent the past
year developing
a program, the
Operations Safety
Development
Program, which
takes high potential leaders from throughout
Transocean and puts them into a 14-month,
structured safety development program within
the corporate QHSE team.
People
Focus
The OSDP builds on the success of two former
development programs, OSA and RMSDP,
but with a focus on the future demands of our
business. The program includes:
•Enhanced knowledge of QHSE processes
•Becoming deeply familiar with major
company processes
•Departmental orientations and immersions
•Involvement in QHSE projects
•External training
A candidate’s participation in OSDP is no
guarantee of promotion, as that depends on
the performance of each individual, but the
10
Beacon spring 2009
general goal is to turn out candidates with
skills to eventually progress at least two to
three levels above the position they held before
entering OSDP.
Sutherland, OSDP’s first participant. “The
time and commitment that’s been devoted to
supporting this program further highlights
Transocean’s commitment to develop its people.”
“ The time and commitment that’s been devoted to supporting this program
further highlights Transocean’s commitment to
develop its people.
”
Stuart Sutherland, OSDP’s First Participant
A candidate’s nomination starts with a
submission or request to a line manager, who
reviews the candidate based on a set of criteria
before routing the nomination up through
other levels of approval. Final selection
is made jointly by the corporate QHSE
group and each Business Unit’s Senior Vice
President on a rolling basis. Approximately
four slots are still available in 2009, and all
slots for 2010 remain open.
“Now that I have completed my first trip, I
am honored and excited by the magnitude
of opportunity I have to develop my personal
skills in this program, and overwhelmed by the
support I have received from all departments
and various Business Units,” said Stuart
“I believe in the coming years our continued
success as an organization will depend on
developing those people we know to have
the potential to be leaders in both safety and
performance,” said Adrian Rose, VP of QHSE.
“The success of this people development
program is dependent upon the quality of
the participants, the curriculum and the
support received from each of our Business
Units worldwide. I look forward to receiving
nominations for individuals who you believe
are the future of Transocean.”
> For more information, see the Health and
Safety Manual HQS-HSE-PP01 Section 4
Subsection 1.4, which can be found in the
QHSE Services section of RIGCentral.
The New RSTC
To increase the impact our Rig Safety
Training Coordinators (RSTCs) have
on Health, Safety and Environmental
(HSE) performance offshore, a company
task force has made a number of
enhancements to the RSTC position that
are being rolled out worldwide right now!
Changes include a new RSTC job
description designed to ensure RSTCs
provide even more effective leadership
in the use of our safety tools like THINK,
START and Time Out for Safety. A
functional report to QHSE management
onshore, in addition to the rig OIM, will
increase communication and support,
and three specific employee grades
provide structured progress from entryto senior-level positions. What’s more,
a formal workshop will be offered to all
current RSTCs that will fine-tune skills,
increase knowledge and encourage
lateral learning by networking with coworkers.
All of this is designed to provide a
succession pathway that helps RSTCs
achieve more within the company, and
encourages new people to consider
becoming RSTCs. In fact, Transocean is
even hosting “assessment days” where
potential RSTCs can learn more about
the role.
“RSTCs are crucial to our HSE
performance, as they are responsible for
reinforcing the importance of our safety
vision on the front lines of our operation
each day,” said Adrian Rose, VP of QHSE.
“The changes we’ve made provide more
opportunity for our RSTCs to grow in
a career that’s rooted in the support of
ensuring incident-free operations.”
Be on the lookout for information
packets provided by QHSE and HR
in the coming months that detail
the recent changes. You’ll also see
information about “assessment
days” for potential RSTCs and a new
workshop for existing RSTCs. > You
can find a list of task force participants,
along with more detailed information
provided by QHSE, at FIRST Online.
Top-Set Incident Investigation Tool
Adopted Worldwide
The Nigeria team participated in Top-Set training
on March 11 in Lagos. Read more about the team on
Page 12 .
To get to the root cause of safety and
operational incidents (including “near hits”)
at Transocean, the company has adopted the
Kelvin Top-Set investigation process worldwide
to help Transocean personnel understand the
real reasons that incidents occur. And most
importantly, learn from those mistakes.
The Top-Set process is well-respected and
widely used by Transocean clients, as well
as leaders in other heavy industries, for its
proven approach to “Root Cause Analysis.”
“In order to achieve our vision of an incident-free
workplace, we need to provide our people with
the tools they need to succeed,” said Jimmy
Moore, Director of QHSE. “Top-Set is one of
those tools.”
The time-honored Top-Set methodology was
developed by Kelvin Top-Set Consultants
in 1986 with classes offered by their trainers
worldwide. Working with Kelvin, Transocean
has brought their entire training process inhouse and has developed multiple training
sessions for different levels with the support of
numerous “investigator” trainers, who teach
one-day sessions, and six “master” trainers,
who teach three-day sessions for seniorlevel investigators. It’s a groundbreaking
accomplishment, as Kelvin to date has not
allowed any other company to offer in-house
training up through their master level.
Trainers have already conducted pilot sessions,
with the first official class held in February.
Photos of some of the first sessions in Nigeria,
Canada and Malaysia are at FIRST Online!
> For more information on who is
required to attend Top-Set training and
at what level, visit RIGCentral>Human
Resources>Training>Training Matrix Jan 1st
2009. For other issues, contact Harry Cooper at
harry.cooper@deepwater.com.
ERP Delivers Solutions for Global Excellence
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
project will improve the company’s Finance,
Supply Chain and Asset Management
systems and business processes in April 2010
for 5,000 Transocean employees who will
use verified, relevant data to make better
business decisions. It also will help automate
key processes and reduce manual work and
administrative tasks.
ERP Change
Agents
Almost 150
“Change
Agents” —
People from all
Business Units
and various functions, have been chosen to
inform their peers and colleagues about the
upcoming systems and process improvements.
Ready (informed), Willing (active participants)
and Able (capable end users from training),
they will collect employee feedback and
share concerns with the ERP Project Team.
They can also provide up-to-date ERP Project
information. For a complete listing of Change
Agents to contact, please visit: http://www.
rigcentral.com/integration/erp/index.asp
> Watch for ERP updates right here in Beacon.
Please direct any ERP Project questions to
ERPProject@mail.deepwater.com.
Delivering Solutions for
Global Excellence
spring 2009 Beacon
11
Nigeria
In Focus
Austin Eluojerio, Assistant Driller, and Emeka Asogwa, Roughneck, hard at work on the Deepwater Pathfinder
12
Beacon spring 2009
It’s true that life and
work in Nigeria have
their challenges,
but take a closer
look and you’ll see
that Transocean coworkers are pros
at overcoming any
obstacles – and even
having a little fun, too.
spring 2009 Beacon
13
The Deepwater Pathfinder and Sedco Energy both work offshore Nigeria. At right: Dele Badejo, Neil Methven, Ken Chukwu and Harvey Snowling
L
agos, Federal Republic of Nigeria – At 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning in January, Transocean’s office on Victoria Island is
already humming with activity. And it’s not just the sound of the generators regularly switching on to ensure the building’s
got electricity – and air conditioning – on an already-hot winter morning. Transocean team members file in, grab their
morning coffee and firm up preparations for an 8 a.m. meeting with representatives from client Total that kicks off a
week-long Performance Monitoring Audit and Assessment (PMAA) audit on the GSF Jack Ryan. After thoroughly discussing the
PMAA, which is a health check on the rig’s application of company policies and an opportunity to identify improvement areas,
some of the staffers return to their offices to work (with promises to attend the staff’s regular Sunday evening barbeque held in
town). At the same time, others arrive to work on project plans for an M.G. Hulme Jr. shipyard visit in 2010, while those who have
the rest of the day off head out the door to meet their co-workers at the adjacent boat dock for a trip to check on the recentlyinstalled pool at Transocean’s beach hut.
One thing is clear: the team in Nigeria is constantly focused on making improvements –offshore on the 13 rigs at work in the region,
in the office … even at the beach.
Zooming in on Operations
Nigeria is not immune to the recent global
financial crisis, recently experiencing slumping
oil income and a depreciating currency. But the
fact remains that 90 percent of the country’s
income is based on oil, says Dan Munoz, Gulf
of Guinea Division Manager.
“An average well declines about 15 percent
each year,” he said. “Which means, we have
to drill.”
Some of Transocean’s currently 13 rigs in
the region are expected to stay for at least
a few more years (and some have already
been working offshore there for years). Two
of the company’s three ultra-deepwater rigs
working offshore Nigeria, the GSF Jack Ryan
and the Sedco Energy, are contracted to
work until 2011 and 2013, respectively. The
14
Beacon spring 2009
drillship Deepwater Pathfinder is expected to
move offshore Ivory Coast early next year –
remaining in the GGA – and later mobilize
to the Gulf of Mexico. The GSF Adriatic VIII
(a 2007 FIRST Excellence Award winner) and
the GSF Baltic, two of the region’s superstar
jackups working for ExxonMobil, are also
working in the region under contracts. The
semisubmersible Sedco 702 also is expected to
work in the region until 2011.
Harvey Snowling came to Nigeria three
years ago working as the Rig Manager of
the Deepwater Pathfinder. Today, working
as Operations Manager for the entire GGA
division, he recognizes some of the current
economic challenges but sees Nigeria
remaining a major operation – especially in
deepwater.
“We’ve been drilling in Nigeria more than 40
years, and I don’t see any reason why there
won’t be another 40,” he said. “We might
have to advance different technologies, but
we have moved from all the swamp rigs that
we had long before and now concentrate on
our jackup and deepwater offshore work in
fields like Bonga, Akpo and Agbami. So we’re
getting right out there and right off the shelf.”
Did you know?
In 1964, The Offshore Company’s (a
Transocean predecessor company)
14-legged jackup drilling barge Rig
52 claimed Nigeria’s first offshore
discovery, working for Amoseas.
As 2009 kicks off, the operations expectations
are clear. Fourteen of them, to be exact.
“I think 2009 is a big stepping stone for Transocean to move forward, and to
really hone in on some of the fundamentals: leadership, compliance
and accountability. I think with those key points we will definitely succeed
in doing even better than we did in 2008.”
Harvey Snowling, Operations Manager
“One thing we’re going to focus on in 2009 are
the 14 Asset and Performance Expectations that
were delivered from corporate management,”
Harvey said. “We’re taking these 14
expectations, and we’re embedding them in our
culture here with the team onshore as well as to
our units offshore.”
Armed with these 14 expectations, the team
aims to keep reporting performance and safety
successes, but most importantly, to constantly
improve. Performance improvement, Harvey
said, is a milestone, too.
“You can always look at a success for, say, first oil
for Akpo or Agbami, but some of the successes
are when you take units that are maybe having
challenges and work together with the team
to ensure we swiftly bring it back to a level
that indeed gives customer satisfaction and
Nigeria Operations Snapshot
Supported by shorebased offices in
Lagos and Port Harcourt, the following
Transocean rigs currently are working
offshore Nigeria.
GSF Jack Ryan
Deepwater Pathfinder
Sedco Energy
Lagos
Sedco 709
Sedco 702
M.G. Hulme Jr.
Trident IV
Trident VIII
GSF High Island IX
GSF Adriatic VI
GSF Adriatic VIII
GSF Baltic
The Sedco 700 is due to arrive on the
scene from the Congo in May.
Major Nigerian Oil Fields
Agbami Field – discovered in 1998,
first production in 2008.
Akpo – discovered off the coast of
Port Harcourt in 2000.
Bonga – discovered in 1996, first
production in November 2005.
Port harcourt
spring 2009 Beacon
15
Christophe “Popeye” Gambotti, OIM
on the Deepwater Pathfinder
Ion Cristian, Assistant Driller,
GSF Jack Ryan
Carlyce Ndikom (center), Assistant Driller talks to two of his
co-workers on the Sedco Energy: Phil Smethurst, Toolpusher
(left) and Robin Hanks, Senior Toolpusher (right)
Roustabout Andrew Sunday, enjoying
work aboard the Sedco Energy
Bright Amadi, Roustabout on the GSF Jack Ryan
“Working in the oil industry is an exceptional way to get to see some
awesome things that most people can only see on TV.”
Dan Munoz, GGA Division Manager
optimum performance. Then embed this in the
culture of the rig. The secret is to monitor closely
any peaks and troughs over every operation in
GGA and soon as you have a tell-tale trend, take
direct action to get back on track.”
Safety: The Center of Attention
Like many other regions, the team in Nigeria is
focused on achieving incident-free operations,
and the focus on the rigs now is on serious near
hits and dropped objects.
“One of our goals this year is to come to grips
with why we’re dropping things, said Melissa
Clare, GGA’s QHSE Manager. “It used to be
static dropped objects and now we find that
16
Beacon spring 2009
we’re having more problems with dynamic
dropped objects, so lifting operations are a
key focus.”
The importance of eliminating dropped objects
carries particular significance to the team here
in Nigeria, and especially the crews aboard the
GSF Jack Ryan, who lost a co-worker due to a
dropped object incident in October 2008.
“It was devastating to lose a member of the
Transocean team,” said Harvey Snowling, GGA
Operations Manager. “But I believe firmly that
the teams will put this behind us - never forget
- but we’ll move on. We’re coming through a
new year, we’re successful to date and we will
continue to put one foot in front of the other,
one day at a time.”
As of March 31, 2009, the latest available
monthly safety report, the entire GGA division
was on the right track for the year, currently
holding the company’s lowest TRIR and SICR.
In addition to being safety focused, the rig
crews have been increasingly focused on
environmental stewardship.
“The people on the rigs have been very excited
to participate in Green Teams and serve as
environmental watchmen,” said QHSE Advisor
Tony Igho, who has worked for the company
for 20 years. “The fish and whales swimming
around our installations are clear evidence that
we are not hostile to the environment.”
Onshore, the team works to implement
improvements as well, most recently paving
the Port Harcourt yard and installing a draining
system in order to prevent any contaminants
from getting into the ground water.
Spotlight on Melissa Clare
because of that and because right away
I was promised time offshore, rather than
starting as an Ops Engineer onshore
where you may spend more time
shuffling reports and doing admin duties.”
Beyond all the regular challenges of running
safe and environmentally friendly operations,
the team in Nigeria stands out due to added
health prevention (diseases like malaria and
typhoid are endemic here, so more health
issues naturally arise) and security issues.
Crime, local militancy and kidnappings are
problems, both onshore and off, and an
upsurge in criminal activity since 2006 led the
company to move most shorebased employees,
rotational and resident, out of Port Harcourt.
Safety is taken very seriously here,” says Ken
Chukwu, Senior Security Coordinator in Port
Harcourt, where many rigs crew change.
However, most employees there will tell you
that if you remain “on your toes,” and follow
Transocean’s highly stringent security protocol,
life and work in Nigeria can be safe – even
relatively normal most days! And everyone will
tell you that any problems are only due to small
groups of people and exist in certain areas.
Neil Methven, QHSE Advisor for the GGA
Division, has been living in Nigeria for 14
years. Married to Kemi, who hails from Port
If you work at Transocean, chances
are you’ve heard about Melissa Clare,
currently GGA QHSE Manager. Her
photo has been featured in recruiting
materials, benefits packets and company
intranet sites, not to mention both local
and national newspapers in the United
Kingdom. Part of this is, of course, due
to the fact that she’s one of the few
women in the industry that has held
management-level positions both on and
offshore. But Melissa’s real claim to fame
is her remarkable career at the company,
which proves there’s no limit to what you
can do here at Transocean! In her 10
years at the company she’s held diverse
roles, including work as a roustabout, a
roughneck, a wellsite engineer, a drilling
supervisor, a rig manager and now a
QHSE manager.
Melissa, a native of Scotland, was exposed
to a career offshore at a young age.
“When I was 10, I remember seeing a
semisubmersible at a dock near my
village,” she said. “I remember thinking
I should have been put off by the way
it interrupted the landscape, but I was
kind of fascinated with it. Turns out, 14
years later that very rig – GSF Rig 140
– was the very first I set foot on at the
beginning of my offshore career.”
Her early encounter with the GSF Rig
140 may have been a coincidence, but
getting hired at Transocean sure wasn’t.
Upon her graduation from Aberdeen’s
Robert Gordon University in 1998, she
was heavily recruited by the company
(along with many others) to join a fiveyear development program for graduate
engineers at Transocean predecessor
company Santa Fe International.
Anor Godwin, Crane Operator on the Sedco Energy
has a conversation with his co-workers prior to
starting a job
“The development program was
fundamental and was absolutely
fantastic,” she said. “I joined Transocean
Following four years of offshore work
and one year in the Aberdeen office,
Melissa was off to Canada where she
worked as a Performance Engineer. At
the end of a year, she turned down an
opportunity to go back to the North Sea
as a Senior Drilling Engineer to stay on in
Canada as an Operations Superintendent,
which, she said, took her one step closer
to her goal of being a Rig Manager. Six
months later, Melissa became rig Manager
of the GSF Labrador – and one of the first
female rig managers in the history of the
offshore drilling industry.
Today, her job as QHSE Manager in
Lagos is another big milestone along her
career path – she’s the first single female
employee that the company’s ever had
living in the country – and one that she
didn’t expect she’d like so much!
“When I first heard Nigeria, I have to
say, my first thought was ‘oh no.’” she
chuckled. “I think back now and I kind
of laugh at that. Like most people I had
only heard the bad things about Nigeria,
and never taken the time to find out
the good things. There are areas that
are challenging, but the local people
are so friendly and it’s just a lovely
atmosphere here.”
Now, Melissa looks forward to where she
may go next.
“My next position may be in Sales and
Marketing, it may be in HR, it may be
in Finance and I’m really excited about
where I might go next and what I might
be doing,” she said. “That said, it will be
difficult to leave Nigeria because it’s a
great place to work and a great place
to live.”
> MEET MORE OF THE TEAM ONLINE
We hear this everywhere: you can
have the best iron in the world, but it’s
Transocean’s people that really make the
company a success. While we couldn’t
possibly introduce you to each of the
more than 1,200 employees working
on and offshore Nigeria (we wish we
could!), we’ll spotlight a few people we
met along the way at FIRST Online.
spring 2009 Beacon
17
L to R: Dan Munoz; Kennedy Akuruka, Maintenance Roustabout, GSF Jack Ryan; Clockwise from left: Mina Prah, Derrickman, Samuel Aneke, Floorman and Ion Cristian converse
with co-workers aboard the GSF Jack Ryan
“The expertise that Transocean has drilling wells is second to none in
the industry. You get to work with so many people, with so many years of
experience. You get to know a lot and that really sets you up for the future.”
Lolu Emiola, REP Participant
Harcourt, Neil is the first one to tell you
Nigeria is a great place to live – even since
heightened security two years ago brought
them to a protected camp rather than living
in a local village.
“The people here are excellent people, Neil
said. They always have time to give you a
smile. You go to other nations in the world
and you do not see that.”
National employees in the region stress that
Nigeria is a very friendly place, despite its bad
reputation in the news.
“I want people to understand that Nigeria is
not a place where you fight,” said Tony Igho,
QHSE Advisor, who’s originally from Port
Harcourt. “Nigeria is a place where you show
respect and share respect.”
People Focus
The team in Nigeria has made great progress
to develop people over the years, especially
Nigerian co-workers, an effort that recently
resulted in promoting Austin Efeadua to OIM
on the Trident 8 – the first Nigerian to hold that
position.
18
Beacon spring 2009
“When you start to get local employees to
Offshore Installation Manager, I think that’s a
major milestone,” said Harvey. “We’ve got one
more guy right behind him, so I think we’re
really making good headway. We’re not just
trying to do it, we’re really doing it. Hopefully
one day one of them will be sitting in my job!”
Sedco 709 Rig Manager and Lagos-native Dele
Badejo says that developing people is one of his
passions, and the great thing about Transocean
is that anyone can fit in.
“I enjoy developing people. I enjoy impacting
their lives and guiding them, giving them
encouragement, motivating them,” he said.
“Different people have different needs and likes,
and I’m sure that any young man or young
woman who would join us today would be able
to meet their career aspirations – be it onshore,
offshore, marketing, HR, engineering … we are
able to take care of that.”
Lolu Emiola, currently participating in the Rig
Engineering Program, adds that in addition to
a wide variety of choice in your career path and
the ability to progress, Transocean’s position as
a technical leader in the industry is a big draw.
“The expertise that Transocean has drilling wells
is second to none in the industry,” he said. “You
get to work with so many people, with so many
years of experience. You get to know a lot and
that really sets you up for the future.”
That future depends on today’s leaders, said
Dan Munoz.
“I think it’s incumbent for folks at my level to
ensure that we pass on traditions, our culture of
integrity, that we ensure that our younger folks
understand where we’ve come from,” said Dan.
“People say, well, it’s OK to focus on where
you’re going, but don’t ever forget where you
come from.”
And Neil Methven pointed out that despite
all of the progress to develop people, there’s
always room for improvement, and from there,
the sky’s the limit!
“I try to give my people specific examples
of those that come into a position and are
now working in Aberdeen or in South Africa
or over in Houston,” he said. “So there are
opportunities, and it’s something we need to
push a little further.”
24 Hours
in Lagos
If you’re not a resident in a city where Transocean
has operations, you’re probably passing through on a
crew change, headed to a meeting or participating in a
training session. Whatever you’re doing, you probably
don’t have a lot of spare time. In this section we’ll share
some of the highlights of a particular city or region that
you can experience even if the clock is ticking.
7 AM: Fishing
During fishing season between November and March,
there are quite a few fishing tournaments in the area
with weigh-ins at the Apapa Boat Club in Lagos.
Opportunities to catch marlin (Dan Munoz has caught a
300-pounder!), tuna, and mahi mahi are available in the
deeper waters of the gulf, while some very large barracuda
can be caught in the shallower waters of the canals.
11 AM: Hit the Beach!
Like most Transocean locations, Lagos is located close to the ocean, with
many beaches to enjoy the beautiful Gulf of Guinea. Some of the beaches,
like the one where Transocean keeps a small hut for residents and visitors
to enjoy on weekends, are flanked by canals and can only be accessed by
boats or canoes – making the trip there an adventure in itself.
2 PM: Fore! Golf at the Ikoyi Club
Perhaps Nigeria’s most famous golf club, Ikoyi is where progolfer Vijay Singh’s competitive career really took off – and
is a calm oasis in the middle of a bustling Lagos.
8 PM: Bonsai Restaurant
You can get a boatload of sushi (literally, the sushi comes
to the table on a big wooden boat) at this Victoria Island
restaurant, which features Japanese cuisine. A popular
spot for dinner, Bonsai is a local favorite for fine dining.
It probably goes without saying, but any recreational
activities in Nigeria need to be cleared by the company’s
security team if you’re there on company business. Do not
attempt to move around Nigeria on your own.
spring 2009 Beacon
19
The focus on continued
improvement doesn’t
stop on the rigs or at
the offices in Nigeria.
Co-workers there have
given a lot – time and
effort, financial support,
supplies – to improve
the lives of people in
Nigerian communities.
Beacon spotlights two
great efforts in Port
Harcourt.
Reaching Out
in Nigeria
20
Beacon spring 2009
Compassion Centre for Physically
Disabled Children
While it’s not all fun and games for the children
at the Compassion Centre for Physically
Disabled Children in Port Harcourt – most
have been stricken with polio and suffer major
deformities and physical disabilities – the
mood there on January 22 was similar to any
other day: joyful. So joyful, in fact, that during
a song singing session, kids would jump from
their chairs – leg braces, bowed legs and all – to
really get into the clapping and drum beats,
and show off their dance moves (we’ve got
video at FIRST Online!).
as primary schooling – work that’s resulted
in most of the children going on to lead very
normal lives.
degree. Weli Whyte Obunazie is in a fiveyear electrical engineering program at the
University of Port Harcourt.
“Most of our children have passed to
university,” Sister Pauline stated proudly.
“Every day we go around and see Transocean’s
name on various beds and refrigerators and
things, and we say thanks.”
All agree that Transocean’s support has helped
them get to where they are today … and
they are just a few examples of local youth
benefiting from the company’s efforts to
provide educational opportunities.
Scholarships Create Opportunity
for Port Harcourt Youth
“The scholarship has created opportunity for
me, rather than doing nothing,” said Clinton.
Because of Transocean scholarships to
participate in a local skills acquisition
program, Gift Wosu and Maurewn Weiie
attended a hairdressing school in Port
Harcourt and now run their own businesses.
Elena Christy Mkesi was able to obtain a
laptop and other supplies to attend the
University of Science and Technology in
Port Harcourt – she graduates this year with
Collins Amadigwe, another scholarship
recipient. Clinton Wehere recently
celebrated his graduation from the same
school with a mechanical engineering
Neil Methven said that there are quite a
number of students who have been given
scholarships at university, as well as training
to become hairdressers, mechanics and
welders – programs that are expected to
continue in the coming years.
“I really wish to go for my master’s degree
and be ready to start work at a company like
Transocean,” said Weli.
Elena agrees. “It’s a company that creates
opportunities,” she said.
At the conclusion of “Lean on Me,” Sister
Pauline Butler, a tiny Irish woman who serves
as medical coordinator at the center, starts up
a football (soccer) game outside. Not being
able to run, the children fly around the yard on
their hands and knees as fast and competitively
as any other kid.
“These children are special, but then no two
people are the same no matter what,” Sister
Pauline said with a smile. “They’re quite good
at football, even some of them with very little
use of their legs. They’re just full of life.”
Transocean co-workers on the drillship
Deepwater Discovery, which recently departed
Nigeria to work in Brazil, were the first to find
the home and begin making donations, said
Stuart Buchanan, a former member of the
DWD team and Nigeria resident.
Over the years the company has brought
things like mattresses, refrigerators and
blankets to the children, as well as regular
supplies of food, in addition to financial
contributions raised through efforts like rig
raffles. These donations have helped the
Compassion Centre support operations and
rehabilitative work with the children, as well
Above: L to R: Maurewn Weiie, Gift Wosu, Collins Amadigwe, Elena Christy Mkesi, Clinton Wehere (standing)
and Weli Whyte Obunazie have all received scholarships for education and skills acquisition training from
Transocean in recent years.
spring 2009 Beacon
21
Responsibility
A deep commitment to our people and the
places where we live and work
Loving the Limbe
Wildlife Center!
The Limbe Wildlife Center in the Republic
of Cameroon received a special gift from
Transocean on Valentine’s Day (February 14)
– a donation of $1,000 USD to help ensure
the long-term survival of the gorillas, chimps,
mandrills, drill monkeys, olive baboons,
guenon monkeys, rock pythons, dwarf
crocodiles, African grey parrots and other
species of wildlife, most of them endangered,
and to support the education and awareness
of Cameroon’s unique wildlife.
The LWC, while not a zoo, is open to the
public and is one of the few places that people
can see and learn about these special animals
and the conservation issues that affect them.
The not-for-profit LWC opened its doors
in 1993, founded as a collaborative effort
between the Cameroon government and the
Pandrillus Foundation, and is fully-funded by
donations. Its location at the base of Mount
22
Beacon spring 2009
Cameroon in the small fishing town of Limbe
boasts the second-highest level of biodiversity
in Africa and provides a home to many
endemic and critically endangered primates.
wife Paula and Melissa Clare, GGA QHSE
Manager. > Check out more photos of the
LWC and GGA’s efforts to give back to the
community at FIRST Online.
Did you know?
Cameroon is one of the few countries
where coastal and lowland gorillas exist,
growing up to six feet tall and weighing
more than 460 pounds (210 kilograms).
They are primarily vegetarian, with
much of their diet consisting of
plants like bamboo, wild celery and
other leaves. In addition to gorillas,
Cameroon is one of the last remaining
habitats for drill monkeys, of which
there are only about 3,000 left in the
wild, and chimpanzees.
Transocean’s donation was made to LWC
Manager Felix Lankester on behalf of the
Gulf of Guinea division by Michael Watt,
High Island VII Performance Manager, his
Felix Lankester (center), LWC Project Manager;
Melissa Clare (left), QHSE Manager; and Mike Watt,
High Island VII Rig Manager – Performance.
Transocean Continues Support of
Udaan at “Annual Day” in Mumbai
The team in Mumbai continued its nearly five
years of support to Udaan, an educational
center for underprivileged children in Mumbai,
on January 26 by attending the organization’s
“Annual Day,” featuring performances by each
class that included dancing, poems, drama,
musicals and ballet. The evening’s program,
attended by India Division Manager Steve
Myers and HR Manager Rob Mason, was
themed “education is the key to change.”
“The Annual Day is an opportunity for
our children to showcase their talent and
reinforce Udaan’s commitment in providing
the children holistic learning with focus
on extra curricular activities like dance, art
and drama to make them into confident
individuals,” said Mamta Rangan, Udaan
Founder and Chairperson.”Transocean’s
generous support over the years has helped
Udaan in reaching out to more than 300
children and has given the children an
opportunity to follow their dreams.”
Go
Green!
Glen Fabre (right), Marianas Crane Operator,
delivered 115 blankets to Randy Stegall, President
of the Tangipahoa Parish Chapter of the Louisiana
Humane Society.
When the Transocean Marianas needed to
change out some worn blankets on their rig,
RSTC Sheri Brener contacted the Louisiana
Humane Society to see if others, namely
homeless animals, could use them. The answer
was an enthusiastic “yes” and on February
6 the rig arranged for 115 blankets to be
delivered to the Tangipahoa Parish Chapter of
the Humane Society. Marianas Crane Operator
Glen Fabre personally picked up the blankets
at the Amelia yard and hand-delivered the gift.
One of the performances, for instance, focused
on the affects of global warming, while
another focused on the recent terrorist attacks
in Mumbai with the children presenting
the message ‘peace alone triumphs’ to
the audience at the conclusion. The best
performers by class level were given awards.
“The Humane Society was very excited to get
such a large number of blankets, and will
distribute them to their branches that are in
need,” said Sheri.
Environmental Friendliness Tip of the Issue!
There are many
little things
you can do
to be more
environmentally
friendly, and we
thought we’d pick an
interesting one from time-to-time to tell you
about. The APU QHSE newsletter tipped
us off about this one: USBCELL batteries,
batteries that recharge with USB ports!
Marianas Donates
Blankets to Louisiana
Humane Society
of the need for separate chargers. This
battery, however, can be used up to 500
times and plugs directly into any USB port,
so it is great for travelers! For more info,
visit www.usbcell.com.
More than 15 billion alkaline batteries are
made and thrown away each year, mostly
in landfills, creating significant toxic waste.
In addition, research shows that many
rechargeable batteries aren’t used because
Thanks to the Transocean Marianas team for
donating these blankets to our furry friends.
> To learn more about the Louisiana Humane
Society, visit www.humanela.org.
A Humane Society resident enjoys a new blanket
courtesy of the Transocean Marianas team.
spring 2009 Beacon
23
Rig People
SPOTLIGHT ON
Happy New Year!
George Davidson
George Davidson
(center) accepted his
award from Sir Ian
Wood, chief executive
of The Wood Group,
and Jackie Bird, BBC
Scotland TV and
Radio presenter.
George Davidson, Crane Operator on the Sedco
714, on February 5 was selected by client Total to
receive the “Mobile Drilling Rigs Award” during
their annual Safety Health & Environment
awards ceremony at the Marcliffe Hotel
in Aberdeen. The awards ceremony
recognized outstanding individual or
team achievements in Health Safety and
Environment. George was nominated by
Total staff, and won the award from a pool of
15 nominees and three finalists for “leading
by example and inspiring others with his
energy and initiative, and making an exceptional
contribution toward the overall SH&E performance
for 2008,” said Total.
The crews of the Sedco 601 working offshore
Malaysia recently enjoyed Chinese New Year
festivities aboard the rig. This year’s Chinese
New Year began on Jan. 26, 2009.
Houston Audit Team
Visits Korea
“George takes his responsibilities as a mentor up to another level,”
said Ian Chisnall, Sedco 714 Performance Rig Manager. “With the number
of new personnel we see going through the rig without rig experience, we
have to be tuned into the mentoring aspect. George has been recognized by
our client as being a great mentor for new personnel, a great team player,
inviting and involving Service Provider participation in all our systems, and
setting high expectations in the safety regime.”
Congratulations to George, and keep up the great work!!
The Houston Audit team in February visited
Transocean’s project team in Okpo, South
Korea for a review of operations at DSME
shipyard. L to R: Naomi Cancienne, Audit
Manager; Anne Nelson Auditor III; Kirk
Anderson, Lead Auditor; Hiren Thakkar,
Auditor III; and Clayton Kamin, Auditor III.
Marita Ness
When Marita Ness isn’t busy being a regular
22-year-old student at the Stavanger Offshore
Technical School and an advocate for young
employees in her work as the head of the
Industri Energi union’s youth committee,
she heads offshore to work as a
Roustabout on the Transocean Arctic.
SLF Training in Canada
“I think the job is fantastically exciting.
Couldn’t be better,” she said. “I like the
job because it’s never possible to predict
what the day will bring.”
She takes this enthusiasm for life and work
offshore back to the IE union’s youth committee
in order to provide personal and professional
support to the company’s young employees in the area.
Marita says there are nearly 100 in her committee’s target group alone.
Thanks to Marita for her efforts at Transocean and her support of her coworkers! > Read her full profile that was printed in the Norway division’s
newsletter at FIRST Online. Our thanks to the publication for allowing
Beacon to re-print information and quotes from that story here!
24
Beacon spring 2009
Marita Ness
The first three NAM division Safety Leadership Foundation workshops were recently
completed in St. Johns, Newfoundland, with
crew members from the Henry Goodrich and
the Grand Banks participating. The work-
shops cover Transocean safety processes such
as THINK, START, Permit To Work, Time Out
For Safety and Management of Change. In
addition, a major focus of the workshops is to
help people understand what a safety leader
is and how to use the processes correctly and
consistently to achieve the company’s Safety
Vision of an incident-free workplace, all the
time, everywhere. > Reprinted from the March
2009 NAM Newsletter
Time Out
Members of the Subsea Downtime Prevention
School team recently took some time before
school started in Cairo to view the pyramids.
L to R: Jeff Jones, Sr. Subsea; Leon Schwartz,
West Hou, former Transocean Sr. Subsea;
and John Wright from contractor company
Simple Leadership Strategies.
Service Anniversaries
John Goodman, Chief Engineer on the
GSF Constellation II, celebrated his 35-year
anniversary with the company in January
2009. Congrats, John!
Jean Luc Guida, OIM on the Harvey H.
Ward, celebrated his 30-year anniversary with
the company in January 2009. “He is the kind
of person we need to have in this industry
to assist in achieving our performance
benchmarks and safety goals,” said Rig
Administrator Francisca Wilson. “He cares a
lot for his crew and takes time to understand
their difficulties and solve it in a fruitful way.
He is dedicated to his work and very serious
in getting things done.” Read more about Jean
Luc in an article submitted by Francisca at
FIRST Online.
Graham Coulson (center), Asset Supervisor
for the GSF Parameswara and GSF Adriatic
XI, recently received his 20-year service
anniversary award from Jacques Marchandon
(left), Balikpapan Operations Manager, and
Gordon Jaglar (right), Jakarta Operations
Manager.
Left to Right: Caesar S., OMC; Jesus Olaivar, OIM;
Glenn Coates, Toolpusher; Vincent Labreze, Chief
Electrician; Yanyong, Chevron Companyman; Sarae
S., RSTC; Preecha W., Campboss; Michael Collins,
Chief Mechanic; and Douglas C., Barge Master.
Leonard Reddy (center), Driller on the
Deepwater Navigator, recently received his 20year service anniversary award from Marcelo
Pombo (left), Assistant Manager, and Andre
Zegers, OIM. Congrats!
Sudeep Banerjee (left), Buyer I, received
a plaque in honor of his five-year service
anniversary from Dan Farr, Director of
Newbuilds, at the Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1
construction site office in South Korea.
Ibrahim Kotb (left), Senior Mechanic on
the GSF Parameswara, received his 15-year
service anniversary award from OIM Freddie
Sharp on March 13.
Vincent Labreze, Chief Electrician on the
Trident 15, recently celebrated his 10-year
service anniversary with his co-workers on
the rig.
Harry Kershaw (left),
Barge Control Operator
on the J.W. McLean,
recently received
his 35-year service
anniversary award from
Sr. Toolpusher Dick
Lindle.
> See a full list of recent service anniversaries
at FIRST Online.
spring 2009 Beacon
25
Rig People
Retirements
Interocean III, passed away on Feb. 16, 2009.
He was 55 years old. Sandy began his career
for Transocean in 1995 as a Mechanic.
On the Move
Chuck Reese, one of Transocean’s most
senior employees, retired from the company
effective March 1. Chuck served in many roles
at Transocean and predecessor companies
during his 42-year career, most recently
served as Egypt and Middle East Division
Marine Superintendent. “Chuck has left a
long-lasting, positive impact on the way we
handle marine issues in the company,” said
Deepak Munganahalli, Sr. Vice President,
Asia and Pacific Unit. Many of our supervisors
look up to Chuck as a role model and he has
developed several marine superintendents
for the future. I wish him a very happy
retirement. He will be missed.” Read more
about Chuck at FIRST Online!
> Read a full list of recent retirements at
FIRST Online.
Beginnings
Transocean’s Board of
Directors named Ramon
“Ray” Yi as Vice
President and Treasurer,
based in Houston
and reporting to Greg
Cauthen, Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer. Read more about
Ray at FIRST Online!
Christophe Raimbault on
February 1 was named
Director, Marketing
Development, replacing
Ryan Lamothe.
Christophe reports to Terry
Bonno, Vice President, Marketing, and will be
based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Kaustubh Dighe was
appointed Division
Manager of the new
FEA division, and will be
located in Kuala Lumpur.
Kaustubh will report to
Deepak Munganahalli, Senior Vice President,
APU. > Read more about Kaustubh at FIRST
Online!
Jean Hahusseau, currently
NEA Division Manager,
will succeed Tracey
Marsh as Director
Human Resources,
APU. He will be based in
Singapore, reporting to Deepak
Munganahalli. > Read more about Jean at
FIRST Online!
Congratulations to Shon Bruney, Welder on
the GSF Development Driller II, and his wife,
Layna, on the birth of their son, Aiden Shon
Bruney, on Feb. 12, 2009!
Passings
Sympathies are expressed to the family members and
friends of the following employees.
Alexander Thomas Relph (known to his coworkers as “Sandy”), Chief Mechanic on the
26
Beacon spring 2009
Tracey Marsh was assigned as Director,
Special Projects, reporting to Ian Clark, Vice
President, HR.
CMI, a Transocean
subsidiary, on February 9
announced that Ronald
Symecko was named
Vice President of the
company’s Europe-Africa
Region, and Thomas Leary
was named Vice President
of the company’s
Americas Region.
Rob Mason on January
12 was appointed Human
Resources Manager, India Division, reporting
to Steve Myers, India Division Manager.
Scott McGrath in February was appointed
WAS Operations Manager, Asset, based
in Luanda, Angola. Scott reports to Mac
Polhamus, WAS Division Manager.
Keith Miller in February was appointed
Rig Manager, Performance, Discoverer
Inspiration. He most recently served as Rig
Manager, Performance, for the Sedco 711.
Peter J. Calligeros has been appointed
Subsea Superintendent, Technical Field
Support, NAM. He previously served as
Sr. Subsea Engineer I/MUX on the GSF
Development Driller I. Steve Jeffrey in January was appointed EAU
Operations Integrity Manager. Steve is based
in Aberdeen and reports to Martin Nuttall,
EAU Director of Performance.
Nicholas Fournier in January was appointed
EAU Offshore Career Development and
Recruitment Manager. Nicholas is based in
Aberdeen and reports to Thomas Hinterseer,
Director of Human Resources, EAU.
Gabriel Oramasionwu on
March 9 joined Transocean
as Director, Special
Projects, reporting to
Ricardo Rosa, EAU
Senior Vice President.
Amy Roddy in January
joined Transocean’s
Investor Relations group
as Manager, Investor
Relations.
Gerry Gibson on February 9
joined Transocean’s team
in the company’s North
and South America
business unit (AMU) as
HR Director, AMU.
2009 Employee
Photo
Contest
It is on!
If you enjoy taking photographs, you can
have your images judged by a team of
professional photographers and publication
designers in the ninth annual Transocean
photography contest. Entries may be submitted through October 30, 2009. Awards
will be given by category for color and
black-and-white photography for:
Best of Show:
$500
First Place:
$200
Second Place:
$100
Third Place:
$50
Winners will be notified in November and
their entries published in Transocean’s
Beacon publication.
Visit FIRST Online for more information:
http://first.rigemployees.com
spring 2009 Beacon
27
www.deepwater.com
Pat on the
back
The GSF High Island VII, at work offshore
Cameroon, is one of 18 honorees that
will be recognized in the 10th annual
FIRST Excellence Award ceremony
this May in Houston. The team
is pictured here on December
31, 2008, the day they achieved
1,000 days without a recordable
incident. The Transocean team in
Cameroon also makes great efforts
in the community there. Read this
issue’s “Responsibility” section to
learn more about Cameroon’s Limbe
Wildlife Center.
Congratulations to the GSF High Island VII
team and keep up the good work!