Songa Offshore SE, an international offshore drilling contractor, yesterday announced an extension of its Board of Directors with the appointment of two new independent directors, Arnaud Bobillier (56) and Steven James McTiernan (61). The newly appointed directors have extensive experience of the international offshore drilling and exploration & production industries and financial markets.
“As previously communicated, Songa Offshore SE has made it a priority to strengthen the board of directors. I am therefore pleased to announce that Mr. Arnaud Bobillier and Mr. Steven McTiernan have agreed to join Songa’s Board of Directors. They are both experienced executives with long and impressive international careers, who will bring valuable industry, financial and operational experience to the table. I look forward to working together with them and am confident that these appointments will significantly strengthen our capacity to realise our ambitious strategy,” says Chairman of the Board, Jens A Wilhelmsen.
Arnaud Bobillier joined the drilling industry some 33 years ago and has held a number of senior line management positions within the industry in countries around the world, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa and China. Between 1980 and year 2000, he held various management positions within Schlumberger and was the Operations Manager for Sedco-Forex Schlumberger during the preparations for the upcoming merger with Transocean. As Vice President of Transocean’s European and African business units between 2004-2008, he was very much involved in the company’s Norwegian operations. More recently, he served as the Executive Vice President of Transocean where he was responsible for the execution of integration of Aker Drilling into Transocean. Between 2011-2012 he served as a Special Advisor to the CEO of Transocean. He has also been a Member of the Board of Directors at Texas Institute of Science. Mr. Bobillier holds an Engineering Degree in Fluid Mechanics and Thermics from the Ecole Superieure des Techniques de l’Ingenieur de Nancy, France, with a Major in thermodynamics. He is 57 years old.
Steven James McTiernan brings more than 40 years of experience within the offshore, petroleum, and financial industries. He joined Abu Dhabi Petroleum in 1972 and worked in engineering roles with oil & gas companies across the globe including BP, Amoco and Mesa Petroleum. Subsequently, he held senior energy investment banking roles with Chase Manhattan Bank, NatWest Markets, and CIBC. Mr. McTiernan recently retired as a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at Tullow Oil Plc, an $18 billion market cap FTSE-100 listed exploration & production company. He currently serves as an Independent Director at First Quantum Minerals Ltd, a $10 billion market cap mining company. He is also a Principal at Sandown Energy Consultants Ltd, an energy and corporate finance advisory services firm based in London. Mr. McTiernan received his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences (maths and physics) from the University of Cambridge and in 1988 he completed the SEP Executive Program at Stanford University. He is 61 years old.
[mappress] Press Release, January 11, 2013