New boss takes helm at Vantage Drilling

Vantage Drilling, a Houston-based offshore drilling contractor, has appointed Ihab Toma as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of the board of directors.

The company said on Thursday that Toma joins Vantage with more than 30 years of experience in the oilfield industry and that the changes will become effective on August 29.

Tom Bates, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: “Ihab brings a wealth of experience in the global oil and gas industry in both the offshore drilling sector and the oilfield services segment. His experience, vision and leadership will be a tremendous asset to Vantage as we move forward after our restructuring with one of the strongest balance sheets in the offshore drilling industry.”

Before becoming CEO of Vantage he served as a senior advisor to First Reserve Corporation and in several executive roles at Transocean.

Toma began his career at Schlumberger in 1986 where he served as Vice President for Sales and Marketing Europe, Africa and Caspian. He led Schlumberger’s Information Solutions business in various capacities, including President, Vice President – Sales and Marketing, Vice President -Information Management and Vice President – Europe, Africa, and CIS Operations.

Toma said: “I am honored to join Vantage as CEO and, while these are challenging times in our industry, I believe Vantage is an excellent platform from which to build a strong future. I am excited about the next chapter for Vantage and very much look forward to working with our customers, employees and investors.”

After emerging from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, the drilling the company on Thursday posted a loss for the second quarter of 2016. The company’s registered loss was approximately $35.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016.