Offshore's 2026 Editorial Advisory Board

"In 2026, the offshore energy sector will be most impacted by two converging forces: digitalization and the demand for lower-carbon operations. Advanced automation, AI-driven decision support, and real-time asset intelligence will in time fundamentally change how rigs are operated and maintained. At the same time, regulatory and market pressure for decarbonization will accelerate the adoption of optimized power systems, emissions-monitoring technologies, and more energy-efficient drilling solutions. The organizations that can integrate these technologies while managing cybersecurity, data quality, and workforce adaptation challenges will be the ones that lead the industry forward."

David Boggs is the founder and director of Energy Maritime Associates. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the offshore oil and gas industry and was previously general manager, commercial, at Tanker Pacific Offshore Terminals in Singapore, responsible for all business development and commercial activities for a fleet of leased FSO and FPSO units. He is a leading expert on the floating production market, with frequent appearances in industry publications and conferences. 

"Offshore energy operations will be primarily impacted in 2026 by the drive for energy security, particularly for natural gas to meet growing electrification needs. Meeting this demand will be challenged by a limited supply chain and lack of financial liquidity."

Education: Boggs has a BA cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA with honors from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also president of the Energy Finance Group.

Location: Washington DC - Baltimore area

LinkedIn: David Boggs | LinkedIn

Alan Curtis

Alan Curtis retired as senior vice president and CFO of Oceaneering International Inc. in January 2026. He joined Oceaneering in 1995 as financial controller for subsea products and progressed through roles that spanned operations and corporate functions, culminating in his appointment as CFO in 2015.

Prior to Oceaneering, he began his career in 1987 at oilfield equipment provider Daniel Industries, holding a range of accounting positions in consolidations, SEC financial reporting, internal audit, operations accounting, and tax.

Known for his “learn something new every day” philosophy, he consistently focused on operational improvement and profitability, ultimately blending deep operational intuition with external treasury and investor engagement to support Oceaneering’s growth.

“Operational integrity and security now define offshore performance as much as efficiency and sustainability. Autonomy, AI‑enabled digital asset management, and next generation subsea vehicles, and remote operations, are reshaping how we inspect, maintain, and protect critical subsea infrastructure.”

Education: He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Location: Houston, Texas

LinkedIn: Alan R. Curtis, C.P.A. | LinkedIn

Richard D'Souza

Richard D'Souza is president of Richard B Offshore LLC and a floating production and wind energy consultant. In his 50 years of experience (1974-present), he has executed major offshore field developments in every producing region across the globe. As a deepwater pioneer, he has progressed developments from 300-m to 3,000-m water depths.

He was responsible for creating and sustaining premier multi-discipline upstream and downstream engineering and consulting companies: Omega Marine, Aker Engineering, Halliburton Deepwater and KBR/Granherne as well as recruiting and mentoring three generations of offshore engineers. 

He has also authored 90 impactful technical papers documenting deepwater technology and history for major conferences (OTC, DOT, SNAME), many of which have been excerpted in Offshore magazine.

"In 2026, the industry will continue its ongoing shift from innovation to standardization and accelerate implementation of digitization, automation and AI technologies to drive significant reductions in life-cycle development costs."

Education: He has a bachelor's degree in naval architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He also has a master's degree in ship structures from the University of Michigan as well as a master's degree in civil engineering from Tulane University.

Location: Houston, Texas

LinkedIn: Richard D'souza | LinkedIn

Cinnamon Edralin

Cinnamon Edralin is Americas research director for RigLogix at Westwood Global Energy and has been covering the offshore rig market since 2006.

She began her career with ODS-Petrodata, which was acquired by IHS (later becoming IHS Markit), where she managed the Americas offshore rig team, along with the Americas marine team and the US/Canada land rig team. Edralin then moved to Esgian, where she helped raise brand awareness for offshore rig services, along with supporting offshore wind. She joined Westwood in 2023 and provides support for the subsea team in addition to her rig analyst duties. 

"In 2026, expectations for lower oil prices will maintain a focus on cost discipline. We’ll also see E&P companies taking steps towards a renewal in exploration activities."

Education: Edralin holds a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

Location: Richmond, Texas

LinkedIn: Cinnamon Edralin | LinkedIn

Sofia Forestieri 

Sofia Forestieri is a petroleum engineer and energy market analyst with more than seven years of international experience in offshore operations, upstream markets and client advisory.

As senior vice president of offshore at Esgian, she leads the Offshore Rigs and Offshore Wind business lines, shaping strategy, product development and investment decisions. She brings deep expertise in offshore rig markets, including rig valuation and forecasting, across South America, the Mediterranean and the Caspian, delivering insights that guide global investments.

She is also a frequent contributor to industry discussions and represents employers at international conferences and in media.

"In 2026, the greatest challenges for offshore energy will be ensuring efficient drilling and high rig utilization to meet energy security needs, in a market shaped by lower-than-expected Brent prices and persistent supply hurdles. More advanced use of digital tools for performance optimization, along with continued progress in offshore wind deployment, will play a key role in improving operational resilience and competitiveness."

Education: She has a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology and the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF).

Location: Oslo, Norway

LinkedIn: Sofia Forestieri | LinkedIn

Céline Gerson

Céline Gerson is Fugro’s president and group director for the Americas, leading strategic growth and full P&L management across 10 countries from Canada to Argentina.

She brings three decades of experience in offshore energy and related sectors, including senior leadership roles at Schlumberger and Cameron International, where she made history as the first female executive to lead a global business unit.

A Harvard Business School alumna and licensed attorney, Gerson is recognized for driving digital transformation, accelerating innovation and steering complex organizational turnarounds. 

“As offshore projects grow more complex, success demands innovation at every level. Autonomous data collection and AI are delivering faster, better insights—and they’re not just transforming operations, they’re reshaping the workforce, driving new skills and opening opportunities that will define what’s possible for the next generation.”

Boards: She serves on the boards of Energy Safety Canada and the US-based National Ocean Industries Association, helping shape the future of ocean energy and marine industries. She is also an independent director at Enerflex Ltd. 

Education: She has a bachelor's degree in business administration, international finance and marketing from EU Business School. She also obtained a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and an executive MBA alternative degree in business administration, management and operations from Harvard Business School.

Location: Houston, Texas

LinkedIn: CÉLINE B. GERSON | LinkedIn

Iain Grainger 

Iain Grainger is the CEO of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), a global trade association that champions and protects the offshore marine construction sector. He previously served as president of IMCA from 2018 to 2020.

Grainger has more than 40 years of experience in the offshore engineering and construction industry. He started his career as an offshore engineer with Brown and Root in the 1980s. After gaining his MBA from Warwick Business School, he moved into commercial, strategy and regional leadership roles with Tier 1 contractors including Subsea7 and McDermott. 

He is a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology. 

"The macroeconomic unpredictability of demand in both oil and gas and offshore wind has created supply chain constraints and underinvestment in the offshore energy sector. If governments around the world are serious about energy security, they need to engage much closer with the industry to provide surety and support to the investment in the assets and people required." 

Education: He has a bachelor's degree in engineering from Heriot-Watt University as well as a master's degree from University of Warwick - Warwick Business School.

Location: London, UK

LinkedIn: Iain Grainger | LinkedIn

Matthew Hale

Matthew Hale is senior vice president of Drilling & Wells at Rystad Energy. His expertise includes drilling, completions and intervention markets as wells as offshore and subsea facilities.

Prior to Rystad, he spent most of his 15-year career with Baker Hughes and NOV in engineering, product management and strategy roles. 

"With OPEC+ unwinding cuts and shale producers maintaining production, downward pressure on oil prices make offshore sanctioning a risky proposition. While maintaining free cash flow, operators and contractors will need to collaborate, leaning on both design standardization and strategic customization to deliver offshore projects at competitive costs."

Education: He holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and an MBA, both from Rice University.

Location: Houston, Texas

LinkedIn: Matt Hale | LinkedIn

Olivier Icyk

Olivier Icyk has been SBM Offshore’s chief business officer since April 2024, covering sales and marketing as well as technology and innovation.

He joined SBM in 1996 as project engineer for installation projects, and then took the role of project manager on many SBM Offshore products (CALM buoys, Turrets, FPSOs) for 15 years. He later became fleet operation readiness manager, before moving to FPSOs business acquisition director, later leading the FPSO Product Line. Between 2021 and 2024, as managing director of floating production solutions, he was responsible for all product development, business acquisition and project execution for the FPSO, Turret and Installation Product Lines.

Icyk has about 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, having started his career working with other contractors in Southeast Asia. 

"In 2026, the offshore energy sector will go through important changes driven primarily by digitalization, carbon capture and electrification. These elements will redefine offshore energy in 2026 and will be key to delivering sustainable performance while navigating the challenges of integration and decarbonization."

Education: He is a graduate in offshore engineering from École Centrale de Marseille.

Location: Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands

LinkedIn: Olivier Icyk | LinkedIn

Mark J. Kaiser

Mark Kaiser is Marathon Oil professor at the Energy Institute at Louisiana State University where he has worked since 2001. His research interests cover the oil, gas and refining industry, cost estimation, economic evaluation, fiscal analysis, infrastructure modeling, and regulatory policy, with particular emphasis in the offshore sector.

He has authored more than 250 academic publications and numerous reports and trade articles and is probably best known to Offshore readers for his work in Gulf of Mexico decommissioning and cost estimation.

He has secured grants of several million dollars over his career and is occasionally consulted on difficult and/or specialized topics for his rigorous and pragmatic approach to problem-solving. 

He currently serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, and is the author of four research monographs: Decommissioning Forecasting and Operating Cost Estimation (Elsevier 2019), Offshore Service Industry and Logistics Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico (Springer-Verlag 2015), The Offshore Drilling Industry and Rig Construction in the United States (Springer-Verlag 2013), and Offshore Wind Installation and Decommissioning Cost Modeling (Springer-Verlag 2012).

He has also published two academic textbooks for the classroom: Petroleum Refining (6th ed) with A. de Klerk (CRC, 2020) and the upcoming Electric Energy: An Introduction (4th ed) with M.A. El-Sharkawi (CRC Press, 2026), and he has coauthored a popular handbook for engineering professionals: Pipeline Rules of Thumb (9th ed) with E.W. McAlister (Elsevier 2023).

In the first part of his career, he worked in the fields of convex geometry, geometric optimization, and computational metrology. 

"With operators expected to maintain their capital discipline in the Gulf of Mexico, deepwater production will remain stable while shallow-water production will follow its historic decline rate. Worldwide FPSO developments remain bright, and China will continue to gobble up more construction and redeployment work and increase its market share in the sector."

Education: He earned a doctoral degree in 1991 from Purdue University.

Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Joe Leimkuhler

Joe Leimkuhler is a seasoned oil and gas industry executive with more than 44 years of extensive experience in offshore drilling, well engineering and production operations.

He is currently serving as COO at Beacon Offshore Energy, overseeing all offshore operations, engineering and projects, including deepwater production and the world’s second 20K deepwater development “Shenandoah.”  

Prior to joining Beacon, Leimkuhler served as vice president of drilling at LLOG Exploration for seven years, responsible for leading all drilling/completion operations and well engineering activities.

Prior to LLOG, he held multiple senior leadership roles over 25 years at Shell International E&P Co., including offshore well delivery manager for the Americas, Gulf of Mexico subsea development manager, and drilling superintendent for deepwater and offshore projects.

“I am excited to join the Offshore board and look forward to help advance the industry. With the reduction in operators, rigs and wells drilled over the last 15 years, the US offshore needs to grow in a challenging environment.” 

Boards: He is the current chairman of HWCG Well Containment Corp. and the chair of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA). He also serves on the national board of directors for the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) and previously as its national president (2007-2009). He is also a member of the national advisory board for the University of Wyoming College of Engineering.

Education: He holds a master's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Wyoming and a bachelor's degree in geology and forestry from the University of Montana.

Location: Louisiana

LinkedIn: Joe Leimkuhler | LinkedIn

Erik Milito 

Erik Milito is president of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), representing the offshore oil and gas, wind, critical minerals, and carbon sequestration sectors, and serving as the lead advocate for more than 140 member companies before Congress, the Executive Branch, and the media to advance policy outcomes that position the US offshore energy industry as an innovator, problem-solver and preferred investment.

Milito has more than 20 years of experience in offshore energy. Prior to joining NOIA in 2019, he spent 17 years at API and prior service as an attorney in the Solicitor’s Office, US Department of the Interior, as well as JAG service in the US Army. 

"Offshore energy, particularly oil and gas, is entering a promising phase in 2026 and beyond. Global oil demand continues to rise, and companies are increasingly turning to prolific global offshore basins. However, the case for investment may be dependent upon the global region, with public policy factors such as tariffs creating a drag on investment in some basins."

Education: He holds a JD from Marquette University Law School and a BBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Location: Alexandria, Virginia

LinkedIn: Erik Milito | LinkedIn

Tim Mitchell

Tim Mitchell is currently a general manager in Chevron’s Capital Projects organization.   He previously served as project director for Chevron’s Anchor Project, the industry's first 20K deepwater development. Throughout his 40-year career with Chevron, he has led full-cycle delivery of offshore major capital projects across Chevron’s global upstream portfolio.

He is recognized in the industry for his leadership and track record to shape opportunities and safely deliver high-value offshore development projects. His expertise spans all aspects of offshore project development including brownfield, greenfield, concept selection, FEED, execution, risk management, contracting and deepwater technology for wells, subsea systems, floating systems, topsides and export systems.

"I am very excited to see more 20K developments emerging in the Gulf of America and look forward to watching 20K technology continue to unlock new resources in the Paleogene. For 2026 and beyond, I believe the greatest challenge for the offshore industry will be to make offshore energy more cost-competitive by leveraging existing infrastructure, focusing on minimum functional objectives and broader adoption of supplier-led solutions. Another major challenge is the growing talent gap in the offshore industry to deliver our business safely and efficiently. I believe AI will be a great tool to help close that gap, and 2026 will be a pivotal year for our industry to adopt AI as a transformational technology in all aspects of our business."

Education: He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, Cum Laude, from Mississippi State University.

Location: Houston, Texas

LinkedIn: Tim Mitchell | LinkedIn

James West

James West serves as a managing director and head of energy and power research at Melius. Throughout his 25⁺-year career, West has consistently led coveted energy research teams.

He has also been recognized for over a decade as a top analyst by Institutional Investor, including an induction into the Hall of Fame in 2023.

Prior to Melius, West was a senior managing director at Evercore, responsible for equity research coverage of the sustainable technologies and clean energy industry and the oil service, equipment and drilling industry. Before that, he was a managing director and senior analyst at Barclays Plc and Lehman Brothers. 

West is a frequent media commentator, guest speaker at corporate board of director’s meetings and a participant at key industry conferences.

"We believe offshore has become the low-cost barrel compared to shale, and the next cycle will be led by offshore, and in particular deep water. We anticipate a further tightening of the offshore industry as projects kick off in the second half of 2026. Perhaps the greatest technological advances in recent years is the use of managed-pressure drilling."

Boards: He served as an advisory board member for the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability and is a senior advisor for TurbineHub.

Education: West earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Location: New York

LinkedIn: James West | LinkedIn