Q3 2025: People on the move and company news of the offshore energy industry

Compiled by Ariana Hurtado, Editor-in-Chief

In Offshore's Q2 2025 business briefs update, we highlighted C-suite changes at Talos Energy, Jadestone Energy, APA Corp., Oceaneering International, Iberdrola, PXGEO, Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Technip Energies, Cerulean Winds and Ørsted, among others, as well as company updates.

This third-quarter update covers leadership shifts at major firms, strategic mergers, joint ventures and new office openings, emphasizing the offshore energy sector's ongoing evolution and commitment to sustainable and technological advancements.

The following compilation highlights the latest C-suite, senior-level and board of directors updates as well as M&A deals, joint ventures, new facility/center openings and more.

C-suite transitions

Heerema Marine Contractors has appointed Marcel de Nooijer CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Tullow Oil Plc has named Ian Perks CEO.

Adura Energy, the newly formed UK North Sea joint venture between Shell and Equinor, has appointed Neil McCulloch CEO and Nicoletta Giadrossi chair.

ONYX Insight, a provider of condition-based monitoring technology for the global wind industry, has appointed Alexis Grenon CEO.

Subsea Global Solutions has appointed Harun Duzgoren CEO (again) and Paul Peters COO for the Americas.

CRC Evans has appointed Mauro Piasere CEO.

ABL Group’s board of directors has appointed Hege Marie Norheim the new CEO, succeeding Reuben Segal, who takes on the role as chief growth officer.

Subsea technology and services company, SMD, has appointed Kenny Liu its new CEO in August, succeeding Julian Zhu. More recently, SMD welcomed Stephen Hill as its new COO.

Xodus Founder Steve Swindell is stepping down from his role as CEO after 20 years with the global energy consultancy. Stuart Holley of Subsea7 took over as Xodus CEO on Oct. 1 and will work in close collaboration with Swindell until the end of the year as part of a managed transition.

Panoro Energy ASA has named Eric d'Argentré COO and president. 

COO Byron Bright has resigned from his position and left KBR on July 11.

Viaro Energy has named Jillian Owen its new COO.

BW Energy has appointed Brice Morlot COO and Thomas Young CFO.

Meren Energy Inc. has announced a leadership transition following the departure of COO Craig Knight, who stepped down Aug. 31 for personal reasons. Meren has merged the COO and chief commercial officer (CCO) roles into a new position: chief commercial and operating officer (CCOO). Former CCO Dr. Oliver Quinn has assumed the expanded role, overseeing operations in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa, along with technical and HSE functions. This is in addition to his existing responsibilities for business development, commercial, and planning and economics.

David Watt has joined Subsea Micropiles as COO, and Mark Williamson will take on the role of chief commercial officer.

Felix Henseler will succeed Anders Nielsen as Vestas' chief technology and operations officer (CTOO). Nielsen has decided to retire from day-to-day management by the end of 2025 after six years as CTOO.

PXGEO has appointed Hans-Peter Burlid to the newly created position of chief strategy and transformation officer.

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, has named Birgitte Wendelbo Johansen CFO, effective Nov. 1, replacing Haakon Sandborg, who is stepping down following 24 years in the role.

Kirsty Lawrence has been promoted to CFO at Tampnet, an offshore connectivity specialist. She will be based in the company’s Aberdeen office.

RTS Wind Group has appointed Phil Heathcock CFO. 

Talos Energy has selected Zachary B. Dailey as CFO and executive vice president (EVP), William R. Langin as EVP of exploration and development, and Megan Dick as EVP and chief human resources officer. 

Wood Mackenzie Inc. has appointed Bernardo Rodriguez chief product and technology officer.

Senior leadership appointments

Norway-based ship designer HAV Design has appointed Richard Schofield its new managing director.

TotalEnergies has appointed Olivier Gauthier president and managing director of TotalEnergies Marketing USA. 

Marine insurance provider NorthStandard has appointed Matt Holmes and Andrew Carter to lead its newly created Upstream Energy and Marine & Energy Liability sectors.

FairWind, a specialist in wind turbine installation and service solutions, has appointed Aitor Diaz de Lezana Fernández to the newly created role of regional head of service for Southern Europe, South America & South Africa. The company also has appointed Alexandra Hof regional head of service for Northern Central Europe. 

Renewable energy consultancy Natural Power has appointed Matthew Kelly director of operations and asset management. Eoghan Tuite has been named country lead for Ireland, following the promotion of Ciaran Farrell to managing director in July. Clare Horner has been promoted to director of consulting, Europe, succeeding Farrell.

Subsea Technology & Rentals (STR) has selected James Christie to head up its activities across Europe and Africa. In the newly created role of regional director Europe, Scandinavia, Caspian and Africa, he will be based in Aberdeen.

EnerMech has appointed Nosa Egharevba senior vice president of Integrated Supply Chain & Asset Management.

The board of directors of Petrobras has elected engineer Angélica Garcia Cobas Laureano to the position of executive director of Energy Transition and Sustainability. 

Board of directors

Petrobras' board of directors has selected the board member Bruno Moretti as the new chairman of the board. In addition, Marcelo Weick Pogliese was appointed a member of the board of directors.

Brava Energia's board of directors unanimously elected Richard Kovacs to the position of chairman of the board of directors, following the resignation of Harley Lorentz Scardoelli, who will remain as a member of the board.

Chevron Corp. has announced that John B. Hess has been appointed to its board of directors.

Oceantic Network has announced three new members to its board of directors: Sam Eaton, president and CEO of RWE US Offshore Wind; Jason Meidinger, project director of Beacon Wind, JERA Nex bp; and Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). 

Golar LNG Ltd. has appointed Stephen J. Schaefer to its board of directors.

bp has appointed Albert Manifold to succeed Helge Lund as chair of the company. Manifold joined the company’s board Sept. 1 as non-executive director and chair-elect, and he took over as chair on Oct. 1, which is when Lund stepped down as chair and as a director of the bp board. Simon Henry has joined the board as a non-executive director.

McDermott International has appointed Michael Martino, co-founder and principal of Mason Capital Management LLC, and Farhad Nanji, co-founder of MFN Partners LP, to the company's board of directors.

CNOOC Ltd. has appointed Zhang Chuanjiang chairman of the board, a non-executive director, chairman of the Nomination Committee and chairman of the Strategy and Sustainability Committee of the company.

M&A deals

Saipem and Subsea7 entered into a binding agreement in July on their planned merger, following the memorandum of understanding announced on Feb. 23. The newly combined company will be renamed Saipem7.

NEO Energy and Repsol Resources UK have merged to form NEO NEXT Energy. This will be one of the largest offshore oil and gas producers on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), with projected output this year averaging 130,000 bbl/d of oil.

ADES International Holding has made an offer to acquire all shares in Shelf Drilling via a cash merger arrangement.

RockRose Energy Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viaro Energy Ltd., has agreed to acquire North Sea independent Deltic Energy via a recommended all-cash offer.

Alkhorayef Petroleum Co. (APC), a specialist in artificial lift solutions, has acquired GRC Technologies LLC (formerly Sercel-GRC), a company with a 100-year history in precision downhole gauges and well instrumentation.

Engineering group Kent has agreed to acquire Exceed (XCD) Holdings, a provider of well management, subsurface and decommissioning engineering services.

Next Geosolutions Europe has signed an agreement to acquire 75.4% of the share capital of Italian geophysical and subsea services contractor RANA Subsea.

Motive Offshore Group, a specialist in rental, inspection and engineering equipment for the energy sector, has acquired Weld Integrity Group, a Norway-based inspection and testing business, boosting its certification and inspection capabilities and expanding into the fast-growing Norwegian offshore energy market.

Archer Ltd. entered into an agreement in late September to acquire Premium Oilfield Services LLC, a US well service provider within fishing and P&A related services.

SLB announced a definitive agreement Sept. 23 for it to acquire RESMAN Energy Technology, a prpvider of wireless reservoir surveillance solutions. 

SLB announced July 16 that it closed its previously announced acquisition of ChampionX Corp. 

Sea Vorian, with its subsidiaries RTSYS and NEOTEK, has acquired MAPPEM Geophysics, a French company specializing in marine and underwater geophysical studies and services.

Cenovus Energy Inc. entered into a definitive arrangement agreement on Aug. 22 to acquire MEG Energy Corp. in a cash and stock transaction valued at $7.9 billion, inclusive of assumed debt.

Norwegian investment company SMV Invest AS entered into an agreement Aug. 11 to acquire 100% of the shares in Norway-based welding specialist Weldteam. The plan is to merge Weldteam with offshore and marine technology supplier Hydroniq Coolers.

SLB has acquired Stimline Digital AS, a cloud-based software company for the energy sector specializing in well intervention.

CORTEC has acquired Power Chokes, a manufacturer of chokes and pressure control equipment, from ADS Services, a Black Bay Partners portfolio company.

Baker Hughes and Chart Industries announced July 29 that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Baker Hughes will acquire all outstanding shares of Chart’s common stock for $210 per share in cash, equivalent to a total enterprise value of $13.6 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-year 2026.

Vallourec has finalized the disposal process of Serimax, Vallourec’s subsidiary specializing in manual and mechanized orbital welding solutions, for an enterprise value of €79 million. Serimax is now operating profitably as a standalone company.

OEG has expanded its US footprint and capabilities through the acquisition of Trinity Rental Services (TRS), and its vertically integrated affiliates. TRS is a provider in oil and gas offshore container rentals in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron Corp. completed its acquisition of Hess Corp. in mid-July.

Joint ventures

JERA and bp have established their new 50:50 offshore wind joint venture (JV) JERA Nex bp. This is a global offshore wind developer, owner and operator, with operating assets and development projects providing a potential net generating total of 13 GW.

Aesen Pte. Ltd. (Aesen) and Dutch Offshore Contractors Holdings B.V. (DOC) have formed Aesen DOC Cable Logistics Pte. Ltd., a joint venture established to address the growing global demand for subsea cable transport, storage and logistics solutions.

Khazna Data Centers, a specialist in hyperscale digital infrastructure, and Eni have signed a heads of terms agreement to set up a joint venture aimed at the development of an “AI Data Center Campus” with a total IT capacity of 500 MW in Ferrera Erbognone, Lombardy.

New offices/facilities

Tracerco has opened a new office in Dammam, establishing a strategic hub for long-term support of Saudi Arabia’s industries and national programs. Tracerco is consolidating its business development, project coordination and customer engagement across all business units, including Process Diagnostics, Subsea Technologies, Measurement Instruments, Reservoir Diagnostics, and Radiation Monitors.

Subsea Micropiles has announced an expansion into larger premises, relocating its Aberdeenshire office. The new office, located in global subsea hub Westhill, aims to accommodate the company's forecasted 50% expansion of the team in 2026. The office will serve as a strategic base for the company’s engineering, operations and project delivery teams.

Jacam Catalyst, a manufacturer and full-service provider of oilfield chemicals, has a new lab facility in The Woodlands, Texas. The 14,507-sq-ft building will primarily support the deepwater, international and downstream R&D departments.

Next Geosolutions (NextGeo) has opened a new entity in the Middle East through the establishment of Next Geosolutions Middle East (FZE), incorporated within the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF-Zone) in the United Arab Emirates. 

Clariant Oil Services, a producer and supplier of specialty oilfield production chemicals and services, has a new bulk storage and transfer base located in Dusavik, Norway, with its partner Swire Energy Services. The new site consists of multiple bulk storage tanks with transfer capability to supply either directly to vessels or tote tanks. 

Subsea resourcing specialist DRIFT Offshore has opened a new, purpose-built subsea repair and engineering facility in South Florida. The launch of the 5,000-sq-ft base features electronics and hydraulic workshops as well as a mechanical assembly capability and manipulator repair services for the Schilling product line. 

Kongsberg Maritime has opened two new offices in Indonesia, located in Jakarta and Batam.