Ian Ross CV
SUMMARY CAREER PROFILE
PERSONAL DETAILS
Name: / Ian Alexander RossNationality: / British
United Kingdom passport
Education: / B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics,
King’s College, University of London
1978
Date of birth: / 8 October 1956
Family status: / Married
E-mail (personal): /
Mobile telephone (UK):
Landline telephone (UK): / +44 (0) 7780678571
+44 (0) 1759 318170
Domiciled home address: / United Kingdom
Summary:
Drilling manager with 36 years of experience of offshore and onshore projects in Europe (UK and Netherlands), North and East Africa, Middle East, South East Asia and India.
Managing the technical design, planning, procurement and execution of drilling and well testing/well completion/well workover projects.
As Drilling Manager, also responsible for hiring, training and mentoring personnel, and developing and ensuring compliance with budgets, well operations standards and procedures.
Typically responsible for managing all associated aspects of the drilling project, including health and safety; environmental compliance; marine operations; aviation operations; road and well site construction; security; joint venture management; government permits and national oil company liaison; compliance for government and joint venture audits; community relations, social performance and national content; contracts & procurement; logistics; budgets/AFE and cost engineering/drilling accounting; project planning; operations geology.
ACHIEVEMENTS
· 36 Years of experience since September 1979 in the upstream oil & gas industry; managing operational departments since 1988.
· Managed most aspects of operations including:- project planning; personnel resources (resource planning, recruitment & selection, development & training); cost estimations, budgets and AFE; health & safety; security; environment (including ISO14001 accreditation); compliance and corporate governance; developing standards and procedures; supply chain management (tendering, contracts, procurement, contractor management, logistics, compliance for government and joint venture audits); joint venture partners; national oil companies, government authorities, national government and local governments; community relations, social performance & social investment projects, and national content.
· Broad based technical experience, mainly well operations (offshore and onshore drilling, well testing, well completions, well workovers, interventions and stimulation); also, early production systems, operations reservoir engineering, production technology, field development planning, and business management.
· Engineered, planned, supervised and managed most types of well operations, including: onshore and offshore wells - vertical, deviated and horizontal wells; deep water wells; HPHT wells, using semi-submersible rigs, jack-up rigs, platform rigs and land rigs.
· Successful operations in logistically remote and environmentally sensitive locations: UK/Netherlands North Sea; onshore England; offshore Aceh, Indonesia; Sahara Desert, Libya; Irian Jaya tropical rain forest and mangrove swamp, Indonesia (gaining ISO14001 accreditation); onshore West Iran; rice paddy fields and tea plantations in Assam, north-east India; Kurdistan, Iraq; offshore French Guiana; Indian Ocean island offshore Tanzania; and Turkana, North-West Kenya.
· Planned and managed simultaneous drilling, completion, construction and production operations for onshore oilfield development and offshore platform.
· Established drilling projects in logistically remote areas dealing with challenges of minimal or non-existing oil & gas support infrastructure.
· Created operations departments and systems for new projects.
· Set up well operations tendering and contracting to ensure full compliance with government requirements for project cost recovery and audit acceptance.
· Managed multi-rig operations in a remote area for an intensive exploration and appraisal drilling campaign.
· Managed simultaneous multi-base and multi-rig operations (rigs working from 3 logistics bases in two different countries).
· Deep-water well operations (2050 m water depth, French Guiana – gaining French government approval in the aftermath of the Macondo disaster; 4,200 ft water depth, Indonesia;).
· Planned and managed deep, high-pressure, high-temperature drilling and well testing operations, achieving all technical objectives.
· Managed well operations with high hydrogen sulphide content (up to 37% H2S), including material selection; operating procedures; emergency contingency plans.
· Planned and executed the redevelopment project of a commercially marginal onshore oil field with well interventions and completions, oil production facility and transportation (road tanker and railway to a local refinery), increasing production at minimal cost and with no HSE incidents.
· Led “breakthrough” innovative re-design project to reduce the schedule of an onshore oil field development project
SUMMARY CAREER HISTORY
Sept. 2012 – April 2015 / Tullow Oil plc, Tullow Kenya B.V.Well Delivery Manager, Nairobi, Kenya
March 2011 – Sept. 2012 / PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Drilling Manager, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Sep 2010 – March 2011 / Tullow Oil plc
Dublin, Ireland: Drilling Consultant, deepwater French Guiana project.
July 2008 – Aug 2010 / WesternZagros Resources Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Feb 2009 – Aug 2010 / General Manager, Operations, WesternZagros Resources Limited,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada / Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
July 2008 – Feb 2009 / Deputy General Manager, Kurdistan, WesternZagros Limited, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region, northern Iraq
Apr 2006 – July 2008 / Premier Oil plc
General Manager - Drilling, Premier Oil India BV, New Delhi, India
Sep 2002 – Mar 2006 / OMV AG, Vienna, Austria
Operations Manager, OMV (IRAN) onshore Exploration GmbH, Tehran, Iran
Feb 1992 – Aug 2002 / LASMO plc / Eni LASMO Group
(December 2000: LASMO plc acquired by Eni S.p.A., Italy)
Jan 2000 – Aug 2002 / Head of Well Operations, LASMO Companies in Indonesia,
Jakarta, Indonesia
Jan 1997 – Jan 2000 / Head of Well Operations, LASMO Grand Maghreb Limited,
Tripoli, Libya
Jan 1995 – Jan 1997 / Drilling Manager, LASMO Nederland BV, Beverwijk, Netherlands
Feb 1992 – Jan 1995 / Supervising Drilling Engineer, LASMO North Sea plc,
Aberdeen & London, UK
Dec 1987 – Feb 1992 / Ultramar Exploration Limited
(December 1991: Ultramar plc acquired by LASMO plc)
Jan 1990 – Feb 1992 / Drilling Manager and Assistant Engineering Manager, London, UK
(operations bases in Aberdeen, Great Yarmouth and Netherlands)
Dec 1987 – Jan 1990 / Senior Operations Engineer/Drilling Superintendent/Operations Base Manager, in London, Aberdeen, Great Yarmouth, Netherlands, Hampshire, and offshore North Sea
Sep 1985 – Dec 1987 / Consulting Drilling Engineer / Petroleum Engineer
Various short-medium term contracts, including:- Enterprise Oil plc (3 occasions), London, Aberdeen, offshore, UK; British Gas plc, London; Amoco, offshore Netherlands; Prodrill Ltd, Guildford, UK; Placid International Oil Ltd., offshore Netherlands; Clyde Petroleum Ltd., North Yorkshire, UK; Carless Exploration Ltd., Wessex Basin (Hampshire & Dorset), UK.
Sep 1979 – Sep 1985 / BNOC / Britoil plc
Dec 1983 – Sep 1985 / Operations Reservoir Engineer, Aberdeen, UK
Jul 1981 – Dec 1983 / Drilling Engineer, Aberdeen & Offshore, UK
Sep 1979 – Jul 1981 / Petroleum & Production Engineering, Glasgow, UK
CAREER DETAILS
September 2012 – April 2015: Well Delivery Manager, Tullow Oil PLC.
Tullow Kenya B.V., Nairobi, Kenya.
· Well Delivery Manager (drilling manager), based in Nairobi, Kenya.
· Extensive onshore campaign of oil exploration and appraisal drilling, well testing and well completions; vertical and deviated well operations with a fleet of four rigs (three drilling units, one well testing/well completions rig).
· Evolved the Tullow Kenya Well Engineering Department as operations ramped up with four drilling rigs.
· Significant aspects of the project included: community relations, dealing with provincial government, social performance, national content and capacity building; improving safety performance of the various drilling contractors and service companies; liaising with an active joint venture partner; ensuring compliance with corporate and international standards; continuous improvement and cost reductions.
March 2011 – September 2012: Drilling Manager, Orca Energy.
PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
· Drilling Manager, based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
· Gas field development drilling and well completion – deviated well with an imported land rig from an onshore surface location to an offshore reservoir target.
· There was no drilling organisation in the company, no contracts in place, and very little drilling support infrastructure in the region. The project included establishing a Drilling Department to cover drilling, well completions/well testing, onshore site construction, offshore site surveys, HSE, medical support, environmental permits, security, government approvals & permits, government liaison, contracts and procurement, customs clearance, materials & logistics, budgets, AFE, and drilling financial accounting.
· Tasks included selecting and hiring personnel; tendering for services and equipment; procedures; ensuring full compliance with government procurement regulations for audit approval and cost recovery acceptance; execution of the drilling and well completion/well testing operations; rig mobilisation, importation into country and subsequent export out of country.
September 2010 – March 2011: Drilling Consultant/Advisor, Tullow Oil PLC.
Tullow South America Business Unit, Dublin office, Ireland
· Drilling Consultant/Advisor in the South America Business Unit of Tullow Oil based in Dublin, Ireland, tasked with gaining approval from the French government authorities to drill a deep water (2050 m water depth) ‘wildcat’ exploration well offshore French Guiana (in the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico).
· Frequent business trips required to Bordeaux, Paris, London, Houston, and Cayenne, French Guiana to liaise with French government authorities, Ensco drilling contractor and the Tullow Ghana deep water drilling team.
· Review and advise on the technical, well integrity, and HSE aspects of the design and planning, ensuring that due diligence, international best practices and Macondo ‘lessons learnt’ were incorporated.
· The project was completed upon issue of the drilling approval from the French government, establishment of the Tullow French Guiana Drilling Team, and mobilisation of the drilling unit from the USA.
July 2008 – August 2010: WesternZagros Resources Limited
February 2009 – August 2010: General Manager, Operations,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada / Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
· General Manager, Operations, based and resident in Calgary, working in the WesternZagros head-quarters office, but spending about half the year in the operations area in northern Iraq.
· Manager of an Operations Department responsible for all well operations (exploration drilling, well testing, well completions), and associated activities such as road and site construction, HSE, logistics.
· Exploration campaign, drilling high pressure wells (mud weights up to 19.8 ppg) with geomechanical stress, high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide (up to 37% H2S) and severe loss circulation into carbonate reservoirs.
July 2008 – February 2009: Deputy General Manager, Kurdistan
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
· Deputy General Manager, resident in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq; country office in Sulaimaniyah with a logistics base in the concession area and onsite operations at drilling well sites and with road & site construction.
· Responsible for HSE, security, road & site construction, IT, social performance/community relations, logistics, and acting general manager during an extensive, ongoing exploration drilling campaign – sensitive relations with regional government, local governments, local security forces, local communities, political parties, and influential local stakeholders.
April 2006 – July 2008: General Manager – Drilling, Premier Oil PLC.
Premier Oil India BV, New Delhi, India
· Onshore high-pressure gas exploration drilling campaign in a remote area of southern Assam, north-east India, using an Australian drilling contractor.
· Managed the Drilling Department responsible for road & site construction, drilling, well testing, HSE & security, and procurement, materials & logistics.
· Geomechanical stresses and pressure profile required the wells to be highly deviated (~72deg inclination).
· The entire campaign of site construction, drilling, well testing was completed with over 2 million work-hours without an LTI.
· Responsibilities included budgets/AFE, JV partner meetings, government meetings, environmental permitting meetings, local community meetings, community benefit projects, government audits.
September 2002 – March 2006: Operations Manager, OMV AG
OMV (IRAN) onshore Exploration GmbH, Tehran, Iran.
· Established and managed a newly created Operations Department (drilling, well testing, procurement & logistics, site & road construction, mine & UXO clearance, HSE) to design, plan & procure, and execute onshore exploration & appraisal well operations in west Iran.
· Dealing with Iranian national oil company (NIOC) and JOA partners.
· HSE issues included mine clearance, environmentally sensitive areas, poor HSE standards of local contractors and the Chinese drilling contractor.
February 1992 – August 2002: LASMO PLC
December 2000: LASMO plc acquired by Eni S.p.A.
(Total career duration with LASMO-Ultramar: 1987-2002, 15 years)
January 2000 to August 2002: Head of Well Operations
LASMO Companies in Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
· Managed Well Operations Department (drilling, logistics, HSE, construction), planning, permitting, procurement, execution, dealing with Indonesian national oil company (Pertamina):
· Exploration well in environmentally sensitive, tropical swamp & forest, remote location (Irian Jaya), including access route & site construction and site restoration & reforestation.
· Very deep water (4200 ft water depth) gas exploration well, off Aceh (semi-submersible rig); logistics base 300km away in Medan to avoid security situation in Aceh.
· Representative for non-operated deep-water well operations.
· Well operations aspects of deep water field development.
January 1997 – January 2000: Head of Well Operations
LASMO Grand Maghreb Ltd., Tripoli, Libya
· Created the Well Operations Department responsible for drilling, logistics, HSE, construction, planning, permitting, tendering and procurement for a multi-well exploration and appraisal drilling and well testing campaign in a remote area of the Sahara Desert.
· Development well planning (horizontal wells, ESP completions).
· Innovative “breakthrough” re-design project to reduce the schedule of an onshore 560 million bbl oilfield development project from estimated 28+ months to about 15 months.
January 1995 - January 1997: Drilling Manager.
LASMO Nederland BV, Beverwijk, Netherlands.
· Drilling and well completions of horizontal gas development wells from a jack-up rig over a production platform (simultaneous drilling, gas production, and construction).
· Jack-up rig gas exploration wells.
February 1992 – January 1995: Supervising Drilling Engineer
LASMO North Sea plc, Aberdeen and London, UK.
· North Sea exploration wells (jack-up and semi-submersible rigs).
· Subsea well interventions.
· Subsea development drilling and completions.
December 1987 - February 1992: Ultramar Exploration Limited