Newsletter

December 2015 | #2 

Newsletter 

06 Learning from the Airlines 

08 Preserving the assets for better days 

16 Putting Maersk Endurer to rest 

Get ready for the 

New Oil 

Reality 

Two faces of a harsh market: 

Maersk Guardian is stacked in 

Frederikshavn, while outstanding 

performance secures Maersk 

Discoverer a three-year contract 

extension with BP in Egypt.

QUARTERLY RECAP 

COST SAVINGS: 

Full throttle from 

the rig teams 

Photo: Maersk Drilling 

The Profit Optimisation Programme is well on track and is 

looking to exceed the expectations set for 2015 by 30%. So far 

in 2015 the lion’s share of effective cost reductions stems from 

operational savings. There are many contributing factors to 

this achievement. The new offshore compensation scheme is 

the single highest contributor so far, yet it is the sum of many 

initiatives and efforts – offshore as well as onshore – which 

brings the savings toll as high as this. “The recipe has been to 

turn every stone – both in relation to what we do and how we do 

it. There have been some good central initiatives such as riser 

management, NDT (Non Destructive Testing) reduction and a 

number of procurement initiatives. In addition to this I am proud 

to see the all hands on deck mindset in the rig teams challenging 

every dollar we spend”, explains Claus Bachmann, Deepwater 

Asset Manager.Other savings come from sourcing improvement 

towards suppliers, insurance optimisation, changed travel and 

training policies, HQ refit, fewer and less costly overhead projects 

and reduced use of external consultants. 

Maersk Viking’s first year 

Since the start of operations on 6 July last year, Maersk Viking 

has had an operational uptime of no less than 99%, and is 

currently one of the front-runners when it comes to Maersk 

Drilling’s consolidated rig KPI score. Maersk Viking started 

operations in the Gulf of Mexico last year on ExxonMobil’s Julia 

project. Maersk Viking and her crew have been delivering an 

outstanding performance ever since. 

Shorter skirts 

for the Giant 

Strong forces had managed to twist and bend 

some of the inner and outer skirts – ‘spudcans’ in 

oil-industry lingo – on one of Mærsk Giant’s ‘feet’. 

“During a routine inspection of the two aft 

spudcans during the voyage from Norway to 

Nini in the Danish sector, we discovered that we 

were unable to empty the water out of one of the 

spudcans,” explains Harsh Environment jack-up 

Asset Manager Per Gobel. 

After a yard stay near Rotterdam, Mærsk 

Giant is now on assignment in the Danish sector 

of the North Sea, where she is working for Danish 

energy utility DONG Energy on the Nini and Siri 

fields for 150 days . 


Maersk Discoverer 

takes the lead in Egypt 

Maersk Drilling has been awarded a three-year contract extension 

for the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible Maersk Discoverer 

with oil major BP. 

This means that Maersk Discoverer will be working offshore 

Egypt until August 2019. In a difficult marketplace with very few 

fixtures, this contract extension is a remarkable achievement 

which Unit Director Thomas Falk attributes to the successful 

collaboration between BP and Maersk Drilling and the impressive 

operational results achieved with the Atoll well and the West Nile 

Delta drilling programme. 

2 Maersk Drilling Newsletter 02·2015

WORDS FROM THE CEO 

Social media 

Photo courtesy of Henrik Dalgaard Larsen 

Photo courtesy of Clet John Penney 

Photo courtesy of Henrik Sonne 

Video courtesy of Preben Nielsen/E-frame 

We have yet again received a lot of great 

stories and pictures. Thanks to all of our 

Maersk Drilling employees and followers, 

across our social media channels for 

contributing. Remember to share your 

offshore moments with the rest of us, 

by simply tagging them #maerskdrilling 

on Instagram or by sending a personal 

message on Facebook. 

A captain signing off. Enjoy the retirement 

Peter Mason and thank you for all the 

good years. #MaerskValiant #Offshore 

#SigningOff #Retirement #ThanksForAll 

Thunderstorm crossing paths with Maersk 

Voyager. #MaerskVoyager #Thunderstorm 

#Drillship #Ghana #OffshoreLife 

Crewmember heading for Maersk Integrator. 

#MaerskIntegrator #OffshoreLife 

#NorthSea #SunnyDay #Crew 

Video time-lapse of Maersk Guardian 

arriving in Frederikshavn, Denmark. 

#MaerskGuardian #BackInDenmark 

#Frederikshavn #OffshoreLife 

Follow us on social media: 

facebook.com/maerskdrilling 

Instagram.com/maerskdrilling 

linkedin.com/company/maerskdrilling 

twitter.com/maerskdrilling 

Claus V. Hemmingsen, 

CEO of Maersk Drilling, 

Member of the APMM 

Group Executive Board 

FOCUS ON 

REMAINING 

COMPETITIVE 

In November, Maersk Drilling announced the third 

quarter result for 2015. Strong safety and operational 

performance and good progress on our profit optimisation 

programme are the drivers behind a satisfactory 

result. Achievements that we can all be proud off. 

For a long time the many, long contracts we signed 

in a booming market, when the oil price was high, have 

enabled us to maintain a satisfactory profitability. 

However, the new oil reality with over-supply of rigs 

and a very low demand is starting to show – also for 

Maersk Drilling. We have 11 rigs that either need to be 

re-negotiated in 2016 by extensions, as we cannot expect 

options to be declared, or need to have new contracts 

secured. Under the current conditions we must expect 

increased idle time due to the market downturn. 

The only way to navigate the challenging market is to 

focus on our operational excellence, watch our costs and 

keep our customers satisfied. This means high uptime 

and zero incidents. We cannot control the market, but we 

can control how we operate. We need to stay calm and 

finish strong. We have seen excellent performance so far 

in 2015, and we need to sustain this. Then we will ensure 

a foundation for our business that paves the way for 

new contracts and employment for our rigs in this fierce 

competition. 

In this edition, we have packed the Newsletter with 

stories that focus on some of the challenges the new 

oil reality throws at us. We followed Maersk Endurer on 

her last journey for recycling. Furthermore, we took an 

in-depth look at how yard stays can be optimised and 

thereby deliver a solid contribution to our cost efficiency 

programme and we investigated how the stacking of 

Maersk Guardian was planned and implemented. Finally, 

you can find out what a “fairing” is. 

Enjoy your reading, and stay focused, stay safe! 

Maersk Drilling Newsletter 02·2015 

3

A 

major milestone has been reached 

with the clean-up and testing of the 

first three Martin Linge oil wells in 

the North Sea. 

Between August 2014 and September 

2018, Maersk Intrepid is on contract with 

oil major Total. Intrepid is assigned to 

explore the vast Martin Linge field in the 

Norwegian part of the North Sea – an oil 

and gas discovery that was made in 1975. 

The clean-up of the wells represents the 

first production testing of the Frigg reservoir, 

which is part of the Martin Linge field. It will 

give an indication of the potential production 

rate of the wells when the field comes on 

stream in 2018. 

A clean-up means the activity to flow the 

well. This is achieved by removing any drilling 

fluid left in the hole and to have the well 

column filled by pure crude oil which will 

be heading back to the surface. The well is 

flowed through a complex well test system 

consisting of a choke manifold and separators. 

The oil and gas produced is lead to the 

rig burner booms in order to determine the 

flow potential of the well. 

The three oil wells have long horizontal 

drains into the reservoir. The Frigg oil 

reservoir is situated 1750 metres below sea 

level, and the longest horizontal drain is at a 

depth of almost 2000 metres. 

The Martin Linge field in the North Sea 

is situated at a water depth of 115 metres. 

The field is a highly complex, high-pressure 

area, consisting of an oil reservoir located 

at 2000 metres depth and a sizeable gas 

reservoir at 4000 metres depth. 

Photo: Woldcam/Total E&P Norge 

Milestone 

Reached 

in the North Sea 

Maersk Intrepid is exploring 

the promising Martin Linge 

oil field, 42 kilometres west 

of the Norwegian coast. 

By Nicolai Ostergaard 



5

The replacement of all four cylinders on the port side 

crane on Mærsk Deliverer was a complex task. Each 

cylinder weighing up to 13 tons. On the picture, one 

of the rigging teams has just removed the 

last cylinder pin, and they are now 

preparing to lower down the 

cylinder to deck. 

Learning from the 

AIRLINES 

How to shorten the most expensive yard stays as much as possible? 

Perhaps the airline industry can provide part of the answer. 


In the quest for fewer and more efficient 

yard stays, Maersk Drilling 

is looking to the airline industry 

for inspiration. 

“Pushed back by fierce competition, 

the legacy carriers had to rethink 

their maintenance programs quite 

radically. They’ve achieved some 

spectacular results, and they’ve managed 

to do so without compromising 

safety. I think we can learn a lot from 

what they’ve done,” says Head of Fleet 

Maintenance Mangement, Deep & Mid 

Water, Morten Moller Pedersen. 

In the deep-water segment, he is 

aiming for a future that features a 

much-reduced need for yard stays 

even for the most sophisticated floaters. 

And the current model, which 

involves comprehensive five-yearly 

overhauls, is definitely on its way out 

and into the history books. 

Instead, the department will 

establish a rolling maintenance 

schedule for the Deep & Mid Water 

fleet. In short: there will be a smooth 

flow of maintenance work during the 

year, some of which will involve some 

limited but planned interruptions in 

operations. 

Go Away! 

Program manager Preben Bostrom is 

in charge of the project. He is trying 

to figure out the options for reducing 

the most comprehensive and most 

expensive yard stays as much as possible 

without compromising safety 

performance and uptime. With that in 

mind, it should be easy to guess what 

the name of the project – Project Go- 

Away! – refers to. 

“In the wake of falling oil prices, we 

simply cannot afford the usual way 

of doing things. To be blunt, we want 

those yard stays to go away.” 

Traditionally, a rig is taken out of 

service every five years for a major 

overhaul. Such an overhaul can involve 

a workforce of up to 800 people 

who actually disassemble the entire 

rig, replace a huge number of parts, 

and then put the complete structure 

together again. 

“Naturally, this costs a lot of 

money, and the rig sits idle for several 

months. We want to do away with 

this approach,” says Morten Moller 

Pedersen. 

But what have the airline companies 

actually achieved? 

In the old days, an aircraft was 

routinely taken out of service for several 

months for a complete overhaul. 

It doesn’t work that way any more. 

Today, an aircraft typically follows 

a so-called rolling maintenance programme 

in which recurring overhauls 

and the ongoing replacement of key 

components happen in lesser chunks. 

Typically, the job is done at night, and 

the aircraft is ready for takeoff the 

next morning. 

“The rolling maintenance programme 

ensures the best possible use 

of the equipment, and we’re aiming 

for the same process here at Maersk 

Drilling. Both the airline industry and 

the drilling industry are asset-heavy 

industries that are characterised by 

fierce competition,” says Morten. 



The rolling main tenance 

program me ensures the best 

possible use of the equipment, 

and we’re aiming for the same 

process here at Maersk Drilling. 

MORTEN MOLLER PEDERSEN 

Unit Director: 

We can 

reduce the 

yard stays 

considerably 

Q & A with Peter Dansen, 

Unit Director, 

Maersk Viking LLC 

He admits that the whole idea represents 

a paradigm shift in a company 

that is accustomed to regarding the 

five-yearly overhaul as the chief focus 

of the maintenance side of things. 

But there is no escaping the financial 

realities. 

“We are in dire need of a change 

of culture. The company needs to 

rethink its maintenance set-up 

and align it with the new business 

environment. It’s as simple as that,” 

explains Morten. 

However, everything exacts its 

cost. And according to Morten Moller 

Pedersen, the rolling maintenance 

programme has both its pros and its 

cons. 

The flip side of the coin revolves 

around risk-taking. 

“The rolling maintenance programme 

implies that we need to be 

less risk-averse and increase our 

appetite for taking risks.” 

What does that mean? 

“The five-year overhaul enables us 

to examine every single component. 

We won’t be able to do that anymore. 

Therefore, we have to live with the 

risk that something will break down 

and will have to be repaired on site. Of 

course, we’ll do everything we can to 

maintain the equipment properly. 

The Go-Away Project 

Maersk Drilling is forced to change 

the current yard stay setup and 

mind-set in order to succeed in the 

long run. 

In five years’ time the company 

will see a new peak of potential 

yard stays when the drillships 

are due for five year overhaul and 

the semi-subs are due for their 

ten year survey. The impact can 

be significantly reduced if we 

think smarter, collaborate across 

This doesn’t sound like every unit 

director’s dream? 

“On the contrary, we’re going to have 

to change our procedures if we want to 

survive in this harsh business environment. 

This will further empower the 

Unit Directors and enable them to take 

greater ownership of the equipment 

during its entire lifecycle. But I want to 

stress that the new scheme will demand 

a huge effort from all the departments in 

the organization. Planning and executing 

maintenance work will become an 

ongoing process, and this will call for 

much deeper collaboration between our 

departments so that we can utilise all the 

strengths and combined knowledge we 

have in-house.” 

Does this really mean that the traditional 

once-every-five-years overhaul 

is about to be phased out? 

“Yes – at least for the most advanced rigs 

in the fleet, the five-yearly overhaul will be 

phased out. For our new drillships, we’re 

planning a period of 10 years before the 

first quayside overhaul. Until then, we’ll do 

the prescribed maintenance on-site.” 

How much money is the company 

going to be able to save with the new 

maintenance scheme? 

“Our goal is to achieve a cash-flow saving 

of at least 25 per cent”. 

all departments and work as one 

team to ensure that we act with 

Constant Care. 

The “Go-Away” Project aims at 

improve our long term planning 

and optimize the 5 year maintenance 

and overhauls and thereby 

reduce time spent at a yard stay – 

or completely eliminating the need 

to take the rigs to a yard. 

The goal is to achieve a cash-flow 

saving of at least 25 %. 

9Aren’t you afraid that this 

enhanced continuous focus 

on maintenance issues (instead of 

leaving these issues until the fiveyearly 

overhaul) will take its toll, for 

instance in terms of lower efficiency, 

decreased uptime, significant disruption 

of daily operations etc.? 

@ 

Every change comes with risk. 

When it is mitigated well, the 

risk could drop below our acceptance 

level. I’m not concerned that looking 

at maintenance from the perspective 

of greater efficiency will jeopardize our 

focus on uptime. Some of our competitors 

are already avoiding yard stays to a 

large extent. I’m not worried that doing 

the maintenance differently will reduce 

uptime. Actually doing the required 

maintenance is what matters. 

9In your opinion, and from the 

operational angle, what should 

headquarters be aware of in this process 

if they want to make sure that 

this process turns out successfully? 

@ 

Everything stands and falls on 

executing only the required 

maintenance. A suitable maintenance 

system purged of all ‘above-andbeyond’ 

maintenance allows you to do 

more with the same or less people. Big 

on-board maintenance projects which 

involve large equipment need to be 

prepared for properly, so that they can 

be executed efficiently offshore. 

9What do you see as the most 

significant obstacles in this 

process? 

@ 

The time required on the critical 

path to do the maintenance on 

some of the equipment. A greater risk 

of injury, because more out-of-theordinary 

work will be done offshore. 

A lot of effort is required to ensure 

the necessary level of competency 

and spare parts that are going to be 

needed for conducting out-of-theordinary 

maintenance offshore. 

9Isn’t it precisely a nightmare 

for a Unit Director to become 

part of a future where there is an 

increased level of risk because the 

five-yearly major overhaul has been 

cancelled? 

@ 

It’s important to understand the 

added risk so that we can mitigate 

it. 60 days in a yard is also costly. 


7

Preserving 

the assets for 

better days 

Photo: Preben Nielsen, E-frame 

Rig stacking has for more than a decade been a rare 

phenomenon in the oil industry. With oil prices now at a much 

lower level than they have been, that is about to change. 


It is clear 

that our rigs 

are going to 

expe rience 

more idle days 

in 2016 than 

we’ve seen in 

the recent past. 

MORTEN PILNOV, 

HEAD OF GLOBAL SALES 

When Maersk Guardian was towed 

into Frederikshavn’s harbour on September 

21, 2015, it made headlines in 

the local media: it was the first time 

the maritime capital of Northern 

Jutland had had to make space for the 

stacking of a rig. 

But what has happened since 

then? 

Assistant Asset Manager Bram 

Nabuurs has been in charge of the 

working group assigned to prepare 

for the stacking of Maersk Guardian 

and carry it out. 

“Within five days 

of arriving in Frederikshavn, 

we were 

down to our planned 

manning level of six 

people,” explains 

Bram Nabuurs. 

The last crew 

members on Maersk 

Guardian have now 

been assigned to preserve 

the equipment 

aboard the rig. They 

maintain the critical 

operational equipment 

and operate it 

periodically, running 

the drawworks, top 

drive, engines and mud pumps in 

order to keep the equipment in good 

condition. 

“The crew members are in charge 

of keeping the rig on a reduced-maintenance 

regimen because of the lower 

operating hours, as well as critically 

assessing and reducing the tasks on 

the maintenance to-do list wherever 

that’s both possible and appropriate,” 

says Bram Nabuurs. 

More idle days 

With up to 11 rigs coming off contract 

in 2016, and in view of a bleak business 

environment in which rig demand is 

dropping, here at Maersk Drilling we 

need to be prepared for the likelihood 

that not all our rigs will go on a new 

contract as soon as their old one runs 

out. This is the message from Head of 

Global Sales Morten Pilnov. 

“It is clear that our rigs are going 

to experience more idle days in 2016 

than we’ve seen in the recent past,” 

he says. 

Maersk Guardian is not the only 

rig being stacked at the moment. 

In Singapore, Maersk Convincer is 

preparing for what – hopefully – will 

only be a short period of stacking. Towards 

the end of December, Maersk 

Developer will likely run off contract 

and will arrive in Houston, where it 

will be stacked until a new contract 

is signed. 

Prior to a rig running off contract 

with no new assignment in sight, the 

relevant department – Asset team, 

Commercial, Technical Organization 

and Finance – will come up with a 

plan for how to stack it most efficiently, 

taking into account the market 

outlook for the rig in question and its 

probable next assignment. 

Please explain the procedure: does 

Maersk Drilling automatically send 

an idle rig for stacking if it doesn’t 

get a new contract within a certain 

time frame? 

“When a rig runs off contract, we follow 

the process in SIRIUS and consider 

how likely it is that the rig will get a 

new contract within a certain span of 

time. During this process we will typically 

establish some milestones – in 

other words, potential contracts that 

the rig will try to achieve. These are 

windows of opportunity – a chance 

to win a new contract. If the process 

turns out successfully, the rig will get a 

new contract,” explains Morten Pilnov. 

He continues: 

“If all these possibilities fail, we’ll 

start to consider outright stacking. 

We always begin with so-called utility 

stacking. This means that the rig is 

stacked while it is fully functional and 

ready to leave for a new contract on 

short notice. So, how far we proceed 

from idle days to outright stacking 

depends on the market potential for a 

new contract in the near future.” 

High contract coverage 

What is the most positive thing you 

can say about our position in this 

bleak business environment? 

“If we compare ourselves with 

our competitors, we are blessed with 

relatively high contract coverage for 

2016 and 2017. This is immensely 

significant for us, because it gives us 

an important foundation for getting 

through a period of oversupply and 

very low day rates,” says Morten 

Pilnov. 


“Of course, everyone would like the 

day rates to return to where they used 

to be in the good old days, but that’s not 

going to happen in the short or medium 

term. This industry has been in an 

upturn for so many years that many 

people have forgotten a basic fact: this 

is a cyclical business. We’ve just been in 

an upturn for many years. Now we have 

to prepare for a couple of difficult years 

before things start to improve.” 

We tend to call it lukewarm 

stacking. We maintain 

minimum manning 

without jeopardizing the 

rig’s ability to get back into 

operation swiftly when 

she gets a new contract. 

BRAM NABUURS, ASSISTANT ASSET MANAGER 

Lukewarm stacking 

In Frederikshavn, the remaining crew 

members of Maersk Guardian are not 

living on the rig any more, but staying 

at a local hotel. This allows the rig to be 

connected to shore-based power, bringing 

its fuel consumption down to a bare 

minimum. 

According to Bram Nabuurs, the 

remaining crew is very proactive and 

finds its motivation in reducing the cost 

of the daily operations on the rig – for 

instance, by using the waste heat from 

the engines to warm the interior of the 

rig when the engines are running. 

Then there is the question concerning 

the mode of stacking. Should we be 

thinking in terms of cold or warm stacking 

in the case of Maersk Guardian? 

“We tend to call it lukewarm stacking. 

We maintain minimum manning 

without jeopardizing the rig’s ability to 

get back into operation swiftly when 

she gets a new contract,” explains Bram. 

He continues: 

“This lukewarm mode of stacking 

means we can bring the rig back to full 

operational mode within eight weeks 

once we get the necessary resources.” 

Quick return 

He adds that the process of making the 

Maersk Guardian fully operational does 

not depend solely on the technical state 

of the rig. It also relies heavily on the crew 

being available, as the Guardian’s crew 

members are scattered all around the 

world. Most of them are working on other 

rigs in the company, though some have 

inevitably had to leave the company. 

So how long is it viable to keep the 

Maersk Guardian in a lukewarm 

stacking mode? 

“This mode of stacking will enable us to 

react swiftly to any market development 

at a relatively low cost to the company. 

This pushes the discussion about the 

viability of stacking our rigs in the direction 

it needs to go: what opportunities 

do our customers have, and how do we 

jointly ensure that these opportunities 

are turned into awarded contracts.” 


9

WHAT IS IT? 

Riser pipe 

Fairing 

Fairings are attached 

to the drilling riser to 

suppress vortex induced 

vibrations of the riser. 

Fighting strong 

currents with 

FAIRINGS 

What are fairings? 

Fairings are structures that are used to suppress 

and reduce drag- and vortex-induced 

vibration (VIV) around a drilling riser. 

Where are fairings being used? 

They are being used all over the offshoresector 

where strong currents are posing 

a risk to the stability of the drilling riser. 

As such it is not a new technology, but it 

becomes more and more advanced. 

What does a fairing protect against? 

There are strong currents in the waters 

off, for instance, Africa and South America. 

When the riser pipe is placed in a 

strong current, it may begin to vibrate. 

Fairings are placed on the pipe from near 

the surface down to a depth determined by 

calculation. 

How does a fairing work? 

A fairing is basically a wing-shaped plastic 

element or set of elements which is at- 


Photos: VIV Solutions 

When the riser pipe is placed 

in a strong current, it may 

begin to vibrate. Fairings are 

placed on the pipe from near 

the surface down to a depth 

determined by calculation (left 

side of illustration). After a certain 

depth, currents drop to one 

knot or less – a safe speed. 

The fairings are 

attached to the 

outside of the 

drilling riser, 

piece by piece. 

Fairings are 

designed to freely 

weathervane 

around the riser 

string. 

STRONG 

OCEAN 

CURRENT 

tached to the outside of the drilling riser, 

piece by piece. The fairing system consists 

of two main components: the fairing and 

the load-bearing collars. These components 

are installed on the drilling riser over the 

buoyancy modules, and are removable. 

Fairings are designed to freely weathervane 

around the riser string, which makes them 

self-adjusting in response to any change in 

the direction of the current. 

What would happen if the fairings were 

not installed? 

The inability to suppress VIV may cause 

increased fatigue damage to particular riser 

joints and the wellhead, and will lead to 

increased riser drag forces being present in 

strong-current environments. Under certain 

conditions, the absence of fairings could 

lead to reduced uptime and require higher 

thruster utilization, thereby potentially 

reducing the profitability of the rig. 


11

INTERIM RESULT Q3 2015 

FIGHTING BACK IN A BLEAK MARKET 

Focusing on remaining 

competitive despite the downturn 

Maersk Drilling increased the underlying profit by 46 

percent to USD 172 million and is focusing on remaining 

competitive despite the downturn by reducing the cost 

base and securing a strong contract backlog. 

Maersk Drilling maintains the expectation of a significantly 

higher underlying result for 2015 than in 2014 

(USD 471m) due to more rigs in operation, high forward 

contract coverage as well as impact from the initiated 

cost reduction and efficiency enhancement programme, 

which in Q3 2015 delivered a saving of more than 10% 

compared to Q3 2014. 

INCREASING REVENUE 

Financial performance, USDm 

800 

ROIC BELOW Q3 2014 

Financial performance, percentage 

50% 

600 

525 

646 

40% 

44,0% 

36,8% 

30% 

400 

20% 

200 

192 184 

10% 

10,7% 9,0% 

0 

Revenue 

NOPAT 

0% 

EBIT-margin 

ROIC 

Q3 2014 Q3 2015 

Q3 2014 Q3 2015 

STRONG REVENUE BACKLOG 

Revenue backlog by year, end Q3 2015, USDbn 

MOST UNITS FACING CHALLENGES IN Q3 

Underlying profit by activity 

2,0 

700 

600 

685 

Financial highlights (USDm) 

1,5 

500 

400 

1,0 

0,5 

0,0 

RoY 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019+ 

300 

200 

100 

0 

243 

Maersk 

Line 

224 

32 

Maersk 

Oil 

Q3 2014 Q3 2015 

201 

175 

APM 

Terminals 

118 

172 

Maersk 

Drilling 

79 

44 

APM 

Shipping 

Services 


MARKET INSIDE 

NEW CONTRACTS WORTH 

USD 1,1BN DURING Q3 2015 

Maersk Resilient 

CUSTOMER: 

Maersk Oil 

COUNTRY: 

Denmark 

CONTRACT VALUE: 

110m USD 

DURATION: 

3 years 

A Historic Level of 

Scrapping Activity 

Rebalancing the 

By Timothy Shoup , 

global rig market 

Strategy and stakeholder Relations 

will require the 

highest level of rig scrapping activity in history. 

Mærsk innovator 

CUSTOMER: 

ConocoPhilips 

COUNTRY: 

Norway 


142m USD 

DURATION: 

16 months 

Global Scrapping Cycles (1980-2015YTD) 

Rigs scrapped 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

Oil prise (USD/bbl) 

$120 

$100 

$80 

$60 

Maersk Resolve 

CUSTOMER: 

DONG Energy 

COUNTRY: 

Denmark 


28m USD 

DURATION: 

250 days 

Mærsk Giant 

CUSTOMER: 

DONG Energy 

COUNTRY: 

Denmark 


16m USD 

DURATION: 

150 days 

Heydar Aliyev 

CUSTOMER: 

BP 

COUNTRY: 

Azerbaijan 


523m USD 

DURATION: 

5 years 

Maersk Discoverer 

CUSTOMER: 

BP 

COUNTRY: 

Egypt 


Undisclosed 

DURATION: 

3 years 

15 

10 

5 

0 

1980 

1981 

1982 

1983 

1984 

1985 

1986 

1987 

1988 

1989 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

Jack-ups Floaters Oil price (USD/bbl) 

Source: IHS Petrodata; Thomson Reuters; BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2013 

Global oil market downturn continues 

The global oil market continues to struggle under significant structural challenges. 

Oil is still trading around $50 per barrel, and oversupply in the oil market 

is expected to continue until late 2016 or even beyond. Oil companies are focused 

on reducing all types of costs, including capital spending on offshore drilling. 

Consequently, global offshore drilling rig utilization levels and day rates have 

plunged precipitously. 

Offshore drillers responding by scrapping 

As the market is expected to continue to deteriorate, offshore drillers are responding 

with the highest level of scrapping activity in history. Since mid-2014, 

offshore drillers have retired 42 floaters and 13 jack-ups. The majority of retirements 

during this time period have been over 30 years old. 

Scrapping cycle is just beginning 

Currently, a significant part of the global rig fleet remains over 30 years old, including 

42% of jack-ups and 26% of floaters. With continued downward pressure 

on oil prices, capital spending, day rates, and utilization levels, in addition to the 

high, still-to-be-delivered number of newbuild orders, further scrapping activity 

is required to reduce the large number of older drilling rigs still operating in the 

market. 

Rebalancing needs more than scrapping alone 

While an accelerated scrapping cycle over the next couple years will help bring 

balance to the market over the long-run, it will not solve the complex pressures 

of the short-term environment and the continued rig supply-demand imbalance. 

The lower-for-longer oil price environment means that returning the market 

to balance will require an unprecedented level of industry discipline with respect 

to both cost & efficiency initiatives as well as fleet size, age, and composition. 

$40 

$20 

$0 


13

DECOMMISSIONING 

Rig manager Rafal Iwanowski’s 

job description suddenly took 

a 180-degree turn, when he 

was asked to prepare Maersk 

Endurer for decommissioning. 

It was a case of learning by doing. 

An unexpected 

CHALLENGE 


Photo: Nikolaj Thaning Rentzmann 


One consequence of falling oil 

prices is that decommissioning 

has become a new reality 

in the oil industry. 

Rafal Iwanowski was among the 

first to experience the precipitous 

change from ‘the good old days’ to 

today’s ultra-harsh oil reality. 

Two years after starting a new 

assignment as rig manager on 

Maersk Endurer, overnight Rafal 

Iwanowski found himself dealing 

with an unexpected task: to prepare 

the rig for decommissioning! 

“My job description suddenly 

took a 180-degree turn,” says Rafal. 

“In 2014 I was in charge of the 

challenging process of turning Maersk 

Endurer into a highly effective 

oil rig. In 2015 the 

aim was quite 

the opposite: to 

close it down and 

prepare it for decommissioning.” 

“It was a peculiar 

situation. 

As the new rig 

manager on Maersk 

Endurer, I had 

fought hard to 

improve the rig’s 

performance. 

Now, suddenly, 

I was in charge 

of preparing the 

rig for recycling,” 

Rafal explains. 

In good 

shape 

Rafal Iwanowski 

and his team had 

managed to get 

the Endurer into good shape during 

2013/2014, following years of 

minimum-level maintenance prior 

to the rig’s arrival off Cameroon, 

plus a period of poor performance: 

under his leadership, the annual 

overall KPI score leapt from 13 per 

cent in 2013 to well above 70 per 

cent in 2014. 

But now Rafal Iwanowski found 

himself rapidly confronted with 

unprecedented challenges. 

In the history of Maersk Drilling, 

the company had never sent a 

rig or drillship to the scrapyard. 

“So naturally there was no-one 

in the organization to call on for 

the relevant contingency plan. Add 

in the fact that we were situated 

in Cameroon, where routine tasks 

could suddenly turn complicated. It 

was a case of learning by doing.” 

One daunting task was to identify 

those components which were 

suitable for reuse or resale. 

“Soon we were confronted with 

multiple challenges. Much to our 

surprise, we discovered that it was 

almost impossible to buy containers 

for the components we wanted 

to keep. Despite the assistance 

we had from APM Terminals and 

Maersk Line, 

we were actually 

only able 

In 2014 I was in 

charge of the 

challenging process 

of turning 

Maersk Endurer 

into a highly 

effective oil rig. 

In 2015 the aim 

was quite the opposite: 

to close it 

down and prepare 

it for decommissioning. 

to buy seven 

containers out 

of the nearly 

30 units we 

needed. It was 

so complicated 

that we ended 

up renting the 

rest, just to 

bring the process 

to an end,” 

says Rafal. 

Heavy 

Congestion 

The next problem 

cropped 

up in the 

harbour of the 

Douala container 

terminal 

in Cameroon. 

The terminal is heavily congested, 

which meant the team was unable 

to ship out the containers packed 

with equipment and spare parts 

from Endurer. 

In fact, some of the equipment is 

still in Cameroon awaiting a vessel 

departure that has already been 

postponed several times. 

On top of that, time pressure 

was an important factor. 

Endurer had to bring the valuable 

components of the rig onshore 

Photo: Sea2cradle 

before the arrival of the heavy-lift 

vessel assigned to take Maersk Endurer 

on its final voyage. The team 

had approximately one month to 

execute the scope of the removal 

procedures, which was a huge logistical 

task. 

Preparing for Nini and Siri 

“Among the things we’ve kept are 

the high-pressure valves, fishing 

and handling equipment, tubulars, 

and of course the top drive and the 

two BOP stacks. Overall, we secured 

equipment worth USD 9m before 

Endurer left for China,” explains 

Rafal Iwanowski. 

Currently Rafal is the rig manager 

of Mærsk Giant. He is preparing 

the rig for its next assignment with 

the Danish energy utility DONG 

Energy. The rig contract covers 150 

days operating on the Nini and Siri 

fields in the Danish sector of the 

North Sea. 

He does not hesitate when he is 

asked about the hardest part of the 

process: 

“Some members of the Endurer 

team had to leave the company as 

a consequence of the shutdown of 

Endurer. Employment was found 

for some of the team members, 

but unfortunately not for all of 

them. We had a great team, and we 

achieved great results in 2013 and 

2014. And saying good-bye is never 

easy. But Endurer is now history.” 


Rafal Iwanowski 

and his team 

managed to get 

Maersk Endurer in 

good shape during 

2013/2014. Then 

his job description 

suddenly took a 

180-degree turn. 

15

DECOMMISSIONING 

Putting the 

ENDURER 

to rest 

Rotterdam-based Sea2Cradle aims 

to achieve a recycling rate of 100 per 

cent when a rig is decommissioned. 

Its managing director, Tom Peter 

Blankestijn, explains why the Maersk 

Endurer’s 150-metre legs were 

a major source of concern during 

the decommissioning process. 

An obvious decision? 

Head of Global Sales Morten Pilnov 

was a key person in making 

the decision regarding whether 

to stack, decommission 

or sell Maersk Endurer. 

Was it an obvious decision to 

decommission Maersk Endurer? 

“Well, with hindsight it was an obvious decision. However, back 

then we were not so sure. We investigated several options. 

Stacking was one realistic solution. And of course we screened 

the market in order to find a potential buyer for Endurer.” 

What made you decide to rule out stacking as a 

viable solution? 

“As you know, Endurer was a relatively old jack-up rig, and 

with the way the market was going we couldn’t expect to earn 

back the required investment within the rig’s expected lifetime. 

Meanwhile, a number of younger rigs were coming open in 

West Africa, and there was not a lot of demand among our customers 

for an old rig that had been idle for a significant period.” 

Was it really impossible to find a buyer? 

“We didn’t want to sell for just a nominal amount. Selling too 

cheap could have meant that the new owner would decide 

to transport the rig to a beach in Asia for decommissioning. 

Obviously, we did not want that to happen. Therefore, we fixed 

a certain threshold price below which we were unwilling to 

sell. But despite our efforts, we were unable to find a buyer.” 


Maersk Drilling has hired the Dutch consultant Sea2Cradle 

as the company’s eyes and ears at the ship recycling yard in 

Zhoushan, China, the Zhoushan Changhong International 

Ship Recycling Co. 

A large number of Chinese shipyard workers are currently 

employed on recycling the Maersk Endurer. The process is 

scheduled to last until the beginning of 2016. 

In a segment of the shipping industry that is renowned 

for its lack of standards and its unhealthy and unsafe 

working conditions, Sea2Cradle offers its customers a 

different solution, namely demolition yards which feature 

accident-free working conditions, proper disposal of hazardous 

materials without exposing workers, and care for the 

environment. 

According to Sea2Cradle’s managing director, Tom Peter 

Blankestijn, it is now possible to recycle more than 95 per 

cent of a merchant ship or a rig. But in the future, the company 

aims to achieve a recycling rate of 100 per cent. 

Is dismantling a jack-up rig like Endurer a 

normal task for your company? 

“Yes, for the greater part this is routine business for us. A traditional 

merchant ship and a jack-up rig have a lot in common: 

in both cases, there’s a large amount of steel and some 

hazardous materials that need to be recycled. But there are, 

of course, some significant differences. The 150-metre legs 

caused us concern, and we had to discuss and agree in detail 

a special plan with the recycling yard for dismantling them 

safely.” 

What was the solution? 

“The concern was their height. We did not want the workers 

to climb up high and start cutting. We also wanted to avoid 

any use of the uncontrolled gravity method. Our planned 

16 

Maersk Drilling Newsletter 02·2015

Photo: Sea2cradle 

Sea2Cradle expects that 98 % of Maersk Endurer can be recycled. Dismantling a jack-up rig is more or less a routine job for the company. 

solution is to place the structure in a dry dock on blocks, 

then to lower the legs two metres at a time and cut them 

off in stages. Then this will be repeated and repeated and 

repeated until the height is no longer a problem, and at that 

point a gantry crane will be able to reach and lift a longer 

section of each leg and bring all of them onshore.” 

Have you encountered other challenges so far? 

“We had some worries about asbestos. When we were 

drilling the concrete flooring, we needed to make sure that 

no layer of asbestos had been used in the past to prevent 

fire from spreading quickly. Luckily no additional problems 

came to light, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” 

What does the concept of recycling mean when it’s 

applied to a rig? What are the main components, and 

how will they be recycled? 

“Some parts will be reused, like some generators and life 

rafts, if their certificates are still valid. Steel and aluminum 

are remelted and used for new products. So is the copper 

from the cables on board.” 

Looking at the history books, how did the drilling 

companies traditionally decommission their oil rigs? 

“Not many rigs were dismantled in the past. Most of the 

oil companies and the operators were pushing to get the 

maximum lifetime out of their units. If they actually decided 

to dispose of a rig, they followed the same traditional 

method of recycling, and that mainly meant either doing 

it locally or on the beach if this was operationally possible. 

No structural planning or procedures were followed to 

guarantee anything resembling the HSEQ standards we 

are after today.” 

Does it still happen that oil rigs get towed onto beaches 

in Bangladesh for “traditional” decommissioning? 

“Maybe. We are not involved in such practices, as 

we do not believe that aiming for zero pollution, zero 

accidents and zero incidents is at all possible in those 

circumstances.” 

What do you think will happen in the future? 

“With the oil prices as low as they are and these units 

being quite old, we expect many, many more to follow. Not 

only will a growing number of jack-up rigs go for demolition, 

but the floating drilling units are also soon going to be 

phased out in greater numbers.” 

How large a percentage of the Endurer can be recycled? 

“We expect it to be close to 98 per cent.” 


17

A lonely 

final journey 

Accompanying Maersk Endurer on its final voyage 

from Africa to Asia was more lonely and gruelling than 

Kim Leth Andersen had expected: scorching heat and 

monotonous food caused him to lose 15 kilograms. 

By Nicolai Ostergaard. Photos: Kim Leth Andersen 

There were 

29 Chinese 

seamen and 

me. Only a few 

of the crew 

members 

spoke any 

English. 

This summer, Offshore Installation 

Manager Kim Leth Andersen was assigned 

to what was a highly unusual 

task for the company. 

Maersk Endurer had ended its 

contract in West Africa, and was 

about to make its final voyage to 

China for decommissioning. 

Because of contractual obligations, 

a representative from Maersk Drilling 

had to be present on board the 

Chinese heavy lift ship 

to look after the rig. 

Kim Leth Andersen 

accepted the job. 

53 days at sea 

He embarked in Equatorial 

Guinea on July 

13th and disembarked 

in Zhou Shan, China 

on September 3rd – a 

total of 53 days at sea, 

travelling at an average 

speed of approximately 

9 knots. The journey 

took Kim and Maersk 

Endurer south of Africa, 

west of Madagascar and through the 

Strait of Malacca. 

“There were 29 Chinese seamen 

and me. Only a few of the crew members 

spoke any English,” Kim recalls. 

He lost 15 kilos on the trip. 

“Normally I’m a great fan of 

Chinese food, and as an old seaman I 

don’t consider myself squeamish. But 

on this trip the menu got very monotonous 

very fast. According to the 

captain, the last provisioning of the 

ship took place just before they left 

Shanghai heading towards Europe. 

We had fish soup for breakfast, and 

fish soup for lunch. Dinners consisted 

of boiled duck, rice and seaweed. We 

were served small pieces of potato on 

the first six days, but except for that 

the menu didn’t change for the 53 

days that the voyage lasted,” explains 

Kim. 

Luckily, his personal provision 

included 7 kilos of protein powder, 

which helped him through the journey. 

He would often wake up in the 

morning feeling hungry. And since 

he didn’t feel like eating fish soup for 

breakfast, he would mix up a 300-ml 

protein-powder shake. 

“I was not starving at all, but I was 

desperate for some variety,” recalls 

Kim. 

Helping the cook 

During the trip he was approached by 

crew members who often showed an 

interest in spare parts or other desirable 

items that might be useful to 

them. Two weeks into the voyage he 

was approached by the second cook, 

who said he was short of supplies for 

cleaning pots and pans. 

“The equipment he was using was 

old and worn-out. The pots and pans 

were all blackened, and they were really 

too far gone to be used. As for the 

food, he didn’t have many provisions 

to work with.” Kim says. 

“One day, I took him on a guided 

tour aboard the Maersk Endurer and 

showed him its galley. Looking around, 

we found some useful stuff, and he 

left with several pots and pans, some 

brushes and some steel wool – a magnificent 

upgrade of his kitchen equipment. 

That really made his day.” 

As Maersk Drilling’s representative 

on board the heavy lift carrier, 

Kim Leth Andersen was in charge 

of monitoring the Maersk Endurer 

during the journey. The rig was the 

property of Maersk Drilling until its 

arrival in China and its subsequent 

transfer to the Chinese shipyard that 

was in charge of the decommissioning 

process. 

Daily reports 

He made daily reports to the company 

concerning the rig’s position, speed 


Kim Leth Andersen spent 

53 days at sea. The average 

speed was 9 knots. 

and estimated time of arrival. As Kim 

had been issued with a handheld 

satellite phone, three weekly calls to 

Maersk Endurer’s rig manager were 

also on his agenda. 

“On top of that, I did daily potential 

dropped objects-inspections on the 

rig in order to prevent potential 

dropped objects from presenting a 

hazard to the Chinese crew. An older 

rig like Maersk Endurer starts to behave 

a bit differently when it is lifted 

out of the water and onto the deck of 

a heavy lift ship that is moving with 

the waves. It was also my duty to 

observe and prevent any components 

starting to fall off. The ship’s crew 

was shuttling back and forth to the 

foreship, so a dedicated route was 

worked out. ” 

According to Kim, it takes a lot 

of discipline to cope with idle days 

that continue for such an extended 

period, so it is necessary to set a daily 

agenda. 

“So not long into the voyage, I 

challenged the officers to perform 

celestial navigation using the sextant 

and other methods which seem to 

have been dropped from daily bridge 

activities. The sextant was damaged, 

and we had to adjust the mirrors. So 

we did that, and during the voyage 

we maintained daily observations 

by “shooting the sun”, and during the 

late dusk, the stars. It was fun to get 

reacquainted with the stars Pollux, 

Deneb and Castor.” 

On arriving in Zhou Shan on 

September 3rd, Kim disembarked 

and left for the hotel, where he met 

up with the Tow Master, Morten 

Halkjaer. Throughout the voyage he 

had been maintaining weekly contact 

with Morten regarding the planning 

and the offload procedures, as well as 

preparing for the latter. 

“It was a very nice feeling to arrive 

at the downtown Hilton Hotel, and 

to stand in the lobby thinking ’We’re 

finally here!’.” 

Heavenly feeling 

Sitting in the restaurant the same 

evening, he ordered his first meal 

following his rebirth as a landlubber. 

It consisted of a large plate of sushi, a 

mixed green salad, and various other 

side dishes. 

“It was a heavenly feeling to experience 

once again the variety of tastes 

which I had almost forgotten during 

the long journey,” he recalls. 

Early on the morning of the 5th 

of September, the Maersk Drilling 

crew sailed out to the heavy lift ship 

in order to offload Maersk Endurer. 

At 08:10, the mighty Maersk Endurer 

was officially handed over to the 

recycling facility by the Tow Master, 

Morten Halkjaer. 

The voyage from Equatorial 

Guinea in West Africa to Zhou Shan 

in China, which had covered 10,790 

nautical miles in 53 days, was over. It 

was time to go home. 

“To leave Maersk Endurer for the 

last time and see her disappear as we 

sailed shoreside made me feel kind of 

sad. For the past three years, I have 

worked with the finest, most loyal 

and most dedicated people, who were 

a part of the transition from the difficult 

year of 2013 into the successful 

one of 2014 in terms of both safety, 

performance and the attainment of 

set goals. I am proud to have participated 

in these achievements, 

and — not least — to have 

been a member of the 

Maersk Endurer team. 

This was a different 

assignment, but 

a great experience.” 


19

FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO 

Houston 

calling: 

The energy capital of the 

“Houston is regarded globally as an oil town, and given the current market conditions it would be easy to assume that the city’s economy is in free fall.” 


world is slowing down 

By Steve Schappell 

Tale of Two Cities could be the 

A book title that describes Houston 

right now. Houston is regarded 

globally as an oil town, and given the 

current market conditions it would 

be easy to assume that the city’s 

economy is in free fall. For those of us 

who work in the oil and gas industry, 

the anxiety is palpable. When we 

meet fellow workers in the industry, 

talk quickly turns to the stacking of 

rigs and a further round of layoffs 

in the city. The statistics offer no 

relief: a 59.2% year-on-year reduction 

in the number of operating rigs 

in the US and a 62.8% reduction in 

oil exploration do not generate much 

enthusiasm. 

Given these numbers, it makes no 

sense for construction cranes to be as 

common a sight as mosquitos in our 

city, which is built on a swamp. An 

oil town must surely suffer through 

this market. Ask anyone who was 

here in the 1980s, and they’ll tell you 

about vacant homes and the exodus 

of people from the city. 

Energy is the driver 

But Houstonians are resilient, and 

they have been determined not to 

allow a repeat of the 80s. Many think 

of Houston as the energy capital 

of the world, and with 4.2% of the 

population working in the oil and gas 

industry, that sector is certainly the 

leading economic driver. However, 

the city has been able to diversify its 

economy by expanding the manufacturing, 

chemical and health care industries 

over the past three decades. 

Houston’s port is also the largest 

one in the region, handling over $250 

billion in imports and exports annually. 

To put it in GDP terms, at $525.4 

billion Houston would have the 26th 

largest economy in the world, behind 

Belgium and ahead of Norway. 

Although the diversification 

has helped, there is no doubt that 

Houston is still an energy town that 

depends on the oil and gas industry 

to drive its long-term economic success. 

Houston’s economy has slowed 

from a growth rate of 6.5% in 2013 

to 1.8% in 2014. Estimates for 2015 

range from 1.5% to 3%. The slowdown 

reflects the direct impact of the 

oil price on the Houston economy. 

Without the diversification of the 

last 30 years, these figures would be 

significantly worse. 

Mix of people 

Given all the negative news, it would 

be natural to assume that a black 

cloud must hang over the city. Yet 

that is not the case. I believe that 

the diversification of the citizenry 

has helped Houston just as much as 

the diversification of its economy. 

A surprising 23.1% of Houstonians 

are foreign-born. The mix of people 

having diverse backgrounds and 

experiences means that Houston’s 

atmosphere is ever-changing. 

Maersk Drilling, USA seems to be 

a microcosm of Houston’s situation. 

On one side is the positive story of 

the Viking and Valiant, which are 

one year into operation on strong 

contracts, driving high uptime and 

revenues. On the other side is the Developer, 

which is coming off contract 

with very few work prospects in the 

Gulf of Mexico. Much like Houston’s 

response to the downturn in the 

80s, at Maersk Drilling, USA we are 

urgently reviewing our policies and 

procedures to ensure that we are 

fully prepared to weather this storm. 

We must build an organization that 

will not only be able to get through 

it, but will have the capability and 

capacity to grow after the market 

changes. It seems clear that the Gulf 

of Mexico will be the first region to 

drill a 20k well, and our team has to 

be poised to move quickly into this 

new frontier and beat the competition. 

Hoping for change 

Given the resilient nature of Houstonians 

and the cyclical nature of the 

oil industry, one can only hope the 

current situation matches the local 

weather in the spring: “Just wait a 

little while and it will change”. 

As I look out through my work 

window and watch the ongoing 

construction of the new Phillips 66 

global headquarters and a high-rise 

apartment building across the street, 

I can only pause and think, “We are 

Houstonians. Not only will we get 

through this, we will come out of it 

even stronger”. 

Photo: Henry Han 

Who’s who 

Steve Schappell is Location Director at Maersk Drilling, USA. 

He has been with Maersk for more than seven years. 

Before joining the Maersk Group Steve spent ten years in the US Army. 

In Maersk he spent three years in procurement roles supporting US flag vessels, two years as a 

program manager in Japan overseeing a maintenance and procurement program, two years as 

Head of Supply Chain, Americas, supporting Maersk Drilling. Steve has been Location Manager 

Maersk Drilling, Houston for five months. 


21

PERSONAL 

Offshore Promotion List 

17/10/15 

Bo Johan Mattias Ottosson promoted from 

Assistant Marine Section Leader Trainee to 

Assistant Marine Section Leader, Waiting Pool 

26/08/15 

Charles Velie promoted from Senior DPO, 

Maersk Developer, to Assistant Marine Section 

Leader, Maersk Developer 

23/09/15 

Alexander Heil promoted from Marine Section 

Leader, Maersk Developer, to OIM, Maersk Developer 

Anniversaries 

40 Years 

01 September Hans Christensen, Operations. 

25 Years 

01 August Marianne Sorensen, CFO, Finance. 

09 August Brian Kennedy, Maersk Integrator. 

03 September Frank Eliassen, Operations. 

05 September Jesper Hansen, Maersk Interceptor. 

01 October Jan Franch Pedersen: Maersk Interceptor. 

01 October Jens Lehmann Sorensen, Maersk Galant. 

08 October Nigel Robinson, Waiting Pool. 

09 October Jorgen Nielsen, Maersk Intrepid. 

17 October Jarle Halvorsen, Mærsk Innovator. 

07 November David Swanton, Mærsk Innovator. 

08 November Lars Tynaes, Operations. 

14 November Kaj Krabbe Nielsen, Operations. 

19 November Bjarne Jorgensen, Marine Department. 

21 November Jesper Wobbe, Maersk Integrator. 

13 december Per Wetting, Operations. 

14 December Jesper Krabbenhoft, Maersk Integrator. 

18 December Hieu Trung Pham, Coating. 

Ready for the job! 

How is the HR department at Maersk Drilling navigating 

the current low visibility market in the oil industry? 

The newly appointed Head of HR, Lene Reitzel, is 

ready to take on the challenge. 

“I am very excited to join Maersk Drilling, and I am 

currently getting re-acquainted with the organisation,” 

Lene Reitzel says. 

She continues: 

“I am also aware that I am joining the company at a 

difficult time for the industry where we are having to 

navigate low visibility.” 

Since 2013, Lene has been the Head of HR for Maersk 

Tankers and a member of the Maersk Tankers Executive 

Leadership Team. 

Before that, she spent 11 years with Maersk Drilling, 

most recently as the Head of Organisational Development 

and Compensation & Benefits. She started her 

career with the Maersk Group in 1989 as a Shipping 

Trainee. 

ment was starting to rebuild the organisation using a 

new strategy. 

Are you confronted with a similar challenge in 

Maersk Drilling? 

“In some ways. Maersk Drilling is having to adapt to a 

challenging market, and HR is a vital pivot for defining 

the transition and helping to maintain employee engagement 

at a high level during this journey.” 

What is your impression so far? 

“My sense is of a cohesive organisation both on- and 

offshore that is committed to delivering quality service, 

and which is also widely recognised for doing so by our 

customers,” explains Lene Reitzel. 

How can HR help the company to adapt to 

the new oil reality? 

“The low oil price has changed the scope of our work in 

the HR department. My predecessor, Jesper B. Madsen, 

successfully began the process of setting the organisation 

up for the totally new oil reality we find ourselves in 

today. I intend to continue where he left off,” says Lene 

Reitzel. 

“I see HR’s role in this process ensuring that Maersk 

Drilling has the organisation and people required to 

succeed both now and in the future – in other words, 

we are taking care of today, while actively preparing 

for tomorrow. But it is still too early for me to be able to 

identify all the factors that will enable us to achieve a 

match with our current and future needs.” 

Lene Reitzel joined Maersk Tankers after it had 

endured years of cutbacks, at a time when its HR depart- 

Lene Reitzel 

Lene Reitzel started her career 

in the Maersk Group in 1989 as a 

Shipping Trainee. 

She spent 11 years with Maersk 

Drilling, latest as the Head of 

Organisational Development and 

Compensation & Benefits. 

From 2013, Lene was the Head 

of HR for Maersk Tankers and a 

member of the Maersk Tankers 

Executive Leadership Team. 

In her free time, she enjoys a good 

workout and spends a fair amount 

of time watching her two sons 

aged 14 and 17 play football all 

across Zealand on the weekends. 


5 

3,0 

4 

2,0 

3 

2 

1,0 

1 

IADC Aligned 0 Safety Performance as of end October 0,0 2015 

Nov-14 

Rolling 12 month trend 

Dec-14 

Jan-15 

Feb-15 

Mar-15 

Apr-15 

May-15 

Jun-15 

Jul-15 

Aug-15 

Sep-15 

Oct-15 

Rolling 12 month Actual vs. Target 

SAFETY UPDATE 

LTI TRC LTIF TRCF 

Counts MD LTI &TRC Freq. 

5 

5 

3,0 

3,0 

4 

3 

4 

3 

2,0 

2,0 

2,16 

2 

1 

0 

2 

0 

Nov-14 nov. Dec-14 dec. Jan-15 jan. Feb-15 feb. Mar-15 mar. Apr-15 apr. May-15 may Jun-15 jun. Jul-15 jul. Aug-15 aug. Sep-15 sep. Oct-15 oct. 1,0 

0,0 

1,0 

0,0 

TRCF 

0,51 

LTIF 

LTI TRC LTIF TRCF 

2011-2015 YTD LTI and TRC Frequencies High Potential Incidents 

LTIF TRCF Linear (LTIF) Linear (TRCF) 

By Asset Team 

6,00 

2 

2 

DeepWater 

5,00 

4,92 

4,73 

Harsh Env. J/U 

4,00 

International J/U 

3,00 

3,08 

4 

2,00 

1,00 

0,37 

2011 

1,12 

1,40 

2,48 

0,57 

2,23 

0,37 

2012 2013 2014 2015 

YTD 

By Type 

2 

1 

1 

Marine Operations 

Maintenance and 

Technical Modifications 

Transport 

3 

Drilling/well activities 

Well Control Incidents 

1 

Other Process 

Critical Serious Regular 

Counts 

4,5 

4 

3,5 

3 

2,5 

3 

2 2 4 

2 

1,5 

1 

1 

0,5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

0 

nov./14 

dec./14 

jan./15 

feb./15 

mar./15 

apr./15 

may maj/15 

jun./15 

jul./15 

aug./15 

sep./15 

okt./15 oct. Safety Performance comments 

• Improved TRC and LTI frequency trends when 

looking at rolling 1 year or 5 year overviews. 

• No well control incidents since the launch of 

the revised Well Control Manual that integrates 

Human Factors into the procedures 

• 54 “perfect” days (2015 YTD) of incident free 

operations across the entire MD fleet – including 

all incidents (w/ first aid cases) and near 

misses 

Recordable Incident details since last update 

DATE UNIT/LOC INCIDENT BRIEF DESCRIPTION 

09-October 2015 Maersk Viking MTC Left thumb injury while rigging up outer solid body elevator 


23

KPI CORNER 

97% 

Operational 

uptime 

in Q3. For floating rigs the 

uptime was even higher, 

98% versus 96% in Q3 2014. 

Our customer 

satisfaction 

score of 

6.3 

in October 2015. The 

score was 6,2 in 2014, 

but 6.4 in Q1 and Q2 

Retention 

89.45% 

97.5% 

ON- 

SHORE 

OFF- 

SHORE 

in Q3 2015. The offshore 

retention rate 

is at a very high level. 

It was 94.7 in 2014. 

Contract coverage 

36.8% 

was the Q3 

EBIT 

margin 

A decrease from 44% 

in Q3 2014. But well 

above the 28.6% for 2014. 

85% 

70% 

49% 

2015 2016 2017 

With the current pipeline of contracts we 

have solid contract coverage for the coming 

years – especially in the light of the 

bleak market conditions expected in 2016. 

Published by: 

Maersk Drilling 

Esplanaden 50 

DK-1098 Copenhagen 

Tel: +45 63 36 00 00 

Fax: +45 63 36 31 82 

Mail: NOS008@maerskdrilling.com 

Volume 29, No. 2 · December 2015 

Editor: Nicolai Østergaard. Tel./Fax: +45 23 27 87 55. 

Mail: nicolai.ostergaard@maerskdrilling.com 

Design & production: Datagraf Communications 

Copies: 5,000 

Deadline next issue: January 2016 

This Newsletter is published for the 

employees, retirees and business 

connections of Maersk Drilling. 

The NewsLetter is printed on Forest 

Stewardship Council (FSC) paper. 

Reproduction permitted only after 

agreement with the editor.

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