MEET OUR PEOPLE
OUR PEOPLE, OUR CULTURE
At Well-Safe Solutions, our people reflect our culture. Sharing their knowledge and lessons learned to provide a collaborative and open workplace. Over this series, we aim to take a look at some of our Operations Team, showcasing their skills and benefit to not only Well-Safe Solutions but our industry as a whole.
Next up we meet Robin Kimber, an Assistant Rig Manager at Well-Safe Solutions. With a wealth of experience in the industry, Robin wasted no time in getting stuck into ongoing operations here at Well-Safe Solutions and continues to do so as the rigs prepare to head out to work later this year.
Robin Kimber
Robin joined the Well-Safe team in November 2020 as an Assistant Rig Manager. Joining the team during lockdown, Robin spared no time in getting stuck in following the purchase of the Well-Safe Protector, helping to orchestrate the rig move to bring the Protector back to the UK from Norway in December. In addition, managing the upgrade program and rig readiness schedule on both assets, he is a key part of the team as the rigs prepare to head out to work later this year. Take a read to find out more about Robin’s journey in the Oil & Gas sector and his time here at Well-Safe:
How long have you been in the industry, and what made you pick a career in Oil & Gas?
My first experience of the oil & gas industry was 14 years ago when I secured an industrial placement with a drilling contractor as part of my engineering degree. I wasn’t initially planning on joining oil & gas as I was looking to pursue a career within the automotive sector, but due to the 2008 recession, placements were very hard to come by. As the oil industry was less impacted at the time, I was fortunate to secure an opportunity in Aberdeen. This opened my eyes to an industry I knew very little about. After spending a year supporting the rigs from the Aberdeen office and getting the opportunity to go offshore for a few trips, I got the bug.
I returned to the same company after completing my degree and have been in the industry ever since. I progressed through the ranks from Project Engineer to Project Manager and then into Operations as Assistant Rig Manager and, most recently Rig Manager before moving to Well-Safe in November last year.
How do your previous work experiences help you at Well-Safe Solutions?
I joined Well-Safe Solutions following the purchase of the Well-Safe Protector and have since been involved in preparing the rig for operations in the UK. This has allowed me to utilise the skills I have developed over my career with rig upgrade and reactivation projects.
With experience in many different types of operations over the years, I’ve been able to bring a broad knowledge base to the team at Well-Safe while offering ideas and solutions as we get the rigs and systems ready to commence operations later this year.
Although moving into a new company mid-pandemic, whereby I was unable to meet many of my colleagues in person, has been challenging, the Well-Safe team has been very welcoming, which allowed me to feel instantly at home. I have also been fortunate to have worked with some WSS personnel onshore and offshore in other companies, so seeing some familiar faces went a long way during my first few months.
In your career, what has been your biggest challenge and achievement?
The biggest challenge in my career has been reactivating rigs with short notice; through this process, I have learnt key areas that need to be focused on to ensure safe and efficient operations. This, along with readying the rig crew and ensuring they have all the tools they need to go to the location and perform.
My most significant achievement to date links to this; one of the rigs I was in the process of preparing for preservation mode was awarded a contract and had to be reactivated (including a five year SPS) in a short time frame. Working with the asset support team and crews, we reactivated the rig and arrived on location as per plan, which was no mean feat. The hard work carried out by all involved resulted in winning rig of the quarter – which evidenced the work that had been undertaken translated into safe, efficient operations.
How is Well-Safe different for you, from other companies out there?
From my short time with Well-Safe to date, I have been amazed at how far the company has come in the short time it has been operating. Well-Safe Senior Leadership has instilled a family atmosphere not only in the office but offshore on the assets. I have been welcomed into the team and made to feel my contributions are both valued and integrated into the Well-Safe policies and procedures.
To me, Well-Safe is different in that it is forward-looking and ready to challenge the way the industry has dealt with decommissioning. With their focus on P&A operations, I have the freedom to develop our People, Plant & Process to best serve our P&A customers. Well-Safe has carefully selected assets with an excellent operational work history. The work undertaken to prepare them for P&A operations is suited to meet our customer’s needs.
Coming from a traditional drilling contractor, it is evident that Well-Safe has attracted personnel from varying companies and backgrounds into the organisation, each bringing best practice experience to challenge the status quo..
What are you looking forward to seeing/ being a part of in the future of Well-Safe?
I am looking forward to moving our assets to location, being a part of the team that is growing and building on the success Well-Safe has had to date. It is exciting to see the potential within the Operations department and Well Engineering department coming together to build one high-performance team able to deliver for all of our stakeholders.
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