ENGINEERING and construction group Subsea 7 has a new vice-president with north-east roots at the helm of its North America region.
Ian Cobban, previously vice-president of global operations at Subsea 7’s Aberdeen office, is now based in Houston.
He might never have had a career in subsea engineering, coming from a farming family near Huntly, but, after graduating from Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology in Aberdeen with both a diploma in mechanical engineering and post graduate diploma in materials and corrosion engineering, Mr Cobban has carved out a career in the subsea industry. Soon after joining Subsea Offshore in the mid-1980s, Mr Cobban embarked on a series of international postings in Asia-Pacific.
He said: “I worked in New Zealand, Singapore and Australia at a relatively early stage in my career, and I think that was invaluable in broadening my perspectives and giving me a good working knowledge and appreciation of varying cultures within regions other than the North Sea.”
The vice-president is optimistic about the prospects for growth in the North America region. He said: “We are building a new spoolbase at Port Isabel, Texas, which is due to open in summer 2009, capable of servicing the Gulf of Mexico as well as other regions, as required.”
“In the Gulf of Mexico, Subsea 7 is sometimes still perceived as an umbilical and subsea-construction specialist, but now, with the $30million (about £20million) investment we have made in the Port Isabel spoolbase, Subsea 7 is building upon its vision to become the subsea partner of choice in its sector and is fully committed to the gulf and entire North American region.
“With the extensive current and predicted volumes of oil and gas production in the North American region being delivered through subsea facilities, our ability to instal high-quality deepwater pipelines will be an important competitive edge for Subsea 7. ”