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Transocean boss steps down

New York: Amid declining oil prices the man tasked with guiding Transocean through the tricky waters following the Deepwater Horizon accident five years ago has stepped down as president and ceo.

Steven Newman stepped up from COO to become boss of the offshore firm in 2010, months before the Gulf of Mexico disaster. He had been with Transocean since 1999.

Along with BP, Transocean was fined $1bn in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The sudden drop in oil prices have seen Transocean struggle. In the third quarter of 2014, the company posted a $2.2bn loss, writing down hundreds of millions of dollars on the value of on its deepwater rigs.

Until a permanent replacement is named, Ian Strachan, chairman of the board of Transocean, will also serve the company in the role of interim ceo.

“As Chief Executive, Steven has capably guided Transocean over the last five years, demonstrating outstanding leadership through what was unquestionably the most challenging period in its history,” Strachan said in a statement today. “In addition to leading Transocean through company- and industry-changing events following the Macondo well incident, Steven initiated essential changes that have and will continue to improve the company’s fleet, operations, cost structure and long-term competitiveness,” Mr. Strachan said. “As a result, Transocean is well positioned to weather the current industry downturn and emerge even stronger.”

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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