By Maria Armental
Atwood Oceanics Inc.'s chief financial officer is taking on a
similar post at fellow offshore driller Transocean Ltd.
It is the latest executive shake-up at Switzerland-based
Transocean, which has been hard hit by sharply lower crude prices
and an ill-timed expansion of its fleet. The company's chief
executive, Steven Newman, resigned abruptly in February.
Transocean, which boasts the world's largest fleet of offshore
drilling rigs, also said it cut its annual dividend to 60 cents
from $3 a share and said it expects revenue to fall in 2015 from a
year earlier largely because its rigs have been idle for longer
periods and the company has recorded lower day rates on new
contracts and asset disposals.
Under the executive shake-up, Atwood's Mark Mey, 51 years old,
will succeed Esa T. Ikaheimonen as executive vice president and
chief financial officer, effective on Thursday, the companies
said.
Transocean said Mr. Ikaheimonen's departure was mutually agreed
upon. Mr. Ikaheimonen has also resigned his appointed position as
chairman of Transocean Partners LLC's board.
Mr. Mey, who previously worked for Scorpion Offshore Ltd. and
Noble Corp., will receive an initial gross base salary of $760,000
a year, Transocean said in a regulatory filing.
Mr. Ikaheimonen's base salary in 2014 was $766,364, while his
total compensation was valued at $4.5 million, according to a
regulatory filing.
Atwood said it has temporarily appointed Mark W. Smith, the
company's chief accounting officer and controller, to Mr. Mey's old
post.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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