Senior Industry Player Joins the Nautronix Board

10 June 2010

Nautronix Group Limited is delighted to announce the appointment of Rodney Eads as a Non-Executive Board Member. Mr Eads has 35 years of experience in the upstream energy business and is the first senior industry player to join the new Nautronix Board following the acquisition of Nautronix by SCF Partners on the 8th April.

The majority of Mr Eads career has been with Exxon, serving 20 years in engineering, planning, and operations management of exploration and production activities. For the past 13 years he has served as an executive officer of two public mid-cap companies, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations for 10 years, and most recently Pride International, Inc. as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for 3 years.

Mark Patterson, CEO of Nautronix said: ‘We are delighted to have Rodney on the board. His expertise is second to none; during his career, he has managed operations in 27 countries, had responsibility for global workforces as large as 14,000 employees, and managed operating budgets of $1Billion per year, and capital projects exceeding $3Billion. His knowledge and contacts within the industry will be incredibly valuable to Nautronix as we continue to grow the business.”

Throughout his career, Mr Eads has been an active member in the SPE, IADC, and API, serving 10 years on the API’s Executive Committee for Drilling and Production, which approves many of the industry’s standards and recommended practices. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of IADC, and in 2008 he served as Chairman of the IADC/ SPE Drilling Conference, the industry’s premier worldwide conference for drilling and completions technology. He is also a member of the NACD.

Mr Eads said: "I am very pleased to be part of the Nautronix organization as they continue to grow in supplying the offshore industry with the technology and expertise to increase operational integrity, from exploration drilling to full field development and maintenance. Their digital technology base, and the many applications of it, will significantly increase the reliability of key offshore critical systems such as acoustic BOP controls and dynamic positioning.”

Nautronix offer acoustic communication and positioning systems to the global offshore industry. At present they are experiencing a high level of interest in their newly released NASeBOP product; an acoustic system for emergency BOP (Blow Out Preventer) disconnect and BOP stack monitoring.

In addition the company have recently released NASNet® DPR (Dynamic Positioning Reference) a new application of the field proven ‘underwater GPS’ system NASNet® which uses the system as a complimentary input to DGPS for vessel station keeping. The use of a subsea positioning system for DP (Dynamic Positioning ) will combat the upcoming issue of scintillation, which could result in periods of GPS instability (especially in the southern hemisphere). With an update rate equal to DGPS NASNet® DPR is a true acoustic solution, providing further redundancy, minimising downtime and offering the contractors and operators with a safer and more cost effective solution.