MDL Voices - Do we really need a bigger boat?

Do we really need a bigger boat? That’s one of the answers you’ll get from our knowledgable globe-trotting team in the first episode of MDL Voices season 2. Meet our vessel expert Inger-Louise Molver - officially Director, Strategic Partnerships - and engineer-turned-BD Executive Director Andrew Blaquiere as they make the important MDL-vessel connection.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:08

Hello and welcome to MDL Voices, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of one team MDL. When you look at any successful business, scratch below the surface, and what you'll find are really good people. And that's the aim of this podcast. We're going to look behind the scenes, see who makes this business tick and why it's become so successful. I'm delighted in episode one of this podcast to be joined by two very fine representatives of MDL, Andrew and Inger. Welcome. Good to have you with us. Let's give you your full titles. Inger Louise Mulver, you're the Director of Strategic Partnerships here at MDL. And Andrew Blackir, you're the Executive Business Development Director. Good to have you.

SPEAKER_00 0:56

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

I'm a traditional. Let's start ladies first. And uh Inger, just you reading a bit about your your career history and and where you've uh where you've been brought up, where you're from. You spent much of your career around vessels, haven't you? So tell me where that passion

Norwegian with a Peterheed accent

SPEAKER_02 1:16

has come from.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

So I've I've spent around 20 years working specifically within offshore shipping on the commercial side of that. Um originally that would have that would have come from my family. Um I I was I was brought up in in Peterhead, um, but I am half Norwegian. Yes. So and I and I tend to have to explain when people hear my name and then they hear this accent coming out, then there there tends to need to be an explanation there. So I'm half Norwegian. Um my father comes from the part of Norway that has a rich history in offshore shipping. Many of the um the ship-owning companies and families come from that that part of the country. Um, my father sailed on offshore vessels his his whole career. Um, I grew up being on those vessels, spending time with them, knowing about them, very much part of my upbringing, um, and had a passion for that right up until uh it came time to you know start working in the industry. So that's where that comes from.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

And now working in the strategic partnership side of the business, it seems to me that you're you're certainly very well set up to do that.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah, I think um that my my previous work roles, the companies that I've worked in previously, have given me a good foundation to look at where MDL can really move forward and and look at the partnerships within within vessel owners and and other companies that can strategically align with where MDL wants to grow and and where we can really make a difference to our customers in terms of the equipment and the services we provide. There there really is a huge world of opportunity out there, not just within the Norwegian sector where um or or in Norway where I'm based, but but globally. Shipping is a global market.

Texas born, Scotland made

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Now, Andrew, you're not from Peterhead, but that's okay. We'll let you off.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Uh you hail from foreign fields from a different background, shall we say. Um, through the engineering route has brought you to this role, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Correct, correct. Yes, I'm originally from Texas, born and bred, and I worked in Houston for a long time. So I was working for various companies as a background in engineering for different firms. Um I got the privilege of going offshore, which I came to realize I don't like vessels very much. And I get seasick quite often. Yes. Um, so working through Africa, working offshore in Brazil, working offshore in the Gulf really drove my career at the beginning. And then I got into analysis and detailed engineering, and then I began to really enjoy commercials, and I realized I was quite good at talking to people. And so I eventually got into project management and sales and more commercial side. So and then I joined MDL almost.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

And how did that happen?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Um persistence.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Had you heard about MDL?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I heard about MDL. I worked at another company um that's one of our competitors globally, and so I was working for a different team, and then I decided to switch football strips and come over to MDL, and I've really been never looked back. So I did that about eight years ago. And three years into that journey, I had a discussion with the CEO and suggested I could maybe help look at some global sales, and then about four months later I ended up in Aberdeen. So I've been in Aberdeen for five and a half years now and had various roles and just super excited to be on the journey of MDL and what it's meant to me is you know changed my life, changed my career, and it's just a really exciting place to work.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

And you've acclimatised to the northeast of Scotland.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

I have, I have. I have got Long Johns on right now, actually, in the summer.

When in Norway - don't be late!

SPEAKER_02 5:07

That um diverse heritage that's that's within you and experience, how does that enable you to tackle the challenges of working on international contracts with different cultures in different parts of the world?

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I've been in Norway for 20 years where people are quite punctual and follow follow a fairly strict etiquette. And I think um being in this global role, I haven't realized quite how indoctrinated I have become into the Scandinavian way of doing things. So that's been something in itself to adapt a little bit to you know people not being as rigidly punctual as they tend to be in Scandinavia. Got to be a bit more relaxed about that. And you'd think I'd be better because um I did I did grow up in Scotland. But I think you know that there are there are massive differences across across the world in terms of culture, both in business culture and you know, outside of work. Um, and we have to be respectful of that. It's not about assuming that people will conform to what is normal for you, but it's being about it's being respectful about other cultures and and understanding that you need to be flexible, that that you know, there are parts of the world where people might not turn up or they're going to be an hour late or the meeting will be cancelled at the last minute, or um respect, tolerance, yeah, patience. And also if you come to Norway, remember to be on time. Yeah, yeah. Don't be late, we don't like that. Andrew, what are your experiences?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Well, I think I've been to 12 countries this year already, and it's June. So my experiences are 12 different things because everyone is different. You know, we're at the end of the day, we're all humans and we're all striving for the same thing, which is looking after our family and you know, trying to create something. And but there's definitely business culture that exists around the world when you travel. And I am just lucky enough to get to spread the message about MDL and interface with that culture. And I try to bring that back to the projects team because it's important that when we deliver our projects, we understand what we're delivering into and that they might have a different way of working than we do. And it doesn't mean that it's uh one is good or bad, it's just that it's different. So one of the big things that we've done over the past few years is really focused on localizing our business. So we've hired more people in local markets for selling, and that's going to continue into the project execution side over the coming years, where we're gonna have local project managers and local people to deliver the projects who can converse in the same language, who can understand the same business culture practices and what's normal. And as long as the DNA in the and the core of MDL is extended into those regions, then we'll be able to grow more locally. So it's definitely influenced my uh uh cultural beliefs, it's definitely influenced my commercial thought process, and it's definitely influenced me as a as a human.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

So we'll continue to do so.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

And we'll continue to do so, yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Um, let me come back to you then. Um

Do we need a bigger boat?

SPEAKER_02 8:23

what are the biggest changes that you say you you would have seen in the the vessel market over the last decade or so plus?

SPEAKER_01 8:33

I would say uh the biggest change has been increased efficiency. And that's not just a tagline. That's something that has had real world impact on vessels, seafarers, and the bottom line of companies operating within the offshore sector. Things being done quicker, cheaper, with fewer people over fewer days have had real-world impact on the sector and has really revolutionised things. And that that really kicked off, um, I would say, 2014-15, when the oil price crash happened, and companies needed to look at ways that they could do things differently. I personally think that's been one of the major differences. In terms of vessels themselves, it's interesting because a vessel today is essentially the same vessel that it was 20 years ago. There's been very little revolutionary technology with the exception of autonomous and remote operations, of which there are a few companies that are quite active in that sector now, and those advancements are definitely interesting. But a boat today is more or less the same boat that you got 20 years ago. It's how it's operated and what you do with it.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

So allow me to put it bluntly then, it's not always about buying a bigger boat.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

No, definitely not. Although we're going into deeper water, we're going into more challenging conditions. Um and that often requires big structures, and that means bigger vessels. So bigger vessels are needed, and we have seen that that trend that larger vessels are being ordered, but it's not always the case that bigger is the

The deepwater opportuhnity - and how to get there

SPEAKER_01 10:10

solution.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

What are some of the opportunities that come with deeper water and the bigger vessels?

SPEAKER_01 10:16

It's the reserves. The low-hanging fruit has to a large extent been exploited both within oil and gas and also in fixed-bottom wind. We need to go further afield if we want to explore that, and that means deeper water and in some areas more challenging environments, both politically and geologically.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Andrew, hearing that perspective there from uh Inger, do these trends resonate with what you're hearing from your client and customer base?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Uh definitely. I think that it's really fascinating because the market now is evolving in such a way that unlocking those barrels of oil has become very geopoliticized. And there's such a nationalism that's existing recently because of the world changing. So operators are really saying, okay, how do we now execute in different regions differently? And using local content, looking at local vessels, local markets. And operators aren't always looking to just offload the whole job to someone else anymore. They're wanting different solutions, different strategies, different innovation, innovative commercial models. And they're willing to take on a bit more risk because they know that they need to return profitability to their shareholders and they need to unlock those barrels. And so where we're fitting in and where we're helping customers think about things differently is how do you take that model that Inger was talking about and say, well, it's okay, might, the boat might look the same after 20 years, but if you outfit it with MDL's equipment, we actually can make it be a different tool. We can make it be a different solution. We can help you bring oil to market cheaper, more effective. So I'm really enjoying those conversations right now with various customers in different small markets that maybe they just hadn't thought about it because they never heard of MDL. The thing that makes us seem really unique is that we're a small enough company to care a lot, but we're a big enough company to execute really huge projects. And so that is such a that's driven by the people. You know, we we we don't just give a client a piece of equipment on the back deck and just say good luck. You know, we're completely invested in the story, we're completely invested in the outcome, we're completely invested in the success because we don't want our name to be associated with something unsuccessful, and we never have. And so I think that's pulls through from strategic conversations and that pulls through from initial conversations and that pulls through all the way to the back deck and what we do on the job.

How do I make my vessel do more?

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Well, let's explore that. I'm a vessel owner, I've and I'm coming to MDL, and I want greater efficiency from the vessel that I already own. And I come to MDL and say, tell me how to do it.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Well, I think it's really understanding what is your aspirations, what's your ambition, and where where do you want to be in the market. And when we understand that from you, then we really open up so many avenues. If you want to be in the installation market and you want to do shallow water, we can outfit your vessel for that. If you want to do cable handling, we can outfit your vessel for that, for the repair market and wind. If you want to move into deeper water and you want to go high top tension and bigger umbilicals, flexibles to install, we can outfit you in that space. If you want to handle um topsides and you want to be passing, you know, first end connections up to uh fixed platforms, we can provide equipment that goes to that and be a part of that journey. So it's just so diverse in the spaces that we can play in the surf market from shallow water to cable repair in the wind to deep water to greenfield installations. It really depends on what's the interest and how we look at that vessel and how we outfit it in such a way that you can really achieve the maximum day rate for the vessel. Because at the end of the day, that's your objective is to get the maximum day rate. And putting MGL equipment on there unlocks that potential.

Becoming more than "simply" a vessel provider

SPEAKER_01 14:25

I think uh building on that, um, it's not always the case that a vessel owner will specifically know which area they want to go into, whether that is deep water, shallower water, what type of installation, but having those conversations, we can we can unlock that possibility. We can we can explain, you know, what this equipment will enable this vessel to do. In many cases, a vessel owner is specifically that. They want to own and operate vessels. They don't necessarily want to become an installation contractor and take on the full responsibility and everything that comes with that in installing or taking on some of the scopes that the MDL equipment can enable that vessel to do. However, we can be part of that conversation to explain that you know you can you can be more than than simply simply a vessel provider and explain what what markets that these tools can unlock for a vessel owner.

Case in point: Brazil deepwater decom with an OSV

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Can you think of any you know recent examples where that was the case? A real success story. Definitely. And you can take the credit, you can take individual credit if you want. This is the platform for it.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

No, no, that's it's a it's a team game. It's always a team game.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

So the one team, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Decommissioning is a really interesting space. Um, we have worked with a vessel partner who historically hadn't been doing any installation work. Uh this small stuff. Steel flying lead jumper installations. But they had a vessel that was on a contract with an operator for a long time, and the operator needed to decommission a very large part of a field in offshore Brazil. And so we partnered with that vessel operator, and we said, if you put our equipment on the back deck, you could transform your vessel into a decommissioning machine that can go and do all of that work in deep water, and we can pull risers off the seabed up to 100 tons. So they brought it to their client, and their client really liked the idea, although they were nervous because they never heard of anyone doing it before, and they're a very conservative customer. And so they said, right, let's keep exploring it, keep exploring it. And so we just mobilized the vessel a few weeks ago in Brazil, and we're working offshore now, and everyone so far, fingers crossed, is extremely happy with the outcome because the alternative was a vessel that would have cost them two times at least the value of what they already had in their hands. You know, the operator really unlocked huge savings because of that solution that MDL was able to create. So that's a live example that's happening right now that we're really proud of.

unknown 17:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

I I mean you're in a you're in a senior role here with the company, Andrew, but do you still get that rush when you do a good job for a customer like that?

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Oh, definitely, definitely. I get a rush after every meeting.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

I get a rush after, you know, hear enough about the offshore guys' trips and how successful it was and where we can improve because they see me at the airport and they're waiting for our bags and they say, hey, next time we need to do this. And so we bring it back and we implement lessons learned. And so no, it's always a rush. It's always uh it's always such an exciting thing to make a difference

From vessel brokerage to unlocking potential

SPEAKER_00 17:35

in the market.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

And of course, you've moved from vessel brokerage, haven't you? I think it's been really exciting for me since I started MDL to have these conversations with shipowners and explain to them um w how how it's going to make a difference for them, what markets it's gonna unlock for them. Decommissioning is a is a really interesting topic in set markets, especially in North Sea or the UK sector particularly, but there's plenty of installation work and new exploration and production campaigns that are being planned in other parts of the world, frontier areas. And what what MDL can do is we can we can literally enable vessels, ship owners to go and take part in this. Um, and and having those conversations with companies that I've had uh dialogue with and known for for many, many years has been really exciting to see to you know to to talk about what it can mean for them going forward.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Quite an open question, really, to finish. And how you think your backgrounds and what's brought you to MDL and your experiences, how will that shape the outlook for the future, do you think, on what is essentially a very global industry now?

SPEAKER_00 18:46

I think that what I really enjoy about customer engagement is the problem solving of how to execute a job. What we're doing at MDL and how we're really evolving as a company and how we're driving innovation in our products, and we're challenging our customers and we're keeping it real with telling them what we can do, what we can't do, and being really open and honest about that. I think it's just it's all to play for for the next decade. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's just so exciting to talk about offshore operations. And I just, you know, people talk about land on the moon, it's difficult. Well, going to 2,500 meter water depth and installing a fiber optic cable that's 25 millimeters wide. You know, that's quite a land on the moon kind of thing.

Vessel trends to look out for

SPEAKER_01 19:30

I think what's exciting at the moment in the market is we're we're on the verge of uh many new vessels being delivered to the market. Um, we saw very few sub-sea construction vessels and definitely anchor handler vessels being ordered over the last 10 to 15 years. Um, they tend to come in waves, and now we're seeing another wave. Um, this is this there is some new technology, but there is definitely a whole world of opportunity for MDL and for the for the shipowners themselves to adopt technology like MDL has to offer, particularly on the innovation side, and see what that can mean for those new vessels, both in oil and gas and in renewables, decommissioning. So I really see that the future holds it holds exciting opportunities with specific uh specifically relating to the vessels, but also in terms of the jobs that these vessels will be doing with hopefully MDL equipment.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

And it it's interesting because I first met Andrew at an industry conference on the conference floor, and I know what a great advocate you are for MDL as a business and how passionate you are. So it's been great to capture some of that on camera again. And of course, MDL is well represented at uh industry events across the globe, and I'm sure you'll be uh attending many of those. So thank you very much for for joining me. All that remains for me to do is to say thank you very much for listening and uh do tune in to the next episode.