UAE-based Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, revealed that its chief executive officer, René Kofod-Olsen, was recognised as the‘Offshore Leader of the Year’ by leading trade publication Offshore Support Journal (OSJ) at the Annual OSJ Conference and Awards, London, UK.

Topaz is a subsidiary of Renaissance Services, a publicly traded company on the Muscat Securities Market, Oman.

The event brings together international oil and gas companies and the offshore support industry, to discuss future challenges and opportunities, in a sector hit hard by the prolonged oil crisis but that is showing signs of recovery.

Under Kofod-Olsen’s stewardship, Topaz has weathered the storm better than most. Having successfully refinanced the business in 2012, the company has gone on to secure several significant long-term contracts with majors, maintaining an industry leading backlog of $1.5 billion with a strong safety record, said a statement.

Such accomplishments have led the OSJ to present the CEO with one of their top awards, which recognises market performance, commitment to excellence and trend setting, as well as leadership in driving strategy and an inspiring vision.

Kofod-Olsen said: “It’s an honour to receive this award, which is recognition for what Topaz has achieved in an increasingly complex environment.”

“During the downturn we took the opportunity to re-model the business - taking out inefficiencies and building its capital - yet not losing sight of how we deliver the greatest value to clients,” he said.

“We’ve continued to invest in our fleet and to empower our offshore organisation to meet the changing demands of our longer-term contracts. And crucially, we remained bold enough to propose smart solutions for our clients; and not just the standard service offerings to win business,” he added.

This approach was instrumental in securing a contract with Tengizchevroil (TCO) worth over $500 million, to deliver 17 specially-designed vessels to transport platform modules through the shallow Russian river systems, creating the fastest transit time to the Caspian Sea. The vessels can later be deployed elsewhere in the world.

On the future of the industry Kofod-Olsen commented: “The downturn has had a profound impact and corporate strategies have been adjusted to preserve cash.  But it’s important to not lose sight of what makes your company unique in and to maintain a steadfast focus on the pursuit of excellence, which has always been our strategy at our company.” – TradeArabia News Service