New team lead at Aberdeen decommissioning services company

By Jamie Wilde

November 25 2022, 11:45 am

Aberdeen firm Well-Safe Solutions have appointed a new subsurface team lead. Image: Well-Safe Solutions.

Well decommissioning services company Well-Safe Solutions have appointed Ruth Thomas as its new subsurface team lead.

Well-Safe Solutions was founded in 2017 and operates internationally from its headquarters in Aberdeen.

With an estimated 1,782 wells requiring to be decommissioned in the North Sea across the next decade, Well-Safe Solutions enables operators to meet the needs and regulatory imperatives around effective and efficient plug and abandonment (P&A) operations.

The firm has more than 300 employees both on and offshore. Its decommissioning specialists support clients from front-end engineering and design to project execution and the retention and reintroduction of lessons learned.

Experienced team leader

Ruth has over two decades of experience in providing subsurface support to assets in the UK sector of the North Sea for energy majors including Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, Apache Corporation and CNR International Ltd.

She also holds an MSc with Distinction in Decommissioning and an MSc in Geology, both from the University of Aberdeen, and a first-class BEng in Industrial Geology from the Camborne School of Mines.

Ruth Thomas, new subsurface team lead at WSS. Aberdeen. Image: Well-Safe Solutions.

She joins Well-Safe Solutions from Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, where she held numerous roles including senior geophysicist for 15 years.

Leading her team to ensure regulatory compliance and cost efficiencies are realised for a roster of clients during what is a crucial phase of the well plug and abandonment process will be key tasks involved in the subsurface team lead role.

Well-Safe Protector rig. Image: Well-Safe Solutions.

Delivering the right strategy

Speaking of her new role, Ruth said: “As the demand for Well-Safe Solutions’ assets and engineering expertise grows, I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to advance Well-Safe’s subsurface capability during its next phase of growth.”

“Together with Well-Safe’s operational experts both on and offshore, I am excited to demonstrate how having the right subsurface isolation strategy is an important part in delivering a safe, smart and efficient well plug and abandonment strategy for our clients.”

‘Statement of intent’

The Well-Safe Guardian. Image: Well-Safe Solutions.

James Richards, well abandonment director at well-safe solutions, said: “Attracting someone of Ruth’s calibre into the business is a clear statement of intent from Well-Safe Solutions as we progress into our next chapter of growth.

“Ruth’s geophysics knowledge and expertise for decommissioning workscopes, including Subsurface Basis of Design (SSBoD) for well decommissioning projects, will better equip the business to add further value for our clients.”

Visit www.wellsafesolutions.com for more information.