Opportunities Determine Focus

Q: What activities are Oceamar’s main sources for growth?

A: Oceamar has been working to implement four business areas. These areas are air transportation, boat chartering, agency and shore base, which ties back to the foundation of the company. Lastly, an area that is developing is that of door-to-door logistics regarding personnel and specialized equipment.

Q: How have recent industry changes affected these business areas?

A: We focus on these areas due to the availability of opportunities. Given the government’s perspective, the industry has shifted somewhat, opening new prospects. The previous government launched some long-term projects that are now starting to yield activity. There are now more resources and capacity available for operating companies to jump into alternative opportunities. As a result, the industry is in seeing progress in drilling activity. Today, we are working under contracts stemming from the licensing rounds and participating in the private sector.

Q: How has the importance of Oceamar changed within Grupo Cemza?

A: Grupo Cemza has been important for Oceamar. The group represents the companies before the government and private clients. Oceamar has been complementing services for Grupo Cemza in return.  An example is in the area of air transport, an entirely new line for both Oceamar and Grupo Cemza. It is a new project, presenting new opportunities.

Grupo Cemza provides support in the area of corporate financing, which is standard for companies that are part of Grupo Cemza. However, Oceamar seeks to generate its own business as well. The current crisis is a general situation. It affects every company in Mexico. Options for financing and generating profit are therefore ever more important for Oceamar, even though there is always strategic backup from Grupo Cemza.

Q: How is Oceamar shielding its operation and guaranteeing the safety of its staff during the COVID-19 crisis?

A: The first action we took was to implement a vigilance committee to oversee daily participation and supervision. This committee consists of various people from different companies in the group. As a company, we did not see this health crisis coming, but we started taking action quickly. Grupo Cemza and Oceamar have taken measures so that our employees work effectively from a distance. We have introduced methodologies to keep working effectively that we have successfully developed over time. Now, we have all the elements we need to protect our staff. We have doctors available for our employees. For some people, it is impossible to work from home, but we provide face masks, glasses and other forms of protection. Taking care of both our operating crew, clients and providers is very important to us. We even work with families.

Another important factor for us is to keep operations going as effectively as possible and to provide employment certainty to our own teams as well. Operations that are still running take the highest health and safety standards into account. There is an element of cooperation with other companies as well. The authorities and companies are working together to take appropriate measures to ensure that access points at the ports are safe.

Q: What criteria does Oceamar consider when deciding which activities are essential?

A: The government has implemented a communication initiative with all the ports and projects. Information has been shared on how mobility should be arranged. As a company, we had no influence on these decisions but we abide by these criteria. One example is managing the arrival of foreign personnel. When they come into the port, they need to be isolated for 15 days. We change our offshore personnel every 28 days, where we previously did this every 14 days. All decisions are based on the government’s recommendations.

Q: How can Oceamar help operators reach their production goals?

A: Our commitment is to help the client in every way we can. We are always willing to change our business model so that our clients achieve their goals. We do this by looking for new resources and financing options. The ability to find alternatives is crucial because this can contribute to the growth of the operation. It is important to always have the ability to incorporate new tools and equipment necessary to operate optimally. We are committed to operating in a way that best suits our client’s business model.

Oceamar offers integrated logistics services for imports and exports, port services and transportation. The company does business with a range of international companies with a presence in the principal ports of the Gulf of Mexico.