Charting the course for a successful career in this sector.
Charting the course for a successful career in this sector.
The upstream marine, oil and gas sector, commonly referred to as “offshore”, involves exploration, drilling, production and maintenance, plus the construction and installation of facilities in an offshore marine environment. It’s a dynamic industry that employs more than 90,000 people in Singapore. Those who thrive in it owe it to hard work, grit and a whole lot of chutzpah.
TOUGH AS NAILS
Sophia Low, Director & Lead Shipbroker, M3 Marine Offshore Brokers
Talk to Sophia about towing offshore drilling rigs, remotely operated subsea vehicles and saturation diving vessels, and she will chat up a storm with you. Her ease with technical jargon comes from her previous job as an offshore drilling engineer, and her subsequent years as a shipbroker.
Her current role entails broking offshore supply vessels for charter, sale and purchase in the offshore marine oil and gas industry. She also manages a team of shipbrokers, and is involved in vessel valuations for owners, banks, equity funds, and mergers and acquisitions.
Sophia’s resilience showed from her very first project, which remains etched on her mind. It was a one-day vessel charter that yielded just US$75 (S$100) to the brokerage. She worked the contract until 4am that day, despite the small returns. This is a story she repeats often to junior brokers embarking on a career in the industry. “This client eventually became a long-term repeat client with numerous lucrative deals throughout the years. You should never be too proud to take on small deals even when you are successful. Somebody will always remember the help you rendered to them when they were in need,” she says.
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