Natchiq president honored by Sakhalin governor

Petroleum News Alaska

Sakhalin Governor Igor Farkhutdinov singled out Alaska’s largest oilfield service company to receive an award of merit at this year’s Sakhalin Island Oil & Gas Conference in London. The governor presented Natchiq President abd Chief Executive Officer Bill Cheek with the award for the company’s pioneering efforts and contributions to the Sakhalin region over the past five years.

Farkhutdinov presented the award in front of 200 Western and Russian business leaders, Russian Federation government officials, and major Sakhalin project developers including Shell, ExxonMobil, BP and Sakhalin Energy. Cheek was the only business leader selected out of hundreds attending the conference.

Among the outstanding achievements of the company the governor noted were a summer internship program, local hospital donations, playground construction, earthquake damage relief and participation of company managers in local programs.

The award follows five years of extensive business and relationship development efforts that began with a 1995 inaugural visit by Alaska Governor Tony Knowles, Cheek, and Natchiq representatives Keith Burke and Alex Ponomarev.

Cheek said the award shows that the company “is on the right track to success and future achievements on Sakhalin, and a key recognition of Natchiq’s growing international stature,” said Cheek.

Currently, Natchiq Sakhalin operates two fabrication shops on the island and performs platform services, fabricating high-quality, Western-standard products to support the oil industry’s development and production efforts. Natchiq employs more than 60 local residents on the island, operating under a long-term contract for Sakhalin Energy.