Meet Steve – Our New Sales Manager for the Oil & Gas Sector
At ANT AG, we believe that strong technology needs strong people behind it. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Steven Allright, who recently joined us as Sales Manager – bringing nearly 20 years of oilfield experience to the team.
From wireline and well intervention to complex decommissioning campaigns, Steve knows the field inside out. But what truly sets him apart is his ability to think like the customer: recognizing challenges before they arise – and solving them with the right tools and insights.
In this interview, Steve shares his journey, the trends he’s observed in the oil & gas sector, and why he sees ANT’s technologies as a game-changer for the future of wellbore access and P&A.
Let’s dive in.
Your career in oil and gas spans nearly two decades. What inspired you to enter this field in the first place – and what’s kept you in it?
For me the offshore industry was starting to boom at the time I joined, and it looked like an exciting challenge which would bring financial rewards at point of interest.
Looking back – which key milestones or field experiences have most shaped your perspective on well intervention and decommissioning?
I was part of the Viking platform decommissioning team in the southern north, which was completed entirely via a rig-less approach. This broadened my outlook on abandonments and gave me great hands-on experience to take on in my career.
The industry has evolved a lot. Which changes have had the biggest impact on your daily work – and where do you see it heading?
Over the years I have seen such a big swing towards collaboration of services and multitasking offshore crews to complete work fronts with either a smaller footprint or a smaller team. Multi-skilling has proven a big drive in many service areas and will continue to drive this way. Operators want to see smarter and hands-free technology and eventually remote controlled operations will become more normal in the future.
What drives you to consistently deliver in such a high-pressure environment?
To succeed in this industry you have to stay keen and absorb as much training as knowledge as you can, seize opportunities and don’t wait for it to come your way. Having a profession duty of care, to do your best for the company you work for goes as long way.
You’ve worked in extreme conditions – offshore and onshore. Can you share a defining challenge you’ve faced, and how you tackled it?
Extreme cold and high winds has always played havoc with managing interventions offshore, I suppose being pro-active and being ahead of decreasing forecasts helps you have equipment ready to go, and in the right place before you become shut down.
In your view, what defines real ‘technical excellence’ in modern oilfield operations – and what do clients expect today?
From my experience operators desire tooling that deliver operations in a single trip. Combining or having the technology to be deployed to save on rig time, that requires minimal maintenance and is reliable, is the key going forward.
You’ve seen a lot of technologies. What stood out to you about ANT’s products – and what made you want to join the team?
The reliability, quality and small footprint of their cutting spreads definitely swayed my decision to join a company that produces a good quality, well thought out product. Now with the introduction of their wellANT technology, it is something to help drive and get passionate about.
How do ANT’s technologies solve challenges that conventional tools can’t – especially in complex wellbore scenarios?
With zero weight on bit needed to perform erosion over conventional milling, its shallow application will deliver ahead of traditional milling. Also we are not challenged by shape or type of material that requires removal.
How important is it for clients to have tailored solutions – and how does that change your role as a sales manager?
It’s imperative that clients have the option of a strong secondary or back up contingency service, that should other means become exhausted, this option will make the cut and save demobbing the rig and moving off location, to come back later. Each erosion can be fully modelled and simulated in a pre-feed study, to give clients that confidence.
Where do you see the biggest potential for our tools ? (like Sustainability, Reliability…)
I believe that customer reassurance will be our biggest driver going forward and always delivering on product quality.
You’ve just joined – what’s your first impression of ANT’s company culture and team spirit?
Upon joining ANT and coming over to Germany for my first week of induction I felt there was a great degree of structure behind my time there, a good friendly team atmosphere and I got to put my hands-on well-built quality products. I was given some samples of innovative designs produced by 3D printing, which was a first for me and I was really impressed in the attention to detail. I’ve felt supported by my manager since and massively enjoy coming to work each day.
Tell us something about you that most people don’t know – any hidden talents or passions outside the oilfield?
I enjoy airsoft days out with my brother and my son, on the same team.
If you had to describe ANT in three words – what would they be?
Passionate, dedicated & innovative
