Vandana Crispin, Oceaneering Australia – Project Manager, Completions, Installations and Integrated Subsea Projects in APAC
Vandana Crispin started her career as an engineer while studying mechanical engineering in Brisbane at the Queensland University of Technology. She worked on water supply infrastructure projects while in Queensland.
Vandana moved to Melbourne after finishing her degree because she “loved that city and its rich and diverse culture, food scene, architecture, sporting mania and the natural beauty of Victoria”.
The move to Melbourne resulted in Vandana starting work with Upstream Petroleum and therein started her unintentional journey within the oil and gas industry and she has never looked back.
“I have been a subsea engineer in oil and gas for 14 years and still get excited about subsea work every day,” Vandana said.
Vandana is currently a project manager for completions, installations, and integrated subsea projects for Oceaneering in APAC region.
One of the things she enjoys about working with Oceaneering is the pride that comes with working with “some great minds who always think outside the box and thrive by creating industry-changing, technically creative solutions for the most complex operational challenges that our clients face”.
“I am now a project manager with a stellar team and together we deliver subsea scopes that include pre-commissioning, IWOCS, after-market support for subsea products, IMR, be-spoke engineering and decommissioning support.”
“I want to maximise the subsea services scopes out of Perth and showcase our team potential here.”
Vandana’s husband of 14 years is also an engineer and often works on mine sites on fortnightly FIFO rosters. Together they have three girls, one aged nine and seven-year-old twins whom Vandana describes as “amazing kids; naughty, but I like to call it spunk”.
Vandana is involved with clubs such as the Society for Underwater Technology and the Project Management Institute, her children’s School Board and is a member of a book club.
She is a member of WISE (formerly Women in Subsea Engineering) which works to achieve gender equity by growing the profile of women in STEM roles through the promotion of strategies and initiatives to Attract, Retain, Develop, and Promote women within the subsea and other ocean-based industries.
Vandana is the project manager of WISE’s major project, GI WOW (Gender Inclusive Ways of Working). Her passion for this project stems from her belief in diversity and inclusion, and social justice, because inclusion and diversity boosts innovation and improves financial performance of our industry.
Outside work, Vandana enjoys being a STEM mentor at schools and universities and volunteers her time at her kids’ school, running STEM sessions for 6 to 12-year-olds on Friday’s.
Vandana is an avid reader and loves travelling. Her travel has taken her to Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Myanmar, Abu Dhabi, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“I haven’t travelled as much as I would like to,” she said. “It’s on my hit list for when I turn 40 to take my long service leave and see more of the world.”
Vandana joined the Petroleum Club in February this year, saying she likes the industry speakers covering growth strategy, decision drivers, sustainability and vision for our industry, the networking opportunities, and the resilience and adaptability of the Club with the challenges involved with COVID-19.