Expert Team Dedicated to Oil & Gas Operations in the Gulf
Our White Fleet team comprises highly experienced personnel with specialization in the Gulf of America region. These individuals are the Gulf oil and gas veterans who guide us on our mission to be the premier well services partner in a world-class basin.
Kalil Ackal is the leader of the White Fleet Services team. He has served as the drilling manager at Arena Offshore since 2004, where he supervised the drilling of over 220 operated wells. His expertise in rig installation and directional, horizontal and extended-reach drilling led Arena in successfully drilling some of the most complicated wells constantly under budget. Mr. Ackal worked as an operations manager turnkey contractor from 1999 to 2004, supervising approximately 130 drilling and completion projects for 41 different operators in the Gulf of America and inland waters of Louisiana and Texas. From 1990 to 1999, Mr. Ackal worked for Union Pacific resources as a drilling superintendent. Before that, he was a drilling and production engineer for eight years at Marathon Oil Company in Lafayette, LA. Mr. Ackal earned a B.S. in petroleum engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1982.
Brett Blanchard serves as White Fleet Abandonment’s Chief Operating Officer. He brings over 34 years of operations expertise in all phases of offshore production, construction and abandonment services. Prior to joining White Fleet Abandonment, Mr. Blanchard was the Chief Operating Officer of ARO Solutions LLC and Cochon Properties LLC, where he was instrumental in the acquisition of multiple full-field abandonment contracts and operations. His teams were recognized for their safety records and accomplishing projects on time and under budget. Mr. Blanchard also served as Vice President for Chet Morrison Contractors, LLC and early on in his career worked as a Senior Project Manager for Paloma Energy Consultants, Stolt Offshore, and Global Industries. Mr. Blanchard holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette (ULL), and is a certified Project Manager.
Michael McCauley joined Arena Offshore in 2007 as Production Manager and assumed the role of Operations General Manager in 2012. While in this role, Mr. McCauley was responsible for the safe and compliant execution of Arena’s Offshore GOM operations, including drilling, production, construction and decommissioning with an annual capital budget of $300MM. Mr. McCauley now serves as the Senior Vice President – Operations for White Fleet Abandonment developing decommissioning strategies and solutions for Well and Platform abandonment projects across the Gulf of America. Prior to joining Arena, Mr. McCauley held positions that included decommissioning responsibilities at Newfield Exploration, Vastar Resources, ARCO Oil and Gas, Texaco, and Getty Oil. Mr. McCauley received a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1982.
Trent Determann joined White Fleet Abandonment in 2025. He has over 15 years of experience in Corporate Finance and related fields within the energy industry. Prior to joining White Fleet, Mr. Determann has held senior positions at Atomic Capital Minerals, Opportune, Rebellion Energy and Gastar Exploration. At these companies, Mr. Determann’s experience included managing finance, accounting, treasury, risk management, strategy, financial planning and analysis, M&A, and capital markets. Mr. Determann earned a B.S. in finance from Louisiana State University.
Ryan Lamothe joined White Fleet in 2025 and is responsible for Operations and Business Development. He brings over 28 years of industry experience to the team. Prior to White Fleet he was at Hess Corporation for 15 years in leadership roles across GOA D&C, Decommissioning and Abandonment and Production Operations, Asset Management roles for Permian and West Africa and Drilling and Completions roles for Bakken North Dakota, Malaysia and New Ventures Exploration. Prior experience includes 12 years with Transocean and the subsidiary turnkey Drilling and Completion company ADTI in the U.S. and U.K.
Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering and Systems Safety Engineering Certificate from Texas A&M University and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and Chartered Engineer and Chartered Petroleum Engineer in the U.K.
