| Administrative History | Recorded as part of the 'Lives in the Oil Industry' oral history project |
| Description | Tape 1 Side A DAVID CHARLES THOMAS born 24 May 1939 Waterloo, Lancashire. Last job before retirement Head of Contracts for $6B hydroelectric scheme in Borneo. Details re location. Collapse of South East Asian economy caused plug to be pulled on project. Got DVT (deep vein thrombosis) while flying back home. Hasn't worked since. Did Master of Laws degree at Aberdeen. Interested in environmental matters. Was an only child, premature. Father a local government officer, mother a Shropshire lady, worked. Mentions ancestry back to Norman times. Details re family names. Grandfather ran a racing stables. Reference to family connection to Stones Dry Ginger, Earlswick family hotel in Shrewsbury. Father's cousins Megan Thomas, Aunty Megan of BBC Children's Hour, Jenny Thomas, one of first women graduates of Aberystwyth University, Welsh bard. Father a local government officer in Liverpool, a cricketer (played against West Indies), in both battles of the Somme. Effect of this on his health. Describes him. He was religious, involved with Christian Science. Describes mother. Welsh aspect was important to father. Mentions his singing voice. Recalls radio listening. Childhood home in Waterloo, then Authton, Lancashire. Childhood interests - scouts, sport, stamp collecting, music, singing in choirs. Watched Liverpool cathedral being built. Went to Sunday School. Recalls progress through local church school, Horton Street Boys School, Merchant Taylors' School. Details re Merchant Taylors, religious aspect, discipline, teachers, Latin class. Feelings now about public schools, their aims. Mentions recent television programme on the subject. Recalls influence of rugby masters, one of whom was later commanding officer in TA (Territorial Army). Loved school. Was a day boy. Details.
Tape 1 Side B. Wanted to go into the army. Explains in detail. Father wouldn't sign papers. Reasons for this not clear till after his death. He had been a sapper/signaller. Recalls film on 60th anniversary of the Somme. Details re father's feelings about contrast between the lot of the soldiers and the officers. Became articled pupil with Manchester City Council. Later got commission during National Service. Joined TA (Territorial Army), rejoined original regiment, Kings Liverpool (Kingsmen). Feelings about Harold Wilson's changes to National Service system. Trained to be quantity surveyor. After National Service joined Wakeman Trower & Partners 1962. Encouraged by partner of firm to study law side of business. Hated sitting in office counting bricks. Went out and ran several contracts for Metal Box. Explains role of quantity surveyor. Enjoyed negotiation aspect of work. Describes own role, attitude to 'bent' people. Initially got low marks when studying law. Describes process of improving results. Explains negative feeling about lawyers, legal processes. Recalls moral training in youth. Background to becoming associate in firm. Lot of building in 1960s. Feelings about approaches to building then. Did RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) exams quickly. Mentions marriage to Cynthia, social life. Details re own family, names. Mentions Merchant Taylor's attitude of putting things back into community. Involved in youth work. Mentions second marriage. Recalls redevelopment of Birkenhead, appearance in book by Jenny Thomas. 1973 went to IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) design-and-build firm 1973-5. Explains process, origins of design-and-build, compares with traditional approach. IDC still going. Lack of trust in industry. Mentions Laing's target form of contract. IDC approach to conflict.
Tape 2 Side A IDC Ltd (cont'd). Further details re design-and-build procedures, own approach to cooperation, team effort. 1975 joined Shaw & Hatton. Len Hatton aware of coming of oil industry, was interested in engineering. He became involved with Shell on Brent B, D. Background to joining firm, leaving IDC. Details re work in Kuwait as Company Representative. Explains family, marriage situation. 1976 Senior Surveyor/Commercial Manager Norway, Shell Dunlin A platform inshore completion. Background to operation. Details re other Shell platforms, own brief running contract etc. Details re costs, need for cost estimates, tax situation. Incentive to get work done. Middle East was source of money. Explains. Mentions involvement of Esso. Recalls example of disorganised, expensive planning by a colleague, tense meeting with senior personnel. Got reputation for getting things right. Comments on culture of oil people. Example of an oil refinery job, suspicion of quantity surveyors. Importance of grounding in this field for project management. Various aspects of the profession. Quantity surveying was a North Sea phenomenon in the oil industry. Compares with American situation. Recalls hairy experience of towing 660,000 ton platform from Lerwick Harbour. Mentions leak in Statfjord condeep. Details re platform. Attitude of Norwegian Harbour Board to charges. Confusion re definition of platform when under tow - legal question. Describes process of lowering platform to put legs, decks, modules on, use of air bubble. Hairy operation putting 600 ton cubes of metal on corners of platform in mid-winter. Importance of having flat calm water. High risk engineering. Went out to platform. Recalls feelings at time.
Tape 2 Side B No safety gear worn on visit to platform. Not too many deaths. Statfjord had a number. Details of a fatal accident. Explains need for knowledge of centre of gravity of platform, early inclination tests. Mentions recent problems on Brent B. Recalls problems caused by need for work at bottom of towers. Details re placement of ballast. Explains own work estimating quantities, costs, time use, critical path analysis. Example of confusion of language, function, transfer of irrelevant, traditional functions. Not enough attention to safety at this stage. 1977 went to Aberdeen to do offshore control budget. Recalls tow-out of Dunlin, minimal clearances. Details re work in Aberdeen, colleagues, effectiveness of long-term template prepared at the time. Story of terse memo from Esso to Shell about budgets being exceeded. Own contract spot on. Went to Fulmar 1977-9. Project initially secret. Details. Given carte blanche about terms of contract. Earlier cost overruns. Esso's way of budgeting - to update budget. Shell, Esso had different ways of achieving end price of petrol. Describes. BP had wonderful geological side, best at finding prospects. Strength of British Gas - local authority mentality in projects. Explains own role working on Fulmar for Esso, Shell. Explains Cormorant operation, an Esso team in contrast to Fulmar. Own attitude to work, methods followed. Aberdeen at the time - wild west, lot of drinking. Personal life at this time, accommodation. Recalls regular travel on train, first class dining car, fellow passengers. Recalls politics in family. Has always been Conservative. Feelings about Margaret Thatcher, role of women. 1979-80 Contracted to French Construction Company CMP-EI, Statfjord B. Comments on French.
Tape 3 Side A 1979-80 Contract to French Construction Company CMP-EI Mobil Statfjord B project (cont'd). French had no experience of constructing modules for North Sea. Details re their other work. Attitude of French to rates payable. Explains own approach to quantity survey for construction, planning processes, workforce predictions - cost time resourcing (CTR). Attitude of others to quantity surveying procedures. Feelings about the French. Recalls initial documentation, Norwegian, French approaches to job. Technical details of job. Pricing inconsistencies, processes, ultimatum that became necessary. Mentions involvement of Americans. Technical problems e.g. ventilation ducts that didn't fit. Major problem persuading French colleague re financial return on project. 1980-2 Contracting Advisor, Shell Expro, London. Details re Ed Holloway who had set up Commercial Services department to look at ways Shell should be contracting. Details of work, e.g. finding way of getting contractor to fund projects. Details re tax. Mentions $20 million tranche limits. Details re expert colleagues in Shell, their high quality, backgrounds. Recalls enjoyment of work. Group hated by engineering, audit departments. Explains. Recalls writing standard form of contract when working on Fulmar, similar approach absorbed into CRINE. Explains approach to writing contract, different elements, eg tugs, survey, pipes etc. Need to control time, cost, possibility of change. Shell group were only people approaching contracts in this way. Details. Recalls need for contract to include activities such as reporting, meetings, tea, coffee - not just welding etc. Hardest Shell people to deal with in Lowestoft, Aberdeen. Explains individual approaches in those centres. Story, from Fulmar days, of Heerema crane barges, development of idea of using a semi-submersible crane.
Tape 3 Side B Heerema semi-submersible crane (cont'd). Heerema took a risk in this venture. Recalls curious claims, when later working in Shell claims department, concerning inappropriate ways of transporting modules. Own position as contractor within Shell. Recalls letter from senior Shell official indicating that company not aware of this. Had no rivals. Explains Shell grading system, own status, attitude of 'Shell Shell' people. Recalls 'family', 'Uncle Joe' Shell atmosphere which still exists. Attitude in Shell to having to get rid of staff, impact of accidents on company. 1982 Consultant in Aberdeen. Explains departure from Shaw & Hatton. Details re work rationalising contracts. Details re wife Helena, map librarian in Shell, London. Details re children, their education, work. Family situation. Background to 1983-5 review for Trafalgar House, looking at claims. Details of Cleveland Offshore contract. Details re Coopers & Lybrand case (1985), other cases until 1995. Worked (1989-91) on K29 project, re nuclear factory at Aldermaston, as Claims Manager - a totally secure project. Recalls project tie. Describes small print of Ministry of Defence contracts. 1991-2 worked with Conoco as Contracts Supervisor involving Brown & Root. Expression cya (cover your arse). Relationship between Conoco, Brown & Root, status of shareholder. Details re work for Conoco, their culture. Comments on Piper Alpha disaster (1988). 1996-8 Claims Analyst for James R Knowles. Recalls long relationship with Roger Knowles. Work involved environmental matters in UK, Hong Kong, Borneo. Details. After having DVT (deep vein thrombosis) did LLM at University of Aberdeen 1998-9. Has always had interest in contractual issues. Explains own approach. Current state of health.
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