| Description | Tape 1 Side A ENOCH LEE DAWKINS born 16 March 1938 Shreveport, Louisiana. Paternal grandfather a farmer. Named after grandfathers. Details. Parents born Oklahoma, grandparents from Texas. Mentions Oklahoma land rush. Spent summers with grandparents on their farms on Texas-Oklahoma border. Grandmother Dawkins milked cows, made butter, was a schoolteacher. Had two younger sisters. Great great grandfather a Cherokee Indian. Details re grandparents. Long-lived family. Knew great grandmother, great aunt died at 107. Recalls smells of grandparents' farms, childhood games. Father in oil business with Halliburton. Recalls homes in different parts of the country. Father grew up behind a mule, pulling a plough. Details re his life. He was a footballer, wrestler. Both parents had name Maurice. Father worked with an undertaker, then building highways in 1930s, hard labour. Details re his work with Halliburton, rising to superintendent. Describes his personality, hardly ever home, oil industry job was number one. Details re mother, her education, interests. She was a piano teacher like wife's mother. Recalls church music. Details re grandmother and mother. Because of father's work in oil industry, family moved often. Details. Mentions own education, sense of where home was. Mentions schooling, grades, early graduation, decision to major in petroleum engineering. Encouraged by parents to get college education. Always being found jobs by father when a boy, e.g. shining shoes, working in service station. Recalls living in Halliburton camp, being paid to help with fracking wells. Explains. Details re other oil-related odd jobs. Recalls career being inspired by sight of a petroleum engineer. Mentions work/school routine. Distant relationship with father. Compares with wife's family life.
Tape 1 Side B Father developed dementia in his late 50s. Lived and breathed sports in high school. Details. Had good teachers at school. Explains petroleum engineering course. Recalls influential, helpful professors. Learned to be self-sufficient from early age, not coming from a wealthy family. Worked in oilfields from age 14. Details re meeting wife, Frances at church at age 14 in 1952, first date. Full names of wife. (Wife, also present, recollects first meeting, first date.) Married 1958. Went to Texas Tech, wife went Baylor. Details re first home, move with Halliburton to Farmington, New Mexico, living in a trailer. Further move. Describes Halliburtons. Recalls father's feelings about company. Details re birth, names of children. (Frances' feelings about marrying an oilman, living in Louisiana.) Worked for Chevron in Baymar Shand field. Tremendous operation. Details. Describes a typical day's work on offshore platform, landing craft, equipment used, submersible rigs, jackup rigs. Compares with North Sea work, Brazil. Good training ground. Worked to drilling programme, moving rig to location, ordering supplies, muds, drilling well, organising tools. All wells were directional. In charge of 40-50 wells off one platform, triple completions, measurements, perforation of wells etc. Wells up to 12,000 feet deep. Did 7-day hitches. Further explanation of triple wells through one hole. Describes difficulties encountered. Details of hierarchy in Baymar Shand field: supervising engineer, support staff, division engineer, geologist, reservoir engineer. Compares with situation now, different responsibilies. Not good communications in early days - only had a marine phone. Benefit of early roughneck experience. Lot of engineers not aware of what field operations meant.
Tape 2 Side A Explains Chevron's policy in appointing staff. . Effect of job on family. Had to borrow money in early period. Close family, took children out during weeks off. [Frances explains how family got on.] Happy to have a job at the time, one with prospects. Very few if any black people worked offshore in the 1960s. Details re makeup of crews. Lot of blacks offshore now. Situation re blacks in North Sea industry. Unions non-existent in US oil industry. Recalls attempts by unions to talk to crews, company refusals to let them offshore. Worked for Chevron till 1964, then went to Odeco as drilling engineer. Explains change. Reference to Bill Cotton. Odeco built Ocean Prince and other rigs. Details. Recalls Ocean Prince breaking up. Describes Odeco, its history, Murphy's controlling interest. First built-for-purpose submersible rig, Mr Charlie, named after Charles Murphy, now a museum. Describes Mr Charlie, its design, construction. Recalls first offshore semi-submersible, Bluewater. Odeco designed first semi-submersible, Ocean Driller 1963. Recalls difficulties with anchors breaking in early days, remedies. First experience in North Sea in Ocean Traveller, popping anchor chain in storm, 110 mph wind. Details. Nobody knew how bad North Sea was going to be. Describes weather. Reference to hurricane in Gulf on day of interview. Details re Chevron, Odeco, relationship between them. Role played by Murphy in Odeco's work. Reason for being asked to go to North Sea. Reference to Tommy O'Neill, early UK welder from Ocean Prince. First Odeco involvements in North Sea. Recalls contract with Ocean Traveller in Frigg field. Background to own first sortie in North Sea, 1969.
Tape 2 Side B Impression of Norwegian industry in North Sea, situation there. Recalls unions, brushing them off. Appointed to Port Elizabeth, South Africa as Operations Manager late 1969, to set up company. Reference to Vance Greene, Administration Manager. First assignment as a drilling contractor. Details re working for THE Superior Oil Company, drilling work involving drill ship 'Dirty Gerty', old Glomar ship, which failed. Had Norwegian crews and their families, Canadians, Americans. Reason for this - complications with apartheid. Brought furniture to South Africa for staff, later sold it. Explains. Details re own family's accommodation arrangements. Recalls Bantu Xosa-speaking people singing at night. [Frances recalls South African experience, relationship with local people.] Recalls murder of white hobo, protection by locals. Details redevelopment of company. Successful operations but no oil, gas found. Details re radio communications. Unique experience being so far away, no infrastructure. Had to improvise, e.g. with drilling compensators, developing hydraulic bumper subs to deal with heaving of rig. Recalls use of telex, inconvenience of telephones. Later drilled well for Placid Oil Company, found some gas. Details re further drilling for Odeco joint venture with South African company. Mentions rope, soap and dope supply requirements. At end of contract, Odeco got contract with Totale in UK North Sea for Ocean Traveller rig. Towed back to Firth of Forth. Details. While rig being towed back, went to Hilton Hotel, London. Mentions Odeco's London office. Appointed to Stavanger and Aberdeen as Manager. Details re opening office in Aberdeen, looking for crews 1971. Recalls other companies there. Lack of people with rig experience, so decided to hire and train. Details re pay rate.
Tape 3 Side A Arrival in Aberdeen (cont'd). Details re setting up office, advertising for roustabouts, roughnecks etc, long queues of applicants, mostly from fishing industry, some farming people. First impressions of Aberdeen. Lived in Stavanger for first year then on Deeside. Difficulty renting property. Recalls anxiety in Aberdeen about coming of oil. Children put into Albyn School. Details re initial difficulties. Details re staff etc. [Frances recalls interview for tenancy by housekeeper.] Details re Odeco rig constructions 1971-2, move to set up North Sea headquarters. Had place in Tullos, became larger company. Mentions choice of Bank of Scotland. Recalls in 1969 Ocean Viking discovery of Ekofisk field. Details. Odeco brought people into Aberdeen, hired locals where possible. Scottish workers adaptable, progressed faster in industry than others. Little infrastructure in Aberdeen at that time. Problems with space, air travel. No direct flights to Stavanger. Describes work routine, responsibilities. Reference to Vance Greene. Not many top notch hotels in Aberdeen. Recalls cold in winter, tightness of Scots, inadequate heating. Opinion of Station Hotel. Main competition was Sedco next door. Greater competition later. Explains. Competition for good people. Mentions other competitors. Crew pay changed because of competition. Reference to US pay levels. No union contacts in Aberdeen at that time. Problem with working hours, safety issue. Details. Comments on safety, environmental issues before and since Piper Alpha. Compares with approach today, high safety consciousness. Mentions recent Space Shuttle crash. Always pressure from companies on contractor to drill hole faster. Safety not knowingly compromised. One way of saving money, to make a faster pipe trip. Details of procedure. Now many processes automated.
Tape 3 Side B Details of procedure on drill floor doing a 'trip'. Time taken to go in and out of 15,000 feet. Explains importance of avoiding down time, programme design etc. Describes noises on rig. Drillers have to be experienced roughnecks. Responsibilities of drillers. Explains their intuition. Technical issues to be considered, awareness necessary of what happening in the hole, possibility of blowout, kick, formation being drilled through, suitability of mud etc. Driller, tool pushers strictly contractors. Geologists work for oil company. Safety issues where there is conflict between groups. Important for tool pusher to get on with company man. If own workers not satisfactory they were given pink slip and that was it. Recalls establishment of, involvement in Petroleum Club at Kippy Lodge in Aberdeen. Reference to Vance Greene, Harry Tucker, John Willams and others involved. First china plates bought were Texas size. Mentions clubs early financial problems. Recalls impact of OPEC crisis, early prices of heating oil. Recalls needs of company in boom times. [Frances explains liking for Aberdeen. Still have friends there.] Association with Keith Laddiman, Chalk's catering business in South Africa. Odeco kept using his companies. Close friends. 1974 left Aberdeen, became Vice President, Engineering, New Orleans. Worked on building rigs. Technology change to Victory Class semi-submersible 3rd generation rigs. Details re family situation at the time. Odeco established Dutch company, Canam. Details. Explains own involvement as Vice President, Operations in The Hague 1975, later President. Difficult family decision re education arrangements. Comments on international school in The Hague. Recalls last rig in Norway, Gulf Tide. Compares oil industry in UK in early 1970s, 1975.
Tape 4 Side A Political context of UK oil business, evolving regulations. UK a reasonable place but more paperwork, red tape than in US. Effect of Piper Alpha disaster, Cullen report, need to create whole departments to get approvals. Compares with situation before Piper. Oil companies had more to do with politicians than contractors who dealt with Department of Industry re safety. No impact of Iranian revolution on Odeco. Explains. Recalls own extensive travel when based in Holland. [Frances comments on family life during this period.] 1982-5 Vice President Foreign, Contract Drilling, Marketing, later President. Reference to Murphy buyout of Odeco 1991. Odeco started building 4th generation drilling rigs. 1983-1990s not a good time for the industry. Explains. Recalls rigs stacked in Moray Firth, problems with getting contracts. Attitude of oil companies. Explains Odeco's marketing strength, company training programme. Comments on average ages in oil industry. Compares Gulf of Mexico and UK as mature oil provinces. Impact of UK leasing approach, need for big companies to let go of some long term leases. Describes 'picking the plums' approach, Gulf short term lease arrangement. 1989 President, Odeco, President Murphy Exploration and Production till retirement 2003. Impact of Iraq war on company. Evolution of current Murphy structure. Comments on current UK industry, its evolution to force worldwide. Feelings about future oil-related prospects for Aberdeen. Mentions situation in Great Yarmouth. Significance of Aberdeen. North Sea experience in retrospect. [Frances recalls reluctance to leave Aberdeen.] Current situation, feelings about not retiring till 65, retirement activities. Mentions arrival of Ocean Traveller arriving in Firth of Forth after 90-day voyage.
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