| Description | Tape 1 Side A: DONALD JAMES STEVENS born 16 November 1934, Estherville, Iowa. Father was fireman, engineer for Rock Island railroad. He was of Scottish/Irish descent. Paternal grandparents were farmers from Minnesota. Mentions maternal grandparents, Flints, said to have link with royalty. Mentions names. Middle child of 8. Details re siblings. Childhood home was small. Describes house and neighbourhood. Had no refrigerator, recalls ice man coming. Details re Rock Island railroad. Father injured, started gas station. Recalls going in father's steam engine. Didn't have much as children but good life, had enough food. Describes father's personality. Recalls wartime conditions. Details re mother, her difficulties re social security, part-time work. Likely cause of father's death. Church-going family. Details. Recalls Sunday dinner, father's attitude to food. Close-knit family, community. Knew when it was time to leave home. Went to Estherville Public School, left before graduation, joined US Navy. Explains. Father a diehard Democrat. Recalls his attitude to Republicans. Own attitude Republican. Explains. Average student at school. Found mathematics difficult. Recalls childhood friends. Had no career aspirations. Mentions railroad. ELSA KARIN STEVENS nee Nielsen (ES), born Stavanger, Norway, 1942. Younger of 2 children. Father, engineer, worked for city. Parents separated, grew up with mother. Details re schooling. Compares with American schooling. Aspirations when young. Recalls difficult living conditions after war. Mother worked at hospital as nurse. Recalls Stavanger pre-oil, fishing. Feelings about school. Didn't know grandparents. (DS) Recalls meeting wife in Stavanger shoe store. 1955 left Navy, joined New Orleans shipyard. Mentions Boilermakers' Union. Reference to earlier marriage. Joined Rowan Drilling as roustabout 1956 in southern Louisiana swamp/marshlands.
Tape 1 Side B: Recalls employment on land rig with Southeastern Drilling Company as roustabout 1956. Worked on onshore southern Louisiana barge. Describes drilling rig, noise, machinery, procedures, own jobs. Learned different skills. Work on rig very unsafe. Essence of job speed. Expression, keep drill turning to the right. Details re non-stop work, blowing and going. Recalls toolpusher, Smoky Morris, his authority. Details re pay. Lot of people couldn't do work. Explains difficulties working in swamps. Work in blood in spite of discomforts. Details re earlier work on boilers. Recalls Mule Spellman, toolpusher, his attitude, lack of support. (ES) Oil industry came to Stavanger c1966. Reference to Ocean Traveller. (DS) Arrived in Norway 1967, worked on building Ocean Viking in Oslo. (ES) Recalls life in Stavanger, social activities. First impressions of oil industry. Reaction of fishing people. First impressions of Americans. (DS) Compares arrival of Americans in Norway with British experience. Example of Norwegian hostility. (ES) Effect of American arrival on Stavanger rents. First impression of Don. Describes Norwegian character. Reference to Ocean Prince sinking. (DS) Explains American attitude. First impression of Norwegians. Arrival with ODECO on Ocean Viking. Recalls warning from old timer about North Sea, aggressive enthusiasm of Norwegians. Effect of Ekofisk discovery. Reference to Ocean Rover. (ES) Little consciousness of Aberdeen from Norway. Details. (DS) Recalls building of Ocean Viking, own role as driller. Recalls work offshore in Gulf of Mexico with Rowan Drilling. Impact of routine on first marriage, attitude to this. Details re work routine, situation, living conditions, weather. Compares cold in Gulf with Alaska, North Sea. Black workers only in catering.
Tape 2 Side A: (DS) Black people worked only in catering. Other groups were Spanish, Cajun. Describes character, requirements of driller. Had to learn from books to pass tests, get license. Recalls attitude of drillers, hiring, firing. Compares with today. Recalls recruiting people in New Orleans cafes, attitude to jobs when industry was blowin', goin', fast, furious. Describes 12-hour daily routine, work routines of roustabout, drill floorman, use of kelly, derrick work. Known as Steve. Importance of intuition, instinct re blowouts. Relationship of driller, geologist. Signs of nature of ground below, warning signs, precautions. Details re weather in Gulf, procedures during hurricanes. (ES) Worked in shop 2 years. Oil industry arrived, transformed Stavanger. Recalls first meeting Don, first impressions. (DS) Recalls meeting Elsa. Explains need for companionship when working offshore. Details re courting period. Married, had children in Norway. Details re building rig during winter. Recalls first experience of semi-submersible rig offshore from Teeside. Encounter with customs. Recalls Bristow old military helicopters, incident when door blew out. Mentions rescue of crew from Ocean Prince 1965. Details re loss of rig. Details re early drilling work in British sector, Norwegian crews, working with them. Moved to Norwegian waters 1967, drilling for Phillips. On board as toolpusher when Ekofisk discovered. Phillips good to work for. Family-type attitude in North Sea. Recalls accidental deaths, rescue attempt. Details re hectic nature of diving industry, deaths. Describes dangerous helicopter flying in fog, use of crane, basket getting on rig from workboats, force 12 winds, 65-foot seas. 6 out of 8 Ocean Viking chains broken. Reference to Global Drilling. Further details re phenomenally stormy weather.
Tape 2 Side B: Details re Ocean Viking. Recalls long preparation of equipment for storm weather. Situation when 100-year storm came, dumping of deckload material, submerging of rig. Details re dragging chains. Details re movement of Ekofisk tank which was supposed not to move. British, Norwegian attitude to oil. Recalls television advertisement 'it's got to be gas', daughter's interpretation. Details re day of discovery of Ekofisk when working on Ocean Viking 1969, reason for initially shutting well in. Explains later drilling for production. Describes surge of sheet of oil. Reaction to discovery, coding of messages etc. Picture leaked to Stavanger newspaper. Details. Arrival of other drillers. Drilling was then straight down but able to go directional. Explains process, kick-shoe. Recalls taking on water when in storm, taking career risk by insisting on taking rig to Stavanger, attitude of New Orleans. Recalls situation later when in Alaska, shooting icicles off rig, similar activity in Norway. (ES) Attitude to marrying an oilman 1969. Details re marriage. (DS) Explains accommodation of personal life. Mentions language situation. (ES) Lot of friends married Americans. Attitude of mother to marriage, family situation. Details re honeymoon. Impact of oil work on family life in Norway, Scotland. (DS) Moved to British sector as Drilling Superintendent on Odeco's Ocean Kokuie working for Occidental. Details re subsequent work in Norwegian waters. Worked in Piper field, Shetland area etc. Recalls working with Occidental people. Details re work routine, own approach to management, hands-on approach. Recalls nearly drowning, being rescued. Details re procedures. Recalls making a costly mistake because of fatigue. Details.
Tape 3 Side A: (DS) Mistake made through fatigue (cont'd). Cost to Phillips, their response. Recalls another problem, with a well when pipes mixed up, costs involved, backup remedies taken by company. At that time equipment often used beyond capacity. Compares equipment then with today. (ES) Recalls going to Aberdeen, accommodation. Feelings about Aberdonians, the city. Recalls milkman, his expression toodle-oo etc. Difficult at first, became involved with Kippy Lodge Petroleum Club, mixed with other nationalities. Reference to Vance Green, founder of club. (DS) Recalls people in club. Mentions lack of people in present neighbourhood to talk with about oil. Reference Petroleum Wives' Club. (ES) Mentions children, their names, birthdates. No home help in Aberdeen. Feelings about Aberdeen, Union Street. Recalls seeing Queen 1977. (DS) Feelings about Aberdeen. Everybody friendly. No hostility. (ES) Recalls sightseeing etc. (DS) Worked 24/24 as superintendent, couldn't go far away. Explains. Feelings about intervention of British teatime. Gives example. Story of H2S gas problem, young Scot with beard who had to shave to keep job, his wife's reaction. Recalls difficulty with language in UK. Impression of Shetland. Details re crane work, different types, own experience. Details re dangers involved. Story of situation involving 30-inch casing, intervention of seal saved by crane operator. Skills involved in operating crane. Details re work routines in North Sea, extended shifts. (ES) Recalls difficulty for family with husband being away. (DS) Example of company attitude to family situations. (ES) Had to be mom, dad. No problem when husband came home. (DS) Hard when away if problems at home, e.g. birth of child. Explains. Recalls situation involving motor accident victim.
Tape 3 Side B: (DS) Story re situation involving motor accident victim, industry employee (cont'd). Examples of relationship with Scots etc. Recalls duty free products, illegal imports, sales offshore. Consumption of liquor offshore taboo. Mentions electrician making whisky. Norwegian union formed on Ocean Viking. Americans fought unionism. Had respect from Norwegian employees. Attitude of union during dispute. Details re union in Norway. No problems in British sector. (ES) Recalls different oil companies coming in to North Sea. (DS) Recalls confusion over need to use metric measures. Texans' reaction to cooked lamb, British food. Recalls building of Ben Ocean Lancer, attitude of its captain to rig in middle. Explains clash between marine, oil personnel, own attitude. Time lost through labour unions on Ben Ocean Lancer. Explains American version of NRB (Not Required Back), Blackball List. Little trouble in British sector. (ES) Didn't want to leave Aberdeen. Recalls Bob McVeigh. (DS) Memories of him, his involvement in entertainment. Recalls competitors in drilling industry, cooperation. Missed Scotland, North Sea, after leaving. Compares conditions in North Sea, Gulf of Mexico. Recalls long helicopter flights. (ES) Used to worry about husband when he was away. Mentions Piper Alpha disaster. Safety rules needed to be changed. (ES) Recalls risks taken by Don. (DS) Recalls situation in Alaska involving a tidal bore, rip tide with rig at its mercy. Mentions Algiers Bend, New Orleans, current. Details re other dangerous situations. Worst dangers in North Seas were storms. Summary of post-North Sea career. Impact of North Sea on career. Made a believer by North Sea. Explains. Mentions situations in Far East. (ES) North Sea experience in retrospect.
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