| Description | Tape 1 Side A NORMAN HENRY ALLEN born Reading Berkshire 28 June 1954. Family details. Paternal grandparents' work in Post Office (grandmother lived to 100). Maternal grandfather's career in an iron foundry etc. Details re parents, mother a teacher/biologist, father a geologist/sedimentologist. Inspiration for taking up geology, fieldwork visits to Sussex quarry, north-west Scotland with father. Explanation of geology as a multi-disciplinary subject. Attitude to career planning. Description of parents, their attitudes, influence. Fascination with politics, involvement with university student union. Contact with Gordon Brown, Magnus Magnusson. Regret at not having more musical experience. Comparison of own and children's educational opportunities. Recollections of hill walking, sporting involvement. Geological activities at Edinburgh University, quality of young lecturers at Grant Institute of Geology. Impact of Brian Lovell, son of Sir Bernard Lovell, later of BP. Description of course followed, career aspiration, level of achievement. Explanation of lack of involvement of geology department in North Sea oil study.
Tape 1 Side B Changes in [Edinburgh University] geology department's attitude to oil industry. Attitude of academics and others to potential, cost of oil in North Sea compared with Middle East, United States. Attitude to available technology. Background to PhD on Recent temperate carbonate deposits on the continental shelf north and west of Scotland. Expedition to Spitzbergen as part of Cambridge Arctic Shelf Programme. Explanation of benefit to PhD of work with BNOC - calculation of volumes of oil from a map; explanation of equipment used. Three-dimensional aspect of geology, difficulty of this for some people. Explanation of 4D seismic technology. Inaccurate, intuitive processes in geology. Lack of understanding of geological predictions, comparison of geology with engineering, mathematics; use of maths and physics in geophysics. Description of work of PGL (Production Geoscience Ltd) describing oil reservoirs, exploration in North Sea and elsewhere. Attitude to use of intuition in geology, mathematical methods, oil well predictions. Comparison of attitude of drillers, geologists, reservoir engineers, petroleum engineers to predictions re oil fields. Explanation of problem of communication between disciplines, traditional conservatism, arrogance, political nature of oil industry, need for integration. Work with BNOC/Britoil. Impression of reaction of Aberdeen to oil industry, missed opportunities, slow response. First impression of Aberdeen. Attitude of University of Aberdeen geology department, its near demise. Relationship between academia and business. Culture of BNOC.
Tape 2 Side A Recollections of work with BNOC, hierarchy, colleagues, own routine and training work with senior geologist. Emphasis on licensing rounds, new acreage, prospects. Recollection of first experiences on rigs offshore, routine followed. Comparison of role of mud logger, company geologist. Social order on drilling rigs, status of geologist, atmosphere. Comparison with situation on platforms under control of OIM (Offshore Installation Manager). Attitude to women working offshore, employment of chaperones. Work of wife (Elizabeth Banks) as a petroleum engineer. Amount of spending in oil industry in early days; attitude to work. Culture of BNOC, technical focus, lack of training, relations with other companies. Status of BNOC compared with other oil companies. Reaction to change to privatisation, Britoil. Political orientation in UK, Scottish contexts. Desire to be involved in oilwell discovery, involvement in North Sea with Enterprise Oil. Work as Development Geologist dealing with assets under development. Explanation of partner-type activity, equity, unitisation, potential difficulties with fields crossing licensing boundaries, difficulty being experts in equities, amounts of money involved in outcome. Current attitudes of companies, eg in case of redeterminations of equities.
Tape 2 Side B Recollection of determinations of equities, difficult negotiations, eg Nelson equities between Enterprise and Shell. Explanation of geological procedures of discovery of good quality rock, strategies followed. Involvement of countries as well as companies fighting for share of oil. Nature of geologist's work, dealing with data, progression to running oil companies, change to trend. Prospects for technical specialists; requirement for multi-disciplinary, commercial, political skills. Dislike by some of equities because of fear of compromise of technical integrity. Attitude of commercial people when dealing with equities. Work as Supervising Production Geologist, Aberdeen, politics involved. Changes in reservoir management. Leisure time activities. Balance between personal and professional life, wife's work. Increase in pressures at work. Encouragement of macho attitude in oil industry, effect on wives, still. Explanation of development of cross-sectional mapping technique, significance in field development, need for rigour. Recollections on geological activity on the Clyde field, political prominence, complications. Difficulty dealing with BP which took over Britoil. Recollection of reaction to Piper Alpha disaster (1988), its effect on safety ethic, changes in design, approach, attitude. Possibility of it happening again on older platforms.
Tape 3 Side A State of Health & Safety consciousness before and since Piper Alpha disaster. Work as head of Geoscience, BP Exploration. Involvement with integration of Britoil and BP, attempt to be made redundant. Period with BP in retrospect - positive and negative aspects. Difficulties with Clyde because of unexpected results, reaction of BP geologists, management. Culture of BP, effect on professional reputations. Approach of other companies dealing with fields compared with BP. Contrasts in technology used in Beatrice Field. Resignation from BP (1990). Skills of colleague Alan James, collaboration with him in formation of own company, Production Geoscience Ltd. Changes in nature of work. Focus of company. Recollection of 1998-9 difficulties. Description of bread and butter work - Z MAP, still used, costs involved. Detailed explanation of changes to seismic work over the years, 3D seismic, advance in processing technology, uses of sound, analysis of physical properties of what is in rock, fluid content, 4D. Prediction for future of industry in and outside the North Sea, future of oil as primary energy source; political and environmental issues. Future career prospects in oil industry. Interest in global warming, conviction of connection with production of CO2. Question of moves in politics, economics.
Tape 3 Side B Impact of oil industry on country, Scotland, Aberdeen's living style, social structure, economy. Vulnerability of Aberdeen economy. Role of PESGB (Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain) in London, Aberdeen; support of unemployed professionals; social function; technology/information transfer. Contact with university, Teaching Companies scheme. Attitude to present work, future vision for company, wider staff ownership. End of interview.
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