oilfieldbasura

I began my offshore career on the Ocean Kokuei. It was the summer of 1975 and the older guy who was with me in Aberdeen Buroo assured me ‘Roughpainters’ would be a job painting trawlers in the harbour. The very small office in Tullos was a hive of activity. I filled in a clearly American application-form and waited to be called into the inner office for my interview. I was nineteen and the first question was a tough one: “What size boots do you take?” The Kokuei was drilling for Burmah when I joined her but she went on to drill for Chevron ; when Burmah went bust. I’d like to tell you more about that story but the material facts are obscured by a sea-mist of bull-droppings. Jim Sillars once spoke about Scotland being the only country in history to find oil and become poorer. Burmah in 1974 found the Ninian Field and went on to become insolvent. Odeco had four rigs in Scottish waters at the time. The Ocean Victory had a steady crew with a slow turnover of personnel. The Kokuei a...

An ex-Aladdinaut and former merchant seaman once said of Jebsen's “the offshore side was real good”. I wouldn’t quite go that far but I stuck it out longer on Jebsen’s Aladdin than I did anywhere else. She must have had something going for her. One factor in the Aladdin story was Atle Jebsen. The maximo honcho of Jebsen’s Shipping was also on the Board of B.P. Norway. In 1982 B.P. Norway was looking for a semi-submersible drilling rig to work in Norwegian waters. The Norwegian Government did not operate a protected economy at that time, (or so they said). They would allow a token foreign flag rig or supply boat to operate in Norwegian waters; from time to time. These vessels were usually old and technically inferior (on paper). Their license to operate could easily be withdrawn by requiring some of the bells and whistles that were being fitted to Norwegian new-build rigs and boats. This was not done to protect the jobs of Norwegians; it was a matter of “safety”. Th...