Pratt Joseph A., Priest Tyler, Castaneda Christopher J. Offshore Pioneers

Gulf Publishing Company, 1997. — 302 p.During the first half century of the offshore oil and gas industry, Brown & Root Marine has been a pioneer in the design and construction of offshore platforms and pipelines. Through applied engineering, the industry has moved into deeper waters and harsher environments, providing an important case study of the technological forces driving the energy economy. The history of a single company, in this case Brown & Root, reveals the human dimensions of this broad process of change. Real people made practical choices based on their best understanding of the technical possibilities and the environmental constraints. When these choices proved wrong, they returned to the drawing board and made adjustments. Their efforts produced astonishing long-term advances in offshore technology.
Discussions with people outside of Brown & Root gave us a broad perspective on the evolution of aspects of the offshore industry. Especially useful were interviews with Pat Dunn (Shell Oil, retired), Griff Lee (J. Ray McDermott, retired), Malcolm Sharples (Noble Denton and the American Shipping Bureau), and Jim Winfrey (Exxon, retired). Each graciously shared valuable historical documents with us.
We should also note here the value of the technical articles and reports written by specialists from throughout the industry and published in such places as the proceedings of the annual Offshore Technology Conference and various industry journals such as the Engineering-News Record. Trade journals such as Offshore, the Oil & Gas Journal, and World Petroleum also regularly reported on technical issues.The First Challenge" Creation of the Modern Offshore Industry in the Gulf of Mexico
Before the Dawn
Beyond the Horizon
A Maturing System
New Sophistication
Wading into DeepwaterThe Challenge of New and Extreme Environments: Depth, Earthquakes, Ice, and Fire
Brown & Root Marine Goes Abroad
Mind Stretcher of the Century"
Project Mohole
Inner Space Pioneer:
Taylor Diving & Salvage
Offshore California and Alaska
A Crash Program in Mexico's
Bay of CampecheThe Challenge of the North Sea: Rough Waters, Hostile Conditions
Confronting a Monster:
The Early Natural Gas Industry
Ekofisk and the Challenge of Early
North Sea Oil
Ring Master at the Forties Field
Project Management in a Boom EraEpilogue