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One thought on “OTC thoughts; is there really some technology that no one has thought of yet; and other musings”
Nice one Steve. I too sense a few pangs as OTC opens the doors on its 50th anniversary gathering. I was fortunate enough to be able to be there last year, primarily to join in the Distinguished Achievement Award luncheon for that infamous rascal Brian Skeels. It really was inspiring to be there with Brian, and to meet up with so many old friends – knowing inevitably that it would be for the last time face to face in many cases.
It also seems hardly any time at all that, during my first year with Shell UK in 1969, I was made aware by US colleagues of a new-fangled exhibition taking place in Houston of all sorts of land-destined ironmongery that the Texans were starting to consider deploying on the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico. That turned out to be the very first OTC, which subsequently mushroomed into the 50 year old behemoth that we still appreciate today.
During the subsequent decade I had dared to dream that one day I may just get lucky enough to be able to work alongside some of those charismatic old characters across the pond, who were still able to build on their vast experience and innovate without the shackles of umpteen layers of bureaucracy. By the time my dream actually came true three decades later with a final posting to New Orleans, the bureaucracy had of course got there before me, but the old charismatic characters with all that fantastic experience were still there to inspire me on, right to the end.
I thank all of them for that, more that they will ever know.