Stephenville, Newfoundland
in 1995 Noble Drilling rebuilt a drilling rig that had been racked in Michigan and then moved it to Cape St. George, Newfoundland, going on contract in 1996 to Hunt Oil. Lyle McKain was Supt./RM, relieved by Chris Hegedus and Ed Weitermen. The few crew members that were from out of province stayed at the Stephenville Hotel and the remaining crews were from the area. An unconfirmed "truth" according to the hotel manager was that the room Lyle stayed in was the same room that Elvis Presley had occupied in 1960 when he entertained at the Ernest Harmon Airbase, the largest U.S .airbase outside of the United States at the time. Lyle is still a bit skeptical about the "Elvis room" story!
This project was still in progress when Noble sold the land rigs.
St. John's Newfoundland - Hibernia
The Hibernia production platform is the worlds Largest oil platform (weight) and is located 315 kms. from St. John's. Noble Drilling won the first contract on this project which lasted from 1997 until June, 2016. Crew changes were like no other, they would travel by helicopter if weather allowed otherwise by boat, with waves so high I've been told, that the crews would be strapped in their beds for safety. There was always that same element of risk for the rig crews as there is for the fishermen on this Atlantic Ocean.
The times that I travelled to the St. John's office for meetings was always an educational and memorable experience. Kevin Roche. Linda Smith, Jennifer Mercer, Nicole Parsons and rest of staff always made one feel welcome, I attended my first lobster boil, danced a polka with Tony Chaytor and visited George Street which I was told has the most bars on any block in Canada, but I am sad to report that I was never "screeched" in. . Newfoundland itself is such a unique province with the friendliest people you'll find anywhere, plus there is that wonderful food, beautiful countryside, and those winds that can knock you on your butt. I hired a cab one Sunday to take me on a tour of St. John's and when I got out of the car the winds were so strong I asked the driver if he had a rope so I could tie myself to the bumper, he told me to just lean into it, never mind leaning I could barely stand up.. Not only did this driver tour me around but when he found out that I had nothing else planned for the day, he wasn't in a hurry so did I mind if we stopped at his mothers for a minute. I didn't mind at all. It was a very entertaining day. best city tour I've ever had with the most enjoyable, informative guide..
Gander, Newfoundland
Sept. 11/ 2001 stopped the world in its tracks with the Terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda against the United States. Noble Drilling had crew changes going on from the Middle East as this horror began, I'm not going into that because we all remember too well everything about that day, especially any of us as well as the rest of the world that either had family on a plane or were directly affected. The point I want to make is how Gander, Newfoundland dealt with the 38 planes that landed there, the residents welcoming and housing 6700 strangers. It was described as an "oasis of kindness" by one of those strangers. The stage production "Come From Away" is a wonderful production that describes much of what the province of Newfoundland is about.
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