Steeveen is a Newfoundland expression for a Scoundrel or Rascal;
This post has been submitted by Boris Ewanchuk, former General Manager for Noble (Canada) Ltd., now retired.
The photos of OW842 and some of the crew members submitted by Lyle McKain
Hunt Oil PCP Port Au Port #1 Garden Hill, Newfoundland/Labrador
In September of 1994, Noble Drilling Canada Ltd., was contracted by Hunt Oil to drill a directional exploratory well under the Gulf of St. Lawrence from a land location near the community of Cape St. George, western Nfld/Labrador.
Noble Drilling US land drilling rig OW842 which had been stacked in Michigan, U.S.A. was selected for the project and was transported and assembled at the drill site.
The nearest accommodations and restaurants available for the crews were at Stephenville, which during the Second World War was a strategic base for the U.S. Air Force. The van travel time from Stephenville to Cape St. George was ideally about 1 1/4 hours, but with bad weather this became more like 1 1/2 hours. with the crews working 12 hour shifts and the travel time to/from the rig, this meant that the rig crew members were spending at least 15 hours without rest or relaxation or tending to personal needs and hygiene.
On one of my earlier trips to the rig site when the rig was first spudded, I met a local entrepreneur in Stephenville and mentioned the problem of crew accommodations and catering. He indicated to me that there was an abandoned Roman Catholic Convent near Cape St. George and that if accessible, he would be prepared to contract his services to provide bedding, laundry and catering services. Noble however, would have to contact the Roman Catholic Services in St. Johns, Nfld and determine if the vacated facility could be leased.
At the time NDLC was actively involved in the Hibernia Offshore Project. On my return to St. John's, I made some inquiries and was advised that I would have to contact the Mother Superior who was now residing in St, Johns. I contacted her by telephone and explained to her what our needs and intentions were as to the vacated Convent.
Her first question was "who would be staying at this facility"? My reply was rig rig crews. Her reply was "My Son, I have heard about and read about rig roughnecks and there is no way any of these individuals would be occupying the Convent building, even though it is vacate"! End of conversation. I thanked her for her time to hear me out.
Kevin Gunter and his crew, notice the signs of the strong winds of Nfld.
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