With a twinkle in their eyes, old
timers reminisce about the way it once was in the oilfield. Woven in the
colored tapestry of stories is an old cliché, passed from chow halls to rig
floors, accompanied by the resonance of motors and pumps. It is usually used to
emphasize a bumbling mistake, a near miss, or as a blunt comparison to the way
it once was, when there were “men of steel and rigs of wood.” Of course it is
flavored with a bit of humor, but always used to make a point…
Men of “the old school” still
remember it vividly, and these seasoned veterans want to instill in novice
“worms” that those early work ethics should not be forgotten. It’s said these
men of steel drank “Texas Tea” for breakfast, and had “Black Gold” for blood.
They never got cold, or tired, as they remember, and worked as long as the sun
was up, without complaint, happy to have a job. It took a strong breed of men
to tackle the early oil industry, and some think our young hands just don’t
have what it takes. Of course they do, but the early oilfield broke so much new
ground by discovery and invention, that memories of it today seem bigger than
life.
What they have in common are the challenges and responsibilities they
accept.
The word “wildcat” was invented to
describe the danger of drilling where no rig had drilled before. Company Men
let the hole “talk” to them. It was a new language learned by hard knocks, and
years of time standing on the shakers looking at cuttings. Geology was taught
by tempered observation, and there was wonder and magic for some of the things
we may take for granted today. There was amazement while drilling through huge
chunks of wood at 5,000 feet, the unexpected dangers of transitional zones and
pressured shale, or the finding of great mushroom walls of obstructions like
sulfur and salt domes blocking the pay. Before seismic surveys, these things
could not yet be explained or predicted, and methods of drilling were explored
by the seat of their pants.
There was a young man named Patrick F. Taylor who grew up in the middle of these gutsy times. He looked
around his home town of Beaumont Texas, and saw his calling. He wanted to be an
oilman.
He knew that in order to be successful
he had to have the proper education, and so set out to apply himself in that
direction. Though he came from humble beginnings, his dreams pulled him
forward. He received an academic scholarship to Kinkaid, Houston’s finest prep
school, in spite of being kicked out of his house at 16. Some kids grew up fast
in those days, especially one motivated, and when Mr. Taylor finished high
school, he immediately struck out on his own. The world was big, full of
opportunity, and Mr. Taylor wanted a piece for himself.
With empty pockets he found his way
to Louisiana. There he had heard of a college called Louisiana State
University, which had no tuition. His drive secured a petroleum engineering
degree in 1959, accomplished in just three and a half years, and from that
springboard pushed forward with an innate savvy for business. He got his first
job with Mr. John Mecom Sr., and quickly made a name for himself with his own
consulting and production company. The Circle Bar Drilling Company was started
with Mr. Mecom in 1974, and became a very successful drilling contracting
company. It was sold in 1979, at which time Mr. Taylor formed Taylor Energy
Company in New Orleans. Today, Taylor Energy Company is one of the larger
independent oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico and remains solely owned. Taylor Energy Company is the only individually owned company ever to explore for
and produce oil and natural gas in Federal offshore waters in the Gulf of
Mexico. It took raw courage, and Mr. Taylor staked his entire life savings
knowing full well that he was attempting to play with the big boys …large
conglomerate corporations with seemingly unlimited capital and manpower. He
dove in with the same tenacity he had as a sixteen year old, and won!
The October 2004 issue of Forbes
Magazine listed that Mr. Taylor was ranked 234 of the 400 richest people in
America. He has amassed a fortune worth in excess of 1.2 billion.
On November 5th, 2004, Mr. Taylor died
from complications due to bacterial endocarditis at the age of 67. It may seem
to some a short life, but what Mr. Taylor saw and did in his allotted time,
most wouldn’t accomplish in a thousand. His adventure spirit brought him and
his wife around the world. He was quite good at riding bronco bulls, but they
say he took his share of spills too. He had a passion for wild game safaris in
Africa, the racing of cigar boats in the Mississippi River, and logged 500 plus
skydives, but in spite of this flamboyant spirit, Mr. Taylor was typically
known to be very conservative. He would never speed while driving; in fact, he
thought it was a sincere and sacred duty not to break social law. He played by
the rules.
Mr. Taylor remembered his past and
how he had been allowed to attend Louisiana State University with only his will
to learn as tuition. Just as he had done in those early days as a boy, he
looked around at the circumstances surrounding him in New Orleans, and
recognized the need for change. He knew from his own experience that if given
the opportunity, those without means may flourish academically. It struck home
in 1988 when he was asked to speak to a group of 183 underachieving and
troubled inner-city 7th and 8th grade students who were expected to drop out of
school. He saw in their eyes the same hunger he once had, and made a
magnanimous gesture that showed the true heart and spirit of this self-made
man.
He told these kids that if they
maintained a college prep “B” average, and stayed out of trouble, that he would
sponsor them in college. The response from the students and their parents was
overwhelming. Many went on to college with five of those students being
recognized in Who's Who Among American High School Students. It was a turning
point.
Government publications were
researched by Mr. Taylor, and he found alarming statistics… 80 percent of
American parents felt they could not afford to send their children to college.
Further study showed the trends of student performance versus tuition costs,
and though every public university in Louisiana had an “open admissions
policy,” changes would have to be made to make it profitable. He saw that
students came to university mostly unprepared, and there was a very high
incidence of dropout in the first semester. ACT scores were below the national
average and many students needed remedial courses to get up to par with the
University standard. With this data in hand, and a lot of hard work, the
Louisiana Legislature finally adopted what was coined “The Taylor Plan,” and
was first signed into law July 10th, 1989.
If the student qualified, tuition
and fees were paid at any four year public college of their choice in
Louisiana. This was an unprecedented achievement, and since that time twenty
other states have adopted similar programs.
The original Taylor Plan is now
called “TOPS,” the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students. Its requirements
are a 2.5 GPA, a minimum of 16.5 college prep units in high school, and a score
of at least 20 on the ACT test. By Mr. Taylor’s insistence, and his never give
up attitude, TOPS is now considered the most comprehensive and successful
program of its kind in the nation. In 1997, legislation in Louisiana went one
step further, eliminating income as a program requirement. Today, 40,000 plus
students are taking advantage of TOPS in Louisiana, based entirely on
performance.
A quote from the Patrick F. Taylor
Foundation mission statement shows the ideals that so inspired this great
leader, visionary, husband, successful oilman, and he lives on in the hearts of
many: “…to promote the common good and well being of all the people of our
nation, primarily by promoting universal and unlimited educational
opportunities based solely on each individual’s demonstrated ability and
willingness to learn.”
Mr. Taylor is sorely missed, and not
just in the oil industry. His quick wit and positive attitude still echoes in
the halls of Taylor Energy Headquarters at Lee Circle, New Orleans. What this
amazing Texan turned Louisianan did, can not be measured, as the lives of
countless people have been touched, by his vision, his dreams, and his good
heart. He gave a large part of his time and effort to make this world a better
place, and set in motion a way of looking at ourselves and the world where the
power of a positive attitude can maintain and sustain us. His love for people
was the building blocks of a life where his pride and hope displaced despair.
He was a man who made original ideas reality, and took on his shoulders the
responsibility for putting something back.
Sometimes, we are just too close to
the light of history in the making to see it clearly. With time, the true
awareness of what this man has done will be recognized. Mr. Patrick F. Taylor
illuminated Louisiana, and in the process made our world a better place. He
will be known throughout the ages as one of America’s true greats.
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