The University of Tulsa's Petroleum Engineering Department

Don was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and still calls this home even though he has not lived there permanently since he left for TU in August of 1979. He decided to study Petroleum Engineering after reading many interesting articles published in the mid to late 70’s regarding opportunities in the Oil Industry. He chose to attend TU simply because of the outstanding reputation and industry recognition of the Petroleum Engineering department.

After receiving his BSPE in May 1983 he has worked for Schlumberger over the last 21 years in a variety of capacities both domestic and international. He began his career as a field engineer working in the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast until 1990 when he had the opportunity for an international assignment. Since that time he has lived and worked in many interesting places in Africa, the Middle East and Europe having held Management positions in Egypt, Syria, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. From that point he moved to Paris, France where he was appointed the Director of Personnel for the Oilfield Services organization. In 2003 he moved to Houston where he is the Vice President & General Manager for the Artificial Lift product line. Over the course of his career he has been active in many industry events and forums and has been a member of SPE since 1980.

Don in his own words:

How did TU prepare you for your career?

Having worked in numerous countries and having faced many challenges over the past 20 years I believe the education I received from TU was invaluable and gave me a good engineering foundation to solve complex problems in a systematic and logical manner. I also like the interaction I have with former TU alumni when I visit many countries. I find TU alumni wherever I go.

What do you do when not doing Petroleum Engineering?

I enjoy traveling and have visited over 50+ countries. On a recent trip to Indonesia in central Sumatra I stopped to take photo at the site of the first discovery well from the giant Minas field. You will notice on the photo that it took nearly 4 years to drill the well to a depth of only 800 meters due to the suspension of operations caused by the outbreak of WWII. In my free time when not traveling I enjoy the ocean and most water sports. I also collect rare coins and various other antiques.

Any memories from TU days?

One memory I carry with me from TU relates to the relocation of the engineering building (Keplinger Hall) from North campus. For those of us who graduated in May of 1983 there were numerous discussions on the subject due to the fact the new center would be ready for fall semester – class of 83 we just missed it.