100 Year Shell Pipeline Anniv
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
August 1973: Go August 1977: In a letter Historical Note: During World War Devil reports that Shell Pipe to employees, Shell Pipe Line Line researcher Veet Kruka President Jack Hurley writes of II, S. S. “Syd” Smith, designer of has discovered a method of the “energy crisis” the country Shell’s Midwest products lines and expanding the capacity of was experiencing: “During this a crude oil pipeline without past year, Shell Pipe line’s key manager of the company’s products increasing the size of the line slogan was ‘Efficiency’ and in pipeline department, was credited or pumping facilities. The new 1977, I hope we can continue method uses a polymer injection that high goal of efficiency and for the development of the military’s to increase the flow of crude by energy conservation.” reducing friction and turbulence portable pipeline. The lightweight inside the line. 1979: The Texas-Louisiana steel line had rubber-lined metal Ethylene system is built between February 1, 1974: Mont Belvieu, Texas, and couplings that fastened with a single Shell Pipe Line President John Napoleonville, La. The 254-mile, Green retires and is replaced 12-inch products pipeline is bolt. The 20-foot pipeline sections by Shell Research Complex Vice bidirectional. could be assembled, moved, President Mike Papadopoulos. 1981: LOCAP, Inc., 58 miles reassembled and repaired easily. February 1974: Go of 48-inch crude oil pipelines, Devil reports: begins operating from Clovelly Smith even patented a series of “One’s a tank farm gauger to St. James, La. pumps that automatically turned at McCamey, the other is a utility pipeliner at St. James. What March 1981: The first on and off according to demand - makes these two employees oil from the Beta field, nine much like a garden hose supplies unordinary is the fact that they miles off the coast of Long are women. They are the first Beach, Calif., travels 17 miles water from a nozzle. The pipeline, two women employees that Shell via pipeline to the Beta Pump Pipe Line has hired to work in Station in Long Beach. taken up and re-laid, followed the field.” American troops as they advanced Tank Farm Gauger Ann 1984: Via the 30-inch, 502- Barnett worked at the McCamey mile Cortez Pipeline, Shell Pipe into Italy, France and Germany - a Tank Farm in West Texas, and Line begins moving a new type Utility Pipeliner Alberta Mitchell of product: Carbon dioxide. total of 11,000 miles. In October worked at the St. James Terminal 1946, Smith was awarded the in Louisiana. 1985: Construction began on the Choctaw Pipeline System, Medal for Merit from the president. June 1974: Shell Pipe a 91-mile, 20-inch carbon Line announces the reorganiza- dioxide pipeline running from tion of the operating divisions. Jackson, Miss., to fields near West Texas and Rocky Moun- McComb, Miss. tain divisions become Central Division. Southern and Texas 1986: Shell Pipe Line now Gulf divisions become Gulf has operations in 17 states. Coast Division. Products Pipe Line and Northern and Okla- October 1986: A story Date unknown: An early look homa divisions are consolidated in Go Devil announces that into Mid-Continent Division. “a movement is afoot in Shell inside Shell Pipe Line’s clerical Pipe Line. Within the next few and accounting rooms at the February 1975: Shell months, every employee will be Pipe Line President Mike introduced to a process that will office in Cushing, Okla. Papadopoulos is named general require a career-long commit- manager, Transportation and ment. That process is quality Distribution, and General improvement.” Manager of Transportation Jack Hurley becomes president of Shell Pipe Line. 17 18 January 1987: Shell vintage Thunderbird convertible are incorrect. Minor errors in the Pipe Line employees celebrate from location to location while equations caused the industry the company’s safest year to he mimes the words to a remake to inadvertently give away one- date: Two lost-time injuries, eight of the song, “I Love L.A.” tenth of 1 percent of all natural OSHA recordable injuries and gas and chemicals shipped six first-aid cases. 1989: Shell Pipe Line begins through industry pipelines since experimenting with the use of the 1930s. Using new equations January 1987: Go Devil satellites for remotely monitoring created by Gallagher and the reports that construction work is and operating pipeline systems. team of scientists, revenue from almost completed on the 20-inch The experi ment began when the chemical and natural gas sales Choctaw CO2 pipeline from company’s microwave network were expected to increase by Mississippi to Louisiana. began showing signs of age. $1-7 million per year. February 1988: Shell May 1990: Kermit, Texas, April 1992: The Pasadena Pipe Line hosts its first “Quality Pipeline Operator Gene Heard (Texas) Control Center becomes Day” for Head Office employees becomes the second Shell Pipe Shell Pipe Line’s first control at the downtown Houston Hyatt Line employee to complete 50 center to be moved to the Hotel. years of service. (The first was Consolidated Control Center on Arthur Doherty, who retired the 16th floor of Houston’s Two February 1, 1988: in 1969 from the Pipe Line Shell Plaza. The remote operation for the Department in Los Angeles.) Michigan NGL and Crude Including Heard, only five Shell 1993: Shell Pipe Line Gathering pipelines is switched Oil employees have reached the employees complete the safest from the Kalkaska Control 50-year milestone. year in company history and Center to the Wood River earn the API’s safest pipeline Control Center. January 1991: Shell company award. Pipe Line management shares May 5, 1988: Former information on the corporation’s 1993: D. M. “Doc” Farrell, July 1949: Workers apply a Pipe Line President Joe T. reorganization plan. Shell Pipe Line’s original “safety Dickerson dies in Jackson, Miss. man” who worked from 1935- shiny, tar-like coating during Dickerson retired in 1959 after May 1991: A Shell 1972, died in Austin, Texas. construction of the Ozark 22-inch serving as president for five Offshore Inc. retiree fishing 1968: A sophisticated pipeline years. at Grand Isle, La., found a 1994: Employees working Pipeline. Creating the pipe for the beached hard hat imprinted with along the 632-mile, 40-inch wrapping machine quickly Ozark System required a steel September 28, 1988: Hank Savoy’s name. Savoy, a Capline Pipeline celebrate the covers a section of the Capline The control center in McCamey, meter measurement technician Line’s 25th anniversary. mill (Youngstown Sheet & Tube Texas, is consoli dated to at Nairn, La., had lost the hat Pipeline. the Midland Control Center. six months earlier when a gust 1994: Shell Pipe Line Company) to operate continuously Midland’s first controller, Leo of wind blew the hat off the employees across the country for 85 days. To transport the pipe Sotomayor, cuts the ribbon to helipad of a Shell offshore celebrate the 75th anniversary mark the occasion. platform. The hat was returned of the completion of the Cushing to construction locations in the field, to a surprised Savoy. In addition Wood River 10-inch crude Since the mid-20s, Shell had December 24, 1988: to the 20-mile trip to shore, the line. The pipeline marked the a 60-car train left the Youngstown A manufacturing defect in the hard hat drifted 30 miles to the beginning of the corporation in used the Great Lakes to ship plant every 36 hours. Ozark Pipeline causes a rupture east before settling into the sand 1919. products from East Chicago to that releases 20,500 barrels at Grand Isle. of crude oil into Missouri’s 1994: Production begins at Michigan and northern Ohio. Gasconade River. August 1991: Go Devil the Auger platform at the world This worked well, except in reports that Jim Gallagher, record water depth of 2,860 1989: Shell Pipe Line Manager, Oil Movements feet. Auger’s structure is a winter when the lakes froze President Bob McMahan and Measurement, in leading a floating hull that supports a five- several West Coast employees group of 52 international story deck over an area the size over. In 1952, Shell solved star in the company’s first and scientists, discovers that two of two football fields. the problem by building the only music video, “I Love Q.A.” 60-year-old equations used to In the video, a flower-shirted calculate the flow of natural gas Wolverine Pipeline. McMahan drives a 1950s and chemicals through pipelines 19 20 1938: D. M. “Doc” Farrell, April 1995: Midland, Texas Control Center moved to Shell Pipe Line’s original safety Houston. It was the last of six man (from 1935·1972), leads regional Control Centers to be transitioned. an on-the-job safety meeting July 1996: Shell Pipeline in Cushing, Okla.’”Farrell was installed the 18/24-inch Mars the famous safety man to all Oil Pipeline to move the oil from the Mars oil platform, a $2.1 the old timers,” said Shell Pipe billion oil and gas project in the Gulf of Mexico standing 3,250 Line retiree Wayne Kinison of feet high from the seafloor, to Houston, who had worked many LOOP’s Clovelly storage facility. 1996: To celebrate five safe Mars was the largest oil and gas of his 42 years of Shell service discovery in the Gulf of Mexico working years, the offshore in two decades. alongside Farrell. “A long time Gibson, Louisiana employees ago, the superintendents in the August 1997: were surprised by a hot air The Gibson, Louisiana work field were sort of like kingpins group started up and began balloon fly-over. and there wasn’t a whole lot operating the new Enchilada Pump Station, the Offshore of pressure on them to keep Area’s first electric-driven, offshore pump station.