In Memoriam: Michael Payne
Dr Michael Payne, age 56, of McKinney, Texas, passed away on 9 September 2016. Mr Payne worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years, most recently as a Distinguished Advisor and Segment Engineering Technical Authority for BP in the Upstream Safety and Operational Risk Division. Throughout his career, Dr Payne developed expertise in drilling operations, engineering, computing, research, technology and standards. He supported projects and operations globally, including assignments in Indonesia and the UK, where he was part of the team that drilled the world-record Wytch Farm ERD wells.
During his career, Dr Payne served in a variety of leadership roles in industry organizations. He served as Chairman of the API Pipe Committee and, Convenor of ISO SC5 WG2 and ISO SC4 WGI, and Chairman of ISO SC4. In addition, he was co-editor of the SPE textbook on Advanced Drilling Engineering and Well Planning.
The API Committee on Standardization of Oilfield Equipment and Materials presented to Dr Payne’s family a posthumous award for his 35 years of distinguished and meritorious service on API committees. The award was bestowed this Monday, January 16th, 2017.
Dr Payne was born in Houston, Texas on 9 November, 1959 and graduated from Stratford High School in 1978. He received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Rice University, where he also played football, in 1982. Dr Payne also received a master’s degree from the University of Houston and a PhD from Rice University.
He married his high school sweetheart, Shawn Evans Forester, in 1980. The couple has two daughters, Ashley Abernathy and Amanda Payne.
