Four receive Exemplary Service Awards at IADC Annual General Meeting

IADC president Dr Lee Hunt presented Exemplary Service Awards to four distinguished industry veterans at the IADC Annual General Meeting, 8-10 November in Miami, Fla. Jim Nicklos, Nicklos Drilling; Bill Hedrick, Rowan Companies; Warren Weaver, Transocean; and Jim Gormanson, Noble Drilling Services were each recognized for their outstanding contributions to the industry and IADC.

Mr Nicklos, president of Nicklos Drilling Company, has been active with IADC since 1972. He has served as chairman of Drilling Contractor Publications Inc and as secretary/treasurer of IADC, in addition to several terms on the IADC Executive Committee. He’s provided leadership for the association’s Houston Chapter and for the organization of many Drilling Onshore Conferences.

“This is a true honor to receive this award and one of the highlights of my career. The IADC has been so good to me, and I’ve got so many good friends at IADC. It’s made up of wonderful people as you can see around this room… It seems to be the thread that holds the industry together,” Mr Nicklos said in accepting his award.

Mr Hedrick, vice president claims management and special projects for Rowan, has provided leadership as chairman of the IADC HSE Committee and vice chairman of the Training Committee. He’s served on the IADC Offshore Regulatory Affairs, Jackup Rig and American Regional committees. He’s also given the association tremendous assistance in organizing conferences throughout the years.

“The things we can write down really do not reflect the many, many long and arduous hours Bill has put into assisting Brian Petty with testimony in Washington and just generally being the backbone of a lot of the activities at IADC,” Dr Hunt said.

Mr Hedrick noted that it’s been “an absolute pleasure” to work with the staff at IADC. He also thanked members of the Executive Committee who allow their staffs to devote time to industry affair activities.

“I’ve been very privileged in that Rowan has a long history, being one of the founding members of this association, in that our executive management pushes us toward industry affair activities, realizing the net benefit to the company and how we can collectively improve, as an example, the safety and health of our employees in the field,” Mr Hedrick said.

Mr Weaver, manager, regulatory compliance for Transocean, and Mr Gormanson, director of compliance at Noble, were both recognized for their significant contributions to IADC and its goals during the development of the IMO’s MODU Code.

The effort to revise the MODU Code began in July 2004 and is expected to culminate later this year when the IMO Assembly adopts the 2009 Code. IADC’s efforts to influence the development of this new edition were coordinated within a working group organized under the association’s Offshore Division.

Although each individual who contributed to this group deserves recognition, the contributions of Mr Weaver and Mr Gormanson – and the companies that supported their efforts – deserve special recognition. Both contributed extensively and directly to the working group. They coordinated their efforts with the flag-State Administrations of Liberia and Vanuatu, and served on the delegations of those flag-States at numerous IMO subcommittee meetings where the text of the revised Code was debated and, ultimately, adopted.

Mr Weaver thanked the members of the working group for getting the massive revision project completed in just five years. “It would’ve taken a lot longer without the IADC,” he said.

Mr Gormanson also highlighted the work of Alan Spackman, IADC vice president – offshore technical and regulatory affairs, who led IADC’s MODU Code efforts. “It was an honor to work with Alan Spackman, who is our eyes and ears at IMO,” he said.

Mr Nicklos earned his degree from the University of Colorado School of Business in Boulder in 1971 and began his career with Nicklos Drilling Company. After a merger with Adcor in 1992 and a sale to Nabors in 1996, he is currently the president of the third version of Nicklos Drilling Company. Mr Nicklos is fourth-generation in the oil and gas industry. He and his wife, Judy, reside in Houston.

Mr Hedrick has over 32 years of experience supporting contract oil and gas well drilling operations. His entire career has been with Rowan, starting as an offshore roustabout. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, he has been active in a number of trade associations including API, OOC and IADC. He formerly chaired the Gulf Safety Committee, the Security Subcommittee of which manages the US Coast Guard’s GOM Area Maritime Security Committee and was a member of that committee and the Sabine Neches Maritime Security Committee. He also was co-chairman of the OOC’s Marine Safety and Security Subcommittee and was a member of the Coast Guard’s National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee (NOSAC). He was one of the principal authors of API RP 70 and RP 70I as regards offshore security guidance and assisted the US Coast Guard in developing Part’s 105 and 106 of the maritime security regulations.

Mr Weaver joined Transocean in 1973 as a roustabout and was assigned to the head office in 1993. As manager regulatory compliance, he provides guidance for vessel certification, personnel licensing, and new or pending regulations for the company’s rig fleet. He also represents the company and its offshore rigs in regulatory matters involving USCG, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Liberia, Bahamas, Panama, American Bureau of Shipping, and Det Norske Veritas. His current industry memberships and work groups include: IADC – MODU Code & ILO work groups, USCG National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee, Det Norske Veritas rig owners committee – Vanuatu’s International Maritime Organization technical adviser on MODU Code.

Prior to joining Noble, Mr Gormanson served for 22 years in the US Coast Guard, from which he retired with the rank of Commander. He has a Masters of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland and a Bachelors of Science in marine science from the US Coast Guard Academy. He is a Professional Engineer in District of Columbia and is a member of the ABS Special Committee on MODUs and the DNV Rig Owners’ Committee.