September 2003
Columns
Drilling advances
Bob Palmer: The legacy continues. In mid-August, Rowan Companies christened the new jackup Bob Palmer, in Rowan’s Sabine Pass, Texas, yard. The rig, formerly the Super Gorilla-class Gorilla VIII, will carry the name of a major player in Rowan’s success story into the very type of operation where C. Robert Palmer started his career. In April 2003, Palmer was recognized for 50 years in the oilfield – all in service to Rowan Companies. He started with Rowan in 1953 as a roughneck on Barge Rig 6 in New Iberia, Louisiana, while earning an engineering degree at Southern Methodist University. By 1960, he was supervising engineering/purchasing at headquarters, then in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1963, he went to Midland, Texas, as drilling engineer.
