Lloyd joined Salt Dome Production in 1947 after graduating from Missouri School of Mines, and they built several offshore platforms and shallow water offshore rigs. In 1957 Bluewater Drilling Corp. was formed with Sam as President, and Bluewater 1, a space frame, sit-on-the-ocean-floor rig was built at Ingalls shipyard. Shell Oil deemed the rig well suited for conversion into a floating semi-submersible rig, a concept Bruce Collipp had developed at Shell. Under contract to Shell in 1961, Sam’s rig became the world’s first semi-submersible. Sam became an officer with Santa Fe Drilling Company when it acquired Bluewater in 1966. He left Santa Fe in 1971 and formed Atlantic Pacific Marine Corp. where he was CEO until 1977.
Industry Pioneers
