2002-07-09

Center for Public History, University of Houston; University of Houston Libraries, University of Houston

This is an oral history interview with John Couvillon conducted as part of the Houston History Project. Mr. John Couvillon was born in 1920 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked for Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon) as a blacksmith. After graduating from LSU in 1942 with a degree in petroleum engineering, he went to work for Stanolind (Standard Oil of Indiana, now Amoco) out of Jennings as a roustabout. A few months later he was drafted into the service during World War Two, where he served in Europe. When he returned from war in 1946, he went back to work for Stanolind on a drilling rig (worked lead tongs), in 1947, he was promoted to engineer and moved to Hackberry, where he married his wife. After moving between Hackberry and Lake Charles a few times, he moved to Lafayette when Stanolind opened their office there in 1957. In 1961 he quit and went to work for Falcon Seaboard Drilling Company, the following year, he was promoted to division engineer and transferred to Houston, where he oversaw production in a number of different states. He was transferred to Lafayette in 1970 to work for a subsidiary company, Oleum Incorporated. After being laid off in 1975, he took a job with DOR Engineering, a consulting firm, in Lafayette, where he would supervise drilling operations. He retired in 1989 at the age of 69. The interview with him covers a range of topics. Interviewer: Steven Wiltz, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

interviews

Energy development; Petroleum industry and trade; Couvillon, John

Lafayette, Louisiana

Oral Histories from the Houston History Project

University of Houston Libraries Special Collections

English

Collection
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Houston History Archives
Oral Histories from the Houston History Project

Preservation Location: ark:/84475/pm8088qf40p