Richard and Boots; North Sea, 1977

This is a special photograph in my files of Richard Hatteberg and Boots Hansen (1926-2019), then working for the Red Adair Company, on the great, Bravo Platform blowout in 1977. Read more about this Phillip's blowout in the North Sea on Oily Stuff, here.

Let us never forget, please, that brave men, with big nuts, in the well control profession often risked their lives to prevent the waste of hydrocarbons and to protect the environment from catastrophic damage over the decades; the amount of oil and natural gas these men saved, for mankind, can not even be estimated.

I am proud beyond words to have known both these men, to have had a beer with Richard just a year or so ago, and to have worked for Boots Hansen and Coots Matthews. It was a great honor.