Driller: An Oilman's Fifty Years in the Field

From the famous oilpatch that spread from West Texas to New Mexico, Alaska, China, and other locales, Hubert H. Hays (1935-2005) drilled for oil. He drilled for fifty years--and he was good at it.

He knew what negative 70 degrees does to casing and drill pipe. He knew what 500 degrees downhole does to affect drilling. He set records drilling gas wells and never had a blowout. Hays had a worldwide reputation that preceded him, and he probably drilled as many wells as any other man during his...