Leland J. Kennedy Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

A: I mean his wife is I think, and he goes along. I've known him all my life and most of
the fellows that - and girls - that graduated in my class that arc left are still around
here. Of course you've always got some that leave, some come back. And some marry and
leave you know.
Q: Was this oil field down there owned by Shell or did they operate it or what?
A: Well you know it must have had to be I guess. Don't these refineries have joint
projects? You see that. This guy Hammer was the Occidental, he's got more joint projects
going than any man in the moon I think and I'm sure that in those days that they wcrc
jointly owned because the risk is great. Now particularly the costs are greater. And you
can see that when you read about these offshore drilling rigs that - in this particular offshore
area, the Gulf area, over in the North Sea or off the - of course they abandoned
the Atlantic Sea, but particularly the Gulf and the Florida coast, they're all jointly owned,
for natural gas purposes and for petroleum purposes. And maybe Shell's got 20 percent and
Amoco's got 30 percent and at the next well Shell's got the 30 and Amoco's got the 20 and
Arco's in with 20, and that's the way they do. Oh, their costs are tremendous.
I guess that out there in that North Sea, I think that's one of the best offshore producing
areas in the world. Of course none of them equal Saudi Arabia because they don't have
to go down so far over there I understand. Talking about oil fields, there were a number
of fellows about the time that we went to Texas, Standard Oil refinery - of course the factory
has closed now - sent a number of men to Aruba - is Aruba in Venezuela'? I believe
it is.
Q: I believe it is.
A: Down in South America. Some fellows went down there to help run the refinery and
stayed a couple, three years. Of course they'd come home for vacation and some made a
career of it. But different men from Shell were transferred to various overseas
positions. Of course Shell was owned by Royal Dutch Shell, and 1 guess the Royal Dutch
Shell is - I've read their reports before because I've owned some Shell stock in my lifc
that today - but the Royal Dutch Shell, I'm quite sure that even their most recent annual
report will state that the English government has some of their holdings.
Q: Well I'll be darned.
A: Not the royal family but the government itself, they've got money invested in Royal
Dutch Shell. Of course now the North Sea, of course you know the government's going to
get some money out of that because they have territorial rights.
Q: Yes.
A: They aren't going to give it to Waggoner and Kennedy and let them run an oil rig out
there for nothing. (chuckles)
Q: Yes sir.
A: Oh my career at the refinery was a very fascinating thing. As I grew older though, and
tired of shift work, and I was getting some tenure in the General Assembly, I had it in
the back of my head to quit. Which I did. Of course I got delayed there. I got defeated
in 1954, but I stayed right at it and come back in 1962 and I stayed about five more years. I
came back in the 1963 session and I retired before the 1967 session started in February.
Q: Yes sir. Sir you mentioned in your first paycheck that there were no deductions from
it. When did you join the union out there?