George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

the offshore drilling business should be grateful for the way in which these companies
have responded when disaster has struck."
Bush's world offshore drilling market survey now included the coast of Nigera, the
Iranian leases in the northern Persian Gulf, Austrialian off-shore fields then opening up,
the Gulf of Suez, and the beginning of drilling in the North Sea fields by both Britain and
Norway. Zapata, said Bush, was keeping in close contact with British Petroleum,
Continental, and Shell. On the world oil market overall, Bush quoted John Loudon, the
senior managing director of the Royal Dutch Shell Group as saying that in 25 years the
free world was going to require three times the current amount of oil for its consumption.
Later, the SIDEWINDER completed its trip from the Sultan of Brunei's domains off the
coast of northern Borneo, and began operating in the Persian Gulf. But to replace
SIDEWINDER, Southeastern-Zaapata Drlling, a one-third owned affiliate, had built a
new rig in Japan at a cost of some $6.5 million, and this rig had been moved to the
Borneo coast under contract to Shell. Seacat Zapata's NOLA III had left the Persian Gulf
and was now operating in the Gulf of Tunis, whence it would proceed to the Red Sea
coast of Ethiopia. VINEGAROON was working off the coast of Louisiana for Chevron,
and a new rig, tentatively labelled RIG 8, was also destined for the Gulf of Mexico.
Opportunities seemed imminent in Australia, where Zapata had set up a special
relationship with Oil Drilling and Exploration Ltd. of Australia.
In 1966, the year that Bush says he left the management of Zapata to devote himself fulltime
to politics, Zapata experienced another increase in earnings per share. According to
the 1966 Zapata Annual Report, Zapata's "net profits for 1966 exceeded the net profits of
several Fortune 500 companies." The value of Zapata's offshore drilling fleet was an
estimated $34 million, and the company's stock was now trading on the American Stock
Exchange. With departure of George H.W. Bush as chairman of the board, the corporate
personalities of Zapata underwent a shakeup. Along with Bush departed his maternal
Uncle Herbie, aka G.H. Walker Jr., the Managing Director of G.H. Walker and Co., New
York. J.W. Gardner was out as president, replaced by William H. Flynn. The new
chairman of the board and chief executive officer was now D. Doyle Mize, who had
previously been a member of the board. The Underwood, Neuhaus Co. interests kept their
seat on the Zapata board, but their representative changed from Milton R. Underwood to
William Stamps Farrish III, Bush's Beeville hunting partner and the grandson of the
Standard Oil executive who had been exposed for dealing with Nazi firms. Added to the
board were also two representatives of leading Houston law firms, including R.P.
Bushman of Vinson, Elkins, Weems, and Searls and B.J. Mackin of Baker, Botts,
Shepherd and Coates. Judging from the presence of Farrish and the Houston lawyers, we
may conclude that although Bush had departed from the formal structure of Zapata, he
still had board members to represent his interests, which was important in light of the
Zapata stock he continued to hold. The sole New Yorker on the post-Bush board was also
a new face, Michael M. Thomas of Lehman Brothers.
New drilling platforms included the ENDEAVOUR, HERON, and CHAPPARAL, plus a
60% share of a ship-shaped floating vessel off the coast of Austrialia. Gulf Oil of