Interviewer(s): S. Wiltz. Lafayette, LA

Affiliation: University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Elmer Duplantis was born and raised in Chauvin, Louisiana. His father worked for Texaco for nearly 30 years. He received a scholarship to Northwestern State College, but after a year volunteered for the military service where he worked mainly in Europe during the time period after World War Two. He got out of the service in 1948 and got a job with Texaco. In 1949, wanting to better his position in life, he sought and acquired a roustabout position with Superior Oil Company; later he was promoted to roughneck, derrick man, relief driller, and driller. In the early '60s, Superior stopped their offshore drilling operations and he was sent to production as a roustabout and later as a production foreman. By 1976 he had been moved to Lafayette and a year later had a permanent position as a superintendent. Two years later he began working overseas on troubled jobs. After working in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and seeing Superior bought out by Mobil in 1982, he asked to take a retirement package in 1986. Since being retired he has gotten into real estate. During the interview he discusses what it was like after Mobil bought out Superior, issues related to differing hydrostatic pressures in different regions of the world, changes within the industry and "drilling by the book," his nine years in the production department, and Mister Charlie.