Interviewer(s): A. Gardner. Metairie, LA

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I met B.T. Green in his home in Metairie. He was recommended to my by Jimmy Gibbens, who lives nearby and also worked for Texaco. B.T. was a very knowledgeable participant, and because of his position with Texaco, we covered a lot of ground in this interview that was beyond the purview of many of the other study participants. This interview includes a description of Texaco's early geological procedures, a description of the program Texaco maintained through which personnel destined for corporate jobs went through a training program that involved work on the rigs and platforms, a description of some of the cooperative efforts in which Texaco joined forces with other oil companies, good discussions of the environment and regulation, and of the impact of the oil industry upon the people and communities of southern Louisiana.

B. T. was born in New Orleans in 1920. His father was president of a company that baled and sold cotton, and he went to a preparatory high school and then on to LSU. He started as a geologist for Texaco in 1942 and quickly advanced up the corporate ladder. His last formal position with Texaco was assistant division manager, but even in retirement he continues to help out in a variety of ways.