As executive chairman of Parker Drilling, Bobby Parker has given the world many reasons to change the way it views energy exploration. Under his leadership, Parker Drilling has helped to advance the science of safe energy exploration with a reduced environmental impact.

A native of Midland, Texas, Parker earned an undergraduate business degree and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin before joining Parker Drilling in 1973.

A native of Midland, Texas, Parker earned an undergraduate business degree and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin before joining Parker Drilling in 1973. After 36 years of service to the company in numerous positions including COO, CEO, president, and chairman, he was appointed executive chairman in 2009. He has served on the board of directors since 1973.

During his tenure, Parker Drilling has expanded further into international markets with high growth potential, often the first western drilling contractor to work in areas such as China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. In 1996, Parker Drilling doubled in size with the acquisitions of Mallard Drilling, a Gulf of Mexico barge drilling contractor, and Quail Tools, a leading provider of specialized drilling and production rental tools.

Later in Parker’s career, as exploration and development increased dramatically in remote, environmentally sensitive regions with harsh climates, Parker Drilling met the challenges head-on with some of the world’s most revolutionary drilling rigs. In 1999, the company designed and constructed the Sunkar, the world’s first and only arctic-class drilling barge, and in 2002 it designed and built the Yastreb, the largest and most powerful land rig at the time, for the Sakhalin-1 consortium. The Yastreb pushed the limits of what the industry believed was possible and set new world records for extended-reach wells in 2007-08, extending more than 7 miles (11.2 km) out from the rig. The Yastreb’s design eliminated the need for some offshore structures, pipelines, and associated activities, reducing the environmental “footprint” of the operation. Making the project even more remarkable was the Yastreb’s location, one of the coldest, most extreme operating environments in the world, complicated by frequent seismic activity.

Under Parker’s leadership, the company’s arctic and extended-reach drilling (ERD) capabilities returned to the spotlight in 2008 and 2009 with contracts to design, build, and operate another ERD rig for BP to develop the Liberty field off the North Slope of Alaska. The company drew on its success with the Yastreb to design a more powerful, more technologically advanced, ultra-ERD rig that will drill horizontal wells surpassing those drilled by the Yastreb. As with the Yastreb, the Liberty rig’s design and ultra-ERD capabilities significantly reduce the environmental “footprint” by eliminating the need for offshore structures.

The company has received numerous recognitions for its legendary safety performance over the years, with one of the most notable awards in 2007, when Parker Drilling was named one of “America’s safest companies,” by Occupational Hazards Magazine. The company’s commitment to spreading a legacy of safe, responsible exploration around the world has resulted in the training and development of thousands of local citizens in nearly 60 countries.

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