Former IPAA president Lloyd N. Unsell passed away in April at the age of 84. He retired as IPAA president in 1987. Unsell also co-chaired a corporate advisory committee to help build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Mall in the nation's capital and is credited with personally raising more than $1 million in donations by persuading the oil industry to support it. The petroleum industry, more than any other, was the most generous in helping build the memorial, due to his involvement.

Prior to joining the IPAA in 1948, he was a newspaperman who served on the editorial staff of the Seminole Producer and Tulsa Daily World. During World War II he served on U.S. Army newspapers in Europe and the Pacific.

In 1948, Unsell began a 39-year career with the IPAA, starting as staff writer. He served as vice president of public affairs, executive vice president, and president. During his retirement, IPAA again called on him to serve as acting director of operations and administration when a vacancy in the presidency occurred.

Current IPAA president Barry Russell says, "Lloyd's congeniality endeared him to his staff, some of whom are still with the association today. He hired me in 1980 and our current director of administration, Therese McCafferty, served as his executive assistant. IPAA staff stayed in contact with Lloyd throughout his retirement and would visit him at his home on the Potomac River in Colton's Point, Maryland.

"Prior to our recent board meeting in March 2007 in Washington, former IPAA chairman C. John Miller, Therese and I enjoyed a visit with Lloyd, as did former staff members Alex Mills of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and Bruce Wells, now with the American Oil & Gas Historical Society."

Unsell received numerous awards and honors throughout his career including the following.

• Association of Petroleum Writers, 1960. No. 1 Friend of Oil Writers Award.

• IPAA, 1981. Russell B. Brown Memorial Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to the domestic petroleum producing industry.

• Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Association, 1985. Honorary Life Member, in recognition of service rendered to the petroleum industry.x

• Chief Roughneck Award, 1986. Presented by Lone Star Steel in recognition of accomplishments and character best representing the highest ideals of the oil and gas industry.

• National Energy Resources Organization, 1987. Distinguished Service Award, in recognition of his many years of leadership as an advocate of an energy-secure America.

• National Press Club, 2004. Golden Owl status for 50 years of membership.





Frederick Mayer, founder of Exeter Drilling Co. and a prominent wildcatter, art collector, and philanthropist, passed away in February in Denver. He was 79.

Last year, Mayer received the Yale Medal, that university's highest alumni award. In 2004, he was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame. In 1983, he received the Wildcatter of the Year Award from the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.

In the 1990s, he created Captiva Resources, where his son, Anthony, is president. Captiva has oil and gas interests in the Rockies and California and on the Gulf Coast. It is now exploring and operating onshore and offshore Trinidad & Tobago as well.

Investment banker and friend Matthew Simmons, chairman of Simmons & Co. International in Houston, says, "Fred graduated from The Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and went to Yale University. After graduating from Yale, he joined a flood of other Ivy League graduates headed to West Texas to participate in the oil boom of the 1950s. After several years of working for oil companies and drilling contractors, he started The Exeter Drilling Co. in 1953."

Mayer's father was head lawyer at Continental Emsco and eventually became chairman. He told his son the drilling industry was one of the worst businesses in America, tried to convince him to avoid it altogether and refused to invest in his company. "Fred, however, proved Mr. Mayer Sr. wrong and over the years, chuckled at the money his father never made by being convinced there was no way to thrive monetarily in this tough and demanding arena.

"Exeter's strategy was to stay onshore and focus on shallow- to medium-depth wells where most contracts were awarded on a turnkey basis. By focusing like this, Exeter perfected the art of drilling of these wells as rapidly as possible. Since shallow drilling meant the rig needed to be disassembled and moved to the next drilling site, Exeter became the country's most efficient rig-moving company. Through this differentiated strategy, Exeter Drilling enjoyed superior financial returns even in the days when land drilling was a low margin business."

Exeter Drilling was sold to People's Energy in June 1980 for some $125 million, and was the Simmons firm's first $1-million transaction fee. "Fred surrounded himself with some of the finest drilling management minds in the industry. All his key employees ended up owning stock in the company...."

"Fred Mayer remained active in oil and gas activities all his adult life. He was a member of the National Petroleum Council, a board member of the American Petroleum Institute and several other industry associations. He was an active investor in various oil and gas activities (including being one of the founding investors in Oil and Gas Investor) and became a particularly astute investor in the stock market."

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