Ian Powolny,
HND Engineering, 1974
“At the age of 15 I watched a TV programme about the oil industry called Mogul. The
guy in the programme solved problems all over the world and it made a big impression
on me. I always said I wanted to work in oil; the only profession for me!
“My family didn’t have a lot of money. At 16 I had offers to study an engineering degree at the University of
Liverpool or an HND at Napier. At Napier I could study and work – that was the deciding factor. It suited my
circumstances at the time.
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“My favourite lecturer was Scott Bannister, who sadly passed away in 2011. Scott was one of those people
who could see something in you that you couldn’t see in yourself.
“At that time, Napier was the first college to deliver oil well drilling technology, which made a huge impression
on Shell, my first employer. When I worked offshore for the first time I wasn’t lost by the terminology – I didn’t
understand everything but when somebody talked about a drill collar, I certainly knew what it was.
“After I left Napier, I spent three and a half years in the North Sea, working with Shell. I went on to pick-up
and sail a drilling rig from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Rotterdam. From 1977, I travelled with my family to Oman,
Brazil and Columbia, which I loved. It was a challenge but the crew were phenomenal – technically skilled
and really hard working. Once back in the UK, I was sent to Wytch Farm in Dorset. I worked on a pretty
special project as I was part of a team that drilled the longest oil well in the world – 10.67kilometres long!
To be on a world record breaking team and be the first to go over 10km is something that can never be
taken away from you.
“Towards the end of my career with BP, I was office based – managing a drill crew, which had 25 people in
the office and another 150 offshore. I took early retirement in 2002 and since then have been working as
an assurance consultant. I am currently working for Apache North Sea and have a great balance between
consulting and family. When we can, my wife, Etta, and I head off sailing.”
Michael Coffey,
HND Chemistry, 1975
“Napier was my saviour: after failing the first year of a chemistry degree at the
University of Edinburgh, Napier provided me with an alternative and engaging path of
study.
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“My abiding memories of Napier include: the paternoster lift, the painted ceiling in the boardroom of
Merchiston Castle, the appearance of the first electronic calculators (which promptly sto