Golden State Drilling

Golden State Drilling Inc. was founded on January 1, 1977 by Phil Phelps. Mr. Phelps was born on May 6, 1930, in Edgar Springs, Missouri. Mr. Phelps worked briefly for the telephone company before being drafted into the Army in 1950. In October 1953, after being discharged from the Army, he moved his family to Bakersfield, California and went to wo... rk for Barnes Core Drilling as a derrickman. Mr. Phelps continued working for Barnes Core Drilling for the next 23 years. During these years he worked every position on the rig, including toolpusher. In 1976, the owner of Barnes Core Drilling, Blue Barnes, decided to retire. Mr. Phelps purchased a drilling rig from Mr. Barnes and formed his own corporation, Golden State Drilling Inc. The rig that he bought became G.S.D. Rig #10. Mr. Phelps purchased his second rig in October 1979 and named it G.S.D. Rig #6. These rigs work for Shell Oil Co. in their Midway Sunset, Coalinga, and Yorba Linda fields. In 1980, Shell Oil acquired a lease from Belridge Oil Company that they named their Kernridge lease. This new lease brought great demand for drilling rigs. To meet these demands, Mr. Phelps went to Odessa, Texas and assisted the engineers at Challenger Rig Manufacturing Co. to build what is now known as G.S.D. Rig #8. In 1984, Mr. Phelps purchased another rig to work for Shell Oil in the Midway Sunset and Coalinga fields. This rig was named G.S.D. Rig #4. In May of 1985, Mr. Phelps purchased yet another rig from Blue Barnes to work for Shell. This was G.S.D. Rig #12. In December 1985, Mr. Phelps purchased G.S.D. #14 from Shell Oil and immediately put it out to work in the Kernridge lease. In November 1987, Mr. Phelps acquired G.S.D. #16 from a company in Kansas that had gone out of business. It was the same make and model as G.S.D. #14. It also went to work for Shell on the Kernridge lease. In December of 1988, fluctuating oil prices caused a reduction in oil production and left G.S.D. with only one rig working. Through 1989 and 1992, through hard work and a commitment ...Read More