Canadian Oil and Gas Companies' Activities With the Former Soviet Oil Ministry: The Cold War Era 1973 - 1980
Authors: Leiper H.W. 
Published: March 2010

Picture of Hugh W. Leiper (Available In Full Paper)

Hugh W. Leiper is a native Albertan born in Didsbury, but raised in the Turner Valley Oilfields. During World War II, due to a shortage of manpower, he roughnecked on drilling rigs in the summer months holiday period. He graduated from South Turner Valley High and later studied Petroleum Engineering at Mount Royal College. However, due to a shortage of funds, left Mount Royal and went to work on the rigs. He was in the rig cellar when the infamous Atlantic No. 3 at Leduc blew out of control in March 1948. He assisted in the killing of this wild well. At the early age of 20 he was promoted to a Tool Push for General Petroleums. In 1954, he joined Great Plains Development Co. as Drilling Superintendent, and in 1957 joined Pacific Petroleums in the same capacity. He became Production Manager at Fort St. John and Edmonton, later moving to Calgary as Operations Manager for Canada, United States and International operations. In 1963, he was admitted to the Society of Petroleum Engineers and still maintains his membership in that society. He is a graduate of the MODC Drilling School at Odessa, Texas, the Petroleum Production School at Kilgore, Texas, Offshore Drilling and Production School at Houston, Texas, the Atlantic Advanced Business School at Dalhousie University, Halifax and the Business Management School at the Banff School of Fine Arts. His paper entitled, Use Offset Well Data to Reduce Drilling Problems, was presented to the CIME and published in the World Oil magazine. Hugh was placed on the Board of the Soviet/Canadian Oil Working Group by the Federal Energy Department and assisted in the forming of the Canadian Drilling Research Association, becoming its Charter and only Chairman, and remained in that capacity during the years 1973 to 1980. In 1980, he joined Morguard Resources as Executive Vice President and remained in this position until his retirement. Morguard operated, purchased and managed oil and gas properties for several large Canadian pension funds such as Pensionfund Energy Resources Limited, Ontario Municipal Retirement System, "OMERS " and Exchange Resources. Hugh remains active as President of his own company, Leiper Energy Services Ltd. He is on the selection committee of the Canadian Hall of Fame, a Board Member of the Petroleum Historic Society and is a member of the Calgary Petroleum Club. Hugh was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2002.

An agreement of Canadian-Soviet Cooperation in Industrial Applications of Science and Technology was signed on January 27, 1971 by the Canadian Industry Trade and Commerce Minister —Jean Luc Pepin. This agreement established a mixed Canadian-Soviet Commission of various working groups to provide cooperative technical contacts and exchanges on a systematic long-term basis.

In 1974, eleven major and independent oil companies formed the Canadian Drilling Research Association. The objectives were to engage in the exchange of drilling and production technology with foreign governments or entities of interest to the members of the Association.