Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum
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The Ocean Star Offshore Oil Rig & Museum, located in Galveston, Texas, is a museum dedicated to the offshore oil and gas industry. Located next to the Strand National Historic Landmark District, the museum is housed on a retired jack-up rig anchored in the Galveston ship channel.
[edit] History
The Ocean Star was built in 1969 in Beaumont, Texas for the Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODECO) fleet. It worked throughout the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast and drilled approximately 200 wells during its active life. The museum is sponsored by the Offshore Energy Center (OEC), is a non-profit organization funded through private donations, admission, and corporate donations. The OEC acquired the Ocean Star and spent 2 years converting her into the museum. The museum opened in 1997.
[edit] Exhibits
- The Hall of Fame, located within the museum, recognizes those persons and technologies that took the industry to sea, such as the famous firefighter Red Adair; engineering giant Brown & Root founders George and Herman Brown; Ralph Thomas McDermott, who founded the offshore drilling and platform construction company J. Ray McDermott; rig designer and drilling contractor Alden J. "Doc" Laborde; former president George H. W. Bush; and oil company tycoon Dean McGee.
- The Pipe Deck houses exhibits and equipment too large to be stored inside the museum, such as a blowout preventer, drill pipe, and a cementing unit.
- The Drill Floor is directly underneath the derrick, and is were the work of drilling a hole is done.