API-2007-Gold-Medal-for-Distinguished-Achievement

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2007 - James C. Day, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Noble Corp., is the 2007 recipient of the American Petroleum Institute’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement.

The award, API’s highest honor, recognizes leaders who have made substantial contributions to the oil and gas industry throughout their careers. This year’s award will be presented October 15 at the Gold Medal Luncheon during the API Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Day retired as Noble’s chairman and chief executive officer on April 30, as part of the company’s long-planned succession process. The recipient of numerous industry awards, Day served for seven years on API’s Board of Directors.  Day is also credited with developing API’s General Membership Segment, which represents the more than 300 service and supply member companies.  He served as the first General Membership chairman in 2001-2002.

During 30 years of service, including more than 23 as chief executive officer, Day led Noble from a domestic land drilling company to a major international deepwater contractor operating a fleet of 63 mobile drilling units located in 14 countries. Through a series of strategic company and asset acquisitions, Day expanded Noble’s services to include engineering consulting and drilling technologies.

Founded as a one-rig operation in 1921, Noble today is a Fortune 500 company with operations in numerous overseas venues, including the Middle East, Mexico, the North Sea, Brazil, West Africa, India and the Mediterranean Sea.

Day was born in Kansas but grew up in Pond Creek, Oklahoma.  He began his career at Noble in 1977 after he was graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. He also was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Oklahoma.

In 1984, Day was named president and chief executive officer of Noble Corp. and then named chairman of the board in 1992.

During his distinguished tenure at the Sugar Land, Texas, company, Day was a strong proponent of safety. He insisted that risks can be minimized if all employees take a role in safety for themselves and their co-workers. To that end, all Noble employees have the authority to stop a worksite operation if they believe there is an unsafe situation. As a result, Noble’s safety program has been recognized by various national associations.

In addition to serving on API’s Board of Directors, Day also served on the API Policy Committee since 2003.

Day participated in the International Association of Drilling Contractors where he was chairman in 1990; the association recognized him as Contractor of the Year in 1994. He also served as chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association in 1994, and on the Board of Directors of Global Industries Ltd. and the Sarkeys Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to his retirement, Day was a member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, National Ocean Industries Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc. and the American Bureau of Shipping, serving as one of its Members of Council.

API is the industry’s national trade association representing all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our 400 corporate members, from the largest major oil company to the smallest of independents, come from all segments of the industry. They are producers, refiners, suppliers, liquid pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as service and supply companies that support all segments of the industry.

List of past recipients of the Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement.

1946	Henry Ford	1981	Dean A. McGee
1947	William M. Burton	1982	George R. Brown
1948	Charles F. Kettering	1983	John E. Swearingen
1949	J. Howard Pew	1984	Jerry McAfee
1950	Walter C. Teagle	1985	H. A. (Dave) True, Jr.
1951	Ernest O. Thompson	1986	Robert O. Anderson
1953	Otto D. Donnell	1987	M. A. Wright
1954	Wallace E. Pratt	1988	Rawleigh Warner, Jr.
1956	J. Frank Drake	1989	Maurice F. Granville
1957	Warren K. Lewis	1990	John F. Bookout Fred L. Hartley
1958	W. S. S. Rodgers	1991	C. C. Garvin, Jr.
1960	Eugene Hollman	1992	Richard M. Morrow
1965	M. J. Rathbone	1993	George M. Keller
1966	A.    C. Rubel	1994	Collis P. Chandler, Jr.
1967	A.    Jacobsen	1995	C. J. (Pete) Silas
1968	R. Swin Follis	1996	Constantine S. Nicandros
1969	Hugo A. Anderson J. Ed Warren	1997	Allen E. Murray
		1998	Richard J. Stegemeier
1971	Michael L. Haider	1999	Robert L. Parker, Sr.
1972	Leonard F. McCollum	2000	Kenneth T. Derr
1973	Albert L. Nickerson	2001	H. Leighton Steward
1974	Jake L. Hamon	2002	Michel T. Halbouty
1975	Robert G. Dunlop	2003	Roy M. Huffington
1977	James C. Donnell, II	2005	James W. Kinnear
1979	Frank N. Ikard	2006	Lee R. Raymond
1980	Charles E. Spahr	2007	James C. Day

Updated: April 9, 2009