Frank Rickwood
Frank Rickwood | |
---|---|
Born | Frank Kenneth Rickwood 1921 Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia |
Died | 19 July 2009 |
Education | Cessnock High School |
Alma mater | University of New England |
Occupation(s) | Geologist, business executive |
Parent(s) | George Rickwood Elizabeth Rickwood |
Frank Kenneth Rickwood
Early life
Frank Rickwood was born in 1921 in
Rickwood was educated in a convent in
Career
Rickwood was a lecturer of geology at the University of Sydney.[1] He also worked for Oil Search, making research trips to Papua New Guinea.[1]
Rickwood worked for BP (formerly known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company) from 1956 to 1980.[1][2] He developed oilfields in Somalia, Central America and South America.[1] As the President of BP Alaska from 1969 to 1980, he oversaw the expansion of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field.[1][2]
Rickwood served as the Chairman of Oil Search in the 1980s.[1] In that capacity, he discovered the Kubutu Oil Field in Papua New Guinea.[1]
Rickwood served on the Boards of Directors of Ampol, Pioneer International and Peko Oil.[1] He authored The Kutubu discovery: Papua New Guinea, Its People, the Country and the Exploration and Discovery of Oil in 1992.[1]
Rickwood was the 1993 recipient of the Haddon Forrester King Medal from the Australian Academy of Science.[1] Additionally, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II herself aboard the Britannia.[2]
Personal life
Rickwood was gay.[3] He lived with his partner, Justin Rainey, until the latter died in the early 1990s.[1] However, he was closeted in the workplace.[3] When he was John Browne's boss in New York, both men were in the closet and neither knew that the other was gay.[3]
Rickwood resided at Minimbah House, a historic mansion near Singleton, New South Wales.[1][4] In the 1990s, he moved to the Colleton Great House, a plantation mansion in Saint Peter, Barbados.[1][5] He was a significant art collector.[1]
Rickwood was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2004.[2]
Death
Rickwood died on 19 July 2009 in Barbados.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Oil industry salutes the passing of a quiet achiever". The Australian. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9780753555330.
- Singleton Argus. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "History". Colleton House. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Frank Rickwood: oil exploration executive". The Times. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2015.