Fort Bend County Seal Fort Bend County

Archive Number13.01063
Archive NameOral History
Archive Date01/12/2016
Historical Period5 (2001 Plus)
Archive DescriptionOral History - Lester Cleve Arnwine Cleve was born in Oklahoma in 1931. His father worked for Conoco for 40 years, which required moves from Oklahoma to Texas and back to Oklahoma during his elementary school years. After graduating as the 1948 high school class valedictorian at age 16, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma (OU) to pursue a degree in Petroleum Engineering. In 1952, he and his ROTC classmates accepted an army officer commissions and went on active duty to serve during the Korean War. The timing of reporting and his returning to OU resulted in a 3-year gap in college education. He remained in the army reserves for the following 8 years. He continued Petroleum Engineering studies and received a BS degree in 1956 and earned 26 hours of graduate credits while his fianc� completed her college degree requirements. Cleve joined Conoco in 1957 and enjoyed a stellar career in a number of key engineering and management positions spanning 35 years. He describes the highlights of his career in Gulf of Mexico, Dubai and North America assignments, which included two leadership positions in the control of 2 blowouts in Dubai.
CommentInterviewer: Jane Goodsill Transcriber: Marsha Smith
Category AssignmentOral History
Subcategory AssignmentInterview
Download(s)13.01063a.pdf