From steer wrestling to capping oil and gas well blowouts

There was a time when oil and gas well blowouts were alarmingly common. The brave people who fought the fires continue to hold respect in industry folklore.

One of the best, Albertan Bob Sayers, developed his talents as a matter of accidental circumstance. Following rodeo success in the bull-dogging event, now known as steer wrestling, Sayers became a national champion in cattle auctioneering.

While working in oil and gas in the late 1970s, Sayers successfully capped a well fire near Carbon, northeast of Calgary. A short time later, Bob helped extinguish another fire near the town of Caroline.

Sayer’s reputation, and demand for his services, quickly grew.

“I started my own company and got a well from, first well was Shell Oil, I brought that under control in 24 hours,” said Sayers. “After that I went to the Gulf of Mexico. I was the first one to ever cap a well in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The biggest challenges and successes of his career occurred in the Persian Gulf. In 1990, he received a call from an Iranian oil company that had a massive blowout.

“I went over there and they said 'How long will it take you to cap this well?',” recalls Sayers. “I said three days and they said "Wow, we've had a guy here 64 days and he never even got to the wellhead and you say you can come in and have it capped in three?’.”

“Believe it or not, I capped it in three days.”

These days, Sayers spends a lot of time on his ranch in Montana near the banks of the Missouri River.

Hollywood movie producer Lauren Weissman has been a friend of Sayers for nearly two decades. She finds Sayers dedication a point of inspiration.

“So many obstacles that could cripple a normal person and he just leaps over them,” said Weissman. “He never gives up, he never tires of the fight, and he never tired of trying to make it right.”

Weissman says to appropriately tell the tale of Sayers life story would require a mini-series as there's far too much content to fit in one film.

For all he's accomplished, Bob Sayers is this week’s Inspiring Albertan.

With files from CTV's Darrel Janz