In business for over 35 years, and consisting of a large fleet of offshore and land rigs operated from offices worldwide, Bawden Drilling worked closely with Shell Oil, Mobil Corporation and Dome Petroleum, among others.

Thereafter, as a land drilling contractor, Bawden expanded the company's on-shore operations throughout North America, from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, to Norway, Algeria, Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Madagascar, and the Middle East.

Well known for technological, industry advances, Bawden designed and built the world's largest (at that time) semi-submersible rig for Shell Oil.

Bawden set many industry records including drilling a deviated well -11,324 feet in eighteen days from a fixed platform in the North Sea.

Bawden was honored in 1990 as an Officer of the Order of Canada for being "largely responsible for pioneering oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Circle and for the international transfer of Canadian expertise and technology in this field".

He is recognized for the first offshore crude oil discovery in Canadian history on Sable Island earning the cover story of Mobil Corporation's magazine in 1971.

Bawden had a distinguished public service career and was elected (with one of the biggest majorities in the country) as a Member of the Canadian House of Commons in 1972 and re-elected in 1974.

For seven years he served as a delegate to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly representing the Canadian Parliament to meet and discuss common security problems.

[7] Peter Bawden served as a director on several prestigious Canadian companies including Barclays Bank, Air Canada, Boeing, Safeway, Procor Limited, Jannock Ltd, Westair Resources Ltd and Mosswood Oil & Gas Ltd.