The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 14, 1981, Image 11

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    Features
THE BATTALION Page 11
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1981
\30-year-old steam drill
betters today’s oil rigs
United Press International
GRANDFALLS — Rising from
the dry, flat expanse of the west
Texas Panhandle, the derrick of
Amigo State No. 18-1 is a welcome
sight to oil men desperate for drill
ing rigs.
; Such a derrick rising from the
High Plains is usually a common
site but this Amigo State well
offers new promise to rig-hunting
drillers because of its uncommon
source of power: steam.
I “Steam in the oil field was
phased out 15 or 20 years ago,”
said Tom Young, drilling manager
ij for the Boarder Exploration Co.
“But now, we’re drilling in Ward
I County with steam, using equip
ment that’s 30 years old.”
I Steam rigs almost had gone the
way of the dinosaur — they be
came extinct and disappeared
with more efficient models.
But the demand for drilling rigs
in the booming, oil-rich region has
given steam another chance, and
on the Amigo State 18-1, steam is
giving the more modem diesel en
gine a run for its money.
“We were faced with a lease
expiration and had to drill or lose
the lease,” Young said. “No diesel
rigs were available because of the
domestic rig shortage so we de
cided to stick our necks out and try
this unique ‘old-new’ approach.”
Young said he heard of an
Odessa company, D&R Drilling,
that was assembling a steampo-
wered rig out of old and new parts.
He contracted for the rig and it is
currently drilling about 300 feet
per day toward its 14,800-foot des
tination in the Ellenburger forma
tion, about five miles northwest of
Grandfalls, Texas.
“We thought a better approach
(over diesel) would be to modify
old steam engines and rigs to take
advantage of the new technologies
developed in diesel-powered rigs
and still use steam as our primary
power source,” said D&R presi
dent Ed Durrett.
Durrett took six months to
sored k
(Chrysler stresses
business as usual
build the rig, which was assem
bled with about 60 percent new
parts and 40 percent old parts. He
said the old parts came mostly
from Louisiana, where steam
drilling was popular in the past.
The “old -new” rig is superior to
new diesel rigs, he said, adding
that tests show the steam rig is 86
percent thermally efficient, com
pared to 65 percent with diesel
rigs.
“It’s more flexible too, Dur
rett said. “It can do many things
you can’t do with straight mecha
nical power.”
“People don’t believe it when
they see it,” said Young. “It’s uni
que to say the least. We knew we
would either be a bunch of fools or
the rig would work and we could
drill.
“No one else was brave enough
to contract it, but we thought it
would be worth the risk. So far, it
looks like it’s been a very wise de-
And Durrett said he is about to
begin construction on four more.
iL«
Staff photo by Becky Swanson
Hot Wheels
Kristi McLin weaves her 1974 Porsche 914 between the
pylons Sunday afternoon at the Dragon’s Run autocross.
organized by the Texas A&M University Sports Car Club.
McLin placed second in her class with a time of 1:41:63.
nt
United Press International
I DETROIT— Chrysler Corp.’s
iivertising over the past year or so
has been geared to convince the
public it is still alive, but that pitch
is changing this fall.
“In 1982,” says Chrysler adver-
ing director Doyle Lott, “we’ll
be attempting to do business as
e DC-ldi usual.”
days ak The company’s 1982 advertising
all U S blitz will extol what Chrysler sees
order lata as the virtues of its cars and trucks,
ibit fliglit; It doesn’t tell people Chrysler is
ace by ait “coming back”: the underlying as-
tered DC ; sumption is that the company has
arrived.
leroffei Another major change: Chair-
ted DO man Lee A. lacocca won’t appear
fAwyi regskxh) \\\ the corpor At\ow % tele-
n drew i: vision commercials as he has in the
aintenanc past, However, there will be a re-
‘airworti ference to lacocca in at least one
xactly or. ad,
ashed wg Actor Ricardo Montalban, long
• for plan: associated with the Chrysler Cor-
ied. doba, will present the company’s
prompt:' new front-wheel drive Chrysler
■ways LI®Baron. The car is slated for
urt. Evf; competition against well-
s joined twequipped Oldsmobile and Buick
ines, Alit “id-sized cars.
Swiss L Montalban refers to the LeBar-
as the fhlfilluvervt of facocca’s
dream to produce a car combining
luxury and high gas mileage.
[ Chrysler officials said Frank
Sinatra, who became associated
with the company during its com
eback fight, will not appear in cor
porate or car division advertising
but would be available for dealer
[association ads.
Other celebrities will present
Chrysler products: actress Kelly
Harmon stressing driving fun for
the LeBaron’s twin, the Dodge
400; veteran actor John House
man citing value for Plymouth cars
and rodeo star Walt Garrison
boasting toughness for Dodge
trucks.
f Another Chrysler goal, Lott
said, is to build distinct identities
for the ChryslerPlymouth and
Dodge divisions.
Dodge will try to recapture its
lost performance image through
such offerings as the fast, sporty
Charger 2.2 and an “America’s
Driving Machine” theme.
“We want to be a separate car
company from Chrysler-
Plymouth,” said Joseph J. Cronin,
bP Dodge car and truck advertising
I manager.
I Plymouth’s major pitch will be
! value in its Horizon, TC3 and Re
liant cars. The theme: “The Amer
ican way to get your money’s
worth."
The Ford Division of Ford
Motor Co. is also taking a new
advertising tack this fall.
[Instead of preaching to consum
ers about high technology or fuel
economy, it is seeking to instill the
feeling that Ford beams with self-
confidence and that its product is
lively, fun and competitive.
: “The response we want to get
from the consumer is, ‘Gee, Ford
is proud of what they have to
offer, ” Ford Division advertising
manager Douglas T. McClure
said.
For the first time in recent
memory, the Ford Division will
use a single theme — and even the
same music — to present all its
cars. “Look out world — here
comes Ford” is the theme, and the
concentration is on the division’s
small car lines.
“Above everything, it says Ford
has changed,” McClure said.
In one television commercial,
the division makes use for the first
time of its new road racing spon
sorship by including shots of the
beefy, slick Team Miller Mustang.
TV\e dWvsvon also relies heavily
on big-name singers to present its
theme: Neil Sedakafor Escort, the
group Air Supply for EXP, Tanya
Tucker for Fairmont Futura, Tony
Bennett for Granada and Natalie
Cole for Thunder bird.
Those Ford and Chrysler mes
sages will be conveyed in a variety
of prime time spots: professional
football games, established net
work shows and specials.
cash in
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Adapter/charger. Carry
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•'Jc
Come get involved with
the TAMU Collegiate 4-H
at the
1st Annual Ice Cream Social
(. . . lots of Cookies & Cream)
Monday, Sept. 14 7:30 p.m.
Rm. 113 Kleberg Center |
vL %Li ^ ^ ^ ^ m
*1* ^ *7*
TWO HEAVY UTTERS
TOUCH BASES ON ■■
1AIIS, AMD BUR.
BOOG POWELL (Former American
Baseball Great): Koichi here has
been giving me a new angle on -
baseball. It seems the game’s a
little different in Japan.
KOICHI NUMAZAWA (Former
Japanese Baseball Great):
i, mZ-IX 7 f —/is K'h £
TT te 0
BOOG: That’s right. The held is
smaller over there.
KOICHI: o £ g , '> g - h T 'h £
4' 0 faf&iz it£>-& fz A, X T J: 0
BOOG: Well, now that you men
tioned it, I guess you guys are
kinda smaller. Does that mean
you drink Lite Beer ’cause it’s less
filling?
KOICHI: , £>L' L BiKC
A, X t J: o
BOOG: Tastes great? That’s why I
drink it, too! I guess we have a lot
more in common than I thought.
KOICHI: ! t'lTT, 0*
BOOG: Me? I’m too big to play on
a Japanese team.
KOICHI: -£/v4tL 4 v,' T T J:, >
a - h lo^ilX Tcto
BOOG: Shortstop?! Very funny.
©1981 Beer Brewed by Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wis.