The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 14, 1981, Image 11
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 & Business/ financial calculators ... from Texas Instruments The MBA™. Preprogrammed calcula tions for variable cash flows, time-and-money problems, bond yields, statistics and much more. 32-step programmability. 288-page guidebook, Calculator Analysis for Business and Finance. Adapter/charger. Carry ing case. S-JQQQ •'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.