| Show OIL SOURCES Men Drilling Below Belov Water UP For more than a year rear about men have ha been lIv lly Ing ng on islands of ot steel in the Gulf Gult of Mexico drilling for tor oil below the surface of ot the water Two oil oU men attending the annual an an- nual convention of 01 the American Petro Petroleum etim Institute said the opera opera- lion tIon Ion known as 81 offshore drilling is js being carried on by 15 oil com com- panics panle Their operations covers ers a acre area from six to 20 miles off oU the shores of 01 Texas and Louisiana The oil oU man said their com com- panics have achieved fairly good results so far tar compared with land operations which cost much less than offshore drilling DefEre underwater drilling can begin gangs must construct their ton 1500 steel islands by driving pilings feet below the ocean bed jed and extending them 50 fe feet teet t in the water and 40 feet leet above the waters water's surface Construction of 01 the pilings costs an oil firm about 1 SI before belore drilling can start Crews Change Work Offshore drilling camps then are set up on the pilings over an ann approximate foot by area Besides the tAe drilling platforms each camp Includes a bunkhouse and cookhouse and enough supplies supplies sup sup- plies to provision a man 13 crew for or three weeks However crews usually work for tor several days only and then are transplanted to shore share for as many days off oUt Shifts ShUts of 01 workers alternate around the clock all aU year The oil men said their principal headaches are the tropical storms which sweep the gulf gull area from M May y through November However the pilings are considered as safe ate as the ground on shore and the men seldom are called In from their camps atop the pilings The pilings are built bunt to withstand mile winds and foot 35 waves Underwater drilling was started started start start- ed after atter geologists reported what they termed a continental shelf shell In the gulf gull waters The shelf shell shellis is composed of ot land which extends extends extends ex ex- tends many miles Into the water before dropping to oceanic depths Use Gravity Meter American oil men in Venezuela were the first to employ offshore drilling methods and succeeded in recovering oil oU from depths 01 feet below the surface of ot Lake Maracaibo Geologists use a gravity meter to outline areas which should be tested for drilling The instrument instrument instrument ment reveals disturbed areas which show where oil may be present but the oil oU men said the only sure way to test the ground is to start digging opera operations ons The oil men said that offshore drilling in the Gulf of ot Mexico was started by oil firms in an effort eUort to augment Americas America's crude oil oU supply and reserves |
