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Show Oil Drillers Are Aided By Science Drilling for oil or natural gas k expensive, even fabulous, run-nlng as much as a thousand dollars a day and the well may turn out to be a dry bole. In 1943 the cost was $511 per day, in 1931 it cost $983 per day. In 1945 a '10.000-foot rotary rig cost nearly $180,000. while In 1951 the cost had risen to nearly $300,-MM. The average wildcat costs about $90,000 and a deep exploration well may cost as much as $1 million. But use of newly developed scientific methods have prevented costs from being much higher. Ultrasonic sound beams and high potential electric current are being used to test for pay sand. High-powered pumps force a viscous, sand-bearing fluid Into "tight" underground formations, and literlly prop up the tiny crevices so that the oil can escape. Derricks on barges or platforms now bring in wells miles off-shore in waters up to 50 feet deep. In the laboratories, models of gas drive and water reservoirs (oil reservoirs under pressure from gas or water) enable engineers to forecast the behavior of an actual reservoir for years to come so the oilmen will know how much gas and oil can be drawn oft in a given time without reducing pressure below the point at "which wells cease to flow. Techniques of pumping water or gas back into a reservoir have also been worked out, with the result that new reservoirs may be drained of their oil more thoroughly, and old fields may be rejuvenated. |