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Magnolia Goes Offshore Magnolia Petroleum's "nested" barge eliminates need for tender— substantial savings daimed
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These are typitat companies we h o v e helped... Lithium Corp. o f Aluminum C o . of America America Mallinckrodt ChemicaS American Brake Shoe C o . Works American Smelting & National Lead C o . Refining C o . N e w Jersey Zinc Co. Bethlehem Steel C o . Minnesota Mining & Colorado Fuel & Iron C o . M f g . Co. Cleveland Cliffs Iron C o . Ozark-Mahoning Co. Columbia Geneva Steel Pennsylvania Salt Div. M f g . Co. Dickey Clay Mfg. C o . Republic Steel Corp. Dow Chemical Co. Standard Oil C o . Great Lakes Carbon Corp. United States Pipe & Food Machinery & Foundry Co. Chemical Corp. U.S. Steel Corp. Glidden Co. Vanadium Corp. of International «Minerals & America Chem. Corp. Virginia Smelting Co. Kerr McGee O i l Industries
5420
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DEC. 12, 1955
Preview of Magnolia's "nested" barge
JINGIXEERS for Magnolia Petroleum have -ompleted plans for a unique "bird-on-a-nest" method of offshore drilling. It will b e put to use in early 1956, when the company launches an attempt t o locate oil in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Plans call for erecting a piling structure whose top will be eight feet under water. A Magnolia-owned drilling barge, already equipped with full drilling equipment, will be floated into place above the structure and sunk b y means of ballast. Extensions from the underwater piling will project above the surface, and the barge will b e secured t o them by means of cables during drilling operations. Heretofore, offshore drilling has been carried on largely by use of permanent platforms extending as much as 50 feet above water level, or by floating drilling rigs with built-in "legs" for raising them above water level. Magnolia says its new technique will combine the major features of the other two methods—a floating barge
"nesting" on a permanent-type structure. Should oil b e found, t h e underwater structure will be extended to 2 0 feet above water level t o hold production equipment. If no oil i s located, the barge will be refloated and the submerged structure will be removed for possible use elsewhere. Use of the barge will eliminate need for a tender, which is frequentiy required with permanent-type platforms. Substantial savings to Magnolia will result. First use for the new technique will be in Block 46, Main Pass area, 6 7 miles southeast of New Orleans a n d two miles from the marshy land of the Mississippi delta. Location o f the well will be in 24 feet of water. Builders of the subsurface structure will be D u Pont Fabricators of Calumet, La.; it will be installed b y Harvey Construction of Harvey, La. Company sources say that the barge should be installed and ready for drilling by March 1, 1956. The Main Pass venture will be a 100% Magnolia operation.
