Page 49: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1973)

New Drilling Operation

In North Sea Begun

By Texaco Subsidiary

Texaco North Sea U.K. Com- pany, a wholly owned subsidiary of Texaco Inc., has started new drilling operations in the North

Sea, off the coast of Scotland, where the company Holds nearly half a million acres.

Texaco North 'Sea is drilling in

Block 3/4, which lies about 85 miles east of the Shetland Islands.

Block 3/4, held 100 percent by

Texaco North Sea, is located im- mediately to the south of Block 211/29, where drilling by others has uncovered the Brent Field.

Texaco's new drilling activity be- gan when the semisubmersible drilling vessel Zephyr I arrived on location in late June.

Zephyr I has been specially con- structed to withstand the unusual- ly harsh weather conditions char- acteristic of the North Sea. It can operate in winds up to 37 knots and wave heights up to 25 feet. It can also operate in water depths of between 100 and 800 feet, and can drill to a depth of 25,000 feet.

Almost all machinery and con- trols are enclosed, enabling the crew to work the rig efficiently dur- ing severe winter weather. Eight anchors, each weighing 30,000 pounds, keep the Zephyr I on sta- tion.

An exceptionally large blowout preventer stack has been installed on the rig. I.t is more than 40 feet high and weighs about 180 tons.

A sophisticated data-recording system has also been installed to evaluate sea conditions and their effect on the behavior of the unit.

Texaco participated in the first drilling operation in the North Sea nearly a decade ago. The com- pany's total holdings in the North

Sea area amount to about five mil- lion acres.

SNAME Presents New

Edition On Guidelines

For Coating Ships

A new updated edition of the "Coat- ing Systems Guide for Hull, Deck and Superstructure (Revised 1973)" has been released by Panel 0-23 (Ships' Paints) of The Society of

Naval Architects and Marine Engi- neers" Technical and Research (T&R) Program. This edition was necessary in order to provide detailed information on the new, proven, coating systems for ships which have come into service since 1969.

The bulletin presents concise tabu- lations of the application, perform- ance and miscellaneous characteristics of the generic types of coatings now in service on U.S. ships. Basic health and safety precautions are included, as well as references to applicable

U.S. Government specifications. The cost data has also been updated and compatability tables expanded in an attempt to reduce the number of fail- ures that seem to accompany the in- troduction of new coatings.

An expanded glossary of terms related to coatings helps to chemically define the new coatings and also to recognize such new surface prepara- tion techniques as hydroblasting. The grades of surface preparation are referenced to S NAME's popular

T&R Bulletin 4-9, "Abrasive Blast- ing Guide for Aged and Coated Steel

Surfaces," as this publication pro- vides color photographs of various steels with different grades of blast- ing suitable for field comparison and evaluation with the ships' or the struc- tures' blasted surface. These bulletins also conform to other industrially ac- cepted definitions for each grade of blasting as contained in the "Surface

Preparation Specifications" of the

Steel Structures Painting Council.

T&R Bulletin 4-10, "Coating Sys- tems Guide for Hull, Deck and Su- perstructure (Revised 1973)" should be most useful to owners, operators, builders and designers of ships and offshore structures. It has been ap- proved for publication by the ship technical operations committee and is available through The Society of Na- val Architects and Marine Engineers, 74 Trinity Place, New York, N.Y. 10006, at a price of $9.75 per copy.

Members of the Society may obtain a copy of the bulletin for $6.50. If postage is received with the order, these prices include postage via third class mail in the United States and as "Printed Matter" in all other coun- tries. Shipments will be insured or sent air mail at additional cost only if requested.

New tanker refueler helps reduce cost, bunkering time.

The strategic location of Antigua in the

Northeast Caribbean and our extensive marine facilities have always been good reasons for you to Bunker Antigua.

But now, with the addition of the modern

M.T. BUNKER ANTIGUA, we're making it even more worthwhile. Some important particulars on the M.T. BUNKER ANTIGUA include: capacity approximately 42,000 barrels, pumping rate in excess of 5,000 barrels per hour, carries all grades of marine fuels as well as potable water.

M.T. BUNKER ANTIGUA ensures prompt delivery and quick turnaround to ocean- going vessels of all types and sizes includ- ing mammoth tankers, OBO's, container ships and cruise liners.

To find out all the advantages of bunkering

Antigua or to place orders, contact our agent nearest you. to ORDER: CONTACT

In New York: In London:

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PETROLEUM PETROLEUM

SUPPLY CO. SUPPLY CO. 1345 Avenue of Swan House the Americas 34/35 Queen St.

New York, N.Y. 10019 London E.C.4

Tel. (212) 245-1280 Tel. 01-236-4326

In San Francisco:

INDEPENDENT

PETROLEUM

SUPPLY CO. 601 California St.

San Francisco,

Cal. 94108

Tel. (415)981-5700

In Tokyo:

IPS EASTERN

CORPORATION

Taisho Seimei Bldg. 7,1-chome,Yurakucho

Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo,

Tel. 214-2531/2

IN EUROPE, CONTACT:

Bunker Agent

C. Kubon & Company

Herm. Dauelsberg

The Maritime Agency

A. Anker-Nilssen A/S

Oil-Shipping Co.

Josef Nilsson AB

City

Bergen

Bremen

Copenhagen

Oslo

Rotterdam

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Territory

West Coast Norway

Bremen area

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East Coast Norway

Benelux, Switzerland

Sweden, Finland

SHIPOWNERS IN ITALY. FRANCE. GREECE, SPAIN AND THE HAMBURG AREA

MAY CONTACT THEIR LOCAL BROKER OR IPS LONDON. '2400400 helper for •

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September 1, 1973 53