Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-28
MOTORS NOW
OPERATE WELL DRILLS
British Consolidated InstaIIs the
First Variable Machine in
CoaIinga with Success

COALINGA, July 27.-The British
Consolidated Oil corporation, limited,
is the first concern operating in the
Coalinga field to install one Of the new
variable speed electric motors. The
new appliance was installed only after
a thorough investigation of its advan-
tages over the usual steam and gas
engine.
For the past three months the vari-
able speed oil we'll motors have been
on exhibition in the Sherman fields
near Los Angeles, installed by the
westinghouse and General Electric
people. In these southern fields the
new appliance has proved more salts
factory in the operating of every
branch of the oil industry. 1t was in
this locality that General Manager
Wisner of the British Consolidated first
witnessed the use of the motor, and 1t
was only after a careful study on that
point that it was decided to install one
in the place of steam power on one or
the company's properties.
Since Monday morning the motor has
been giving perfect satisfaction on
well No. of the p M. d. & o. prop
erty of the British Consolidated, and
the operators and superintendent God
frey of the local field are more than
pleased.
Godfrey says the motor was the only
thing for the work. 1t caused less
trouble in starting and stopping, and
the test that had been made on its
various speeds resulted beyond his ex-
pectations. The motor is proving itself
especially adapted to the pumping OF
wells, as the loss of time by the break
ing of sucker rods--due to the uneven
power of the steam engine under the
load of the walking beam-wil be less
ened considerably over half. Godfrey
further stated that in less than twenty
days orders will be placed for motors
for the other eight pumping wells OF
the property.
The greatest expense outside of the
property at the present time is that of
keeping up the boiler plant which sup
plies steam for the various engines.
The cost of repairs alone on plan OF
this size runs up into the hundreds of
dollars each month"; besides the cost of
fuel, wages and lubricating goods.
This is all done away with by the
installing of the little 25-horsepoWer
motors that need no watching and are
practically unlimited as to the time
they will run, while the average life of
a boiler is five years. The motor on
No. Z is now using from five to eight
horsepower at a very little expense of
operation -
SHIPS S5O,OOO NOhIh
The first shipment of the $4,000 or
der of variable speed oil well motors
contracted for by the Westinghouse
company, and an additional consign-
ment of the General Electric company,
will arrive in the Coalinga field within
the next ten days. The motors are be-
ing installed by the Coalinga Wtaer
and Electric company, which has sew
eral orders already to place Many oil
the future users of the motor have Wis
tied the P M. D. & O. and are well
pleased with the demonstrations. Tests
will be made on the X. I. & o. and the
Associated properties as soon as the
shipments arrive, and other large com
panies are greatly interested IN the
outcome of these tests.
During the past three weeks the
Coalinga fields have been visited by
number of the Westinghouse and the
General Electric companies prominent
eastern engineers, who have made thor
ough Investigations of the conditions
here. 1t is the belief that the new
motor will revolutionize the drilling
power of the oil fields of the san Joa-
ollin valley and other California fields
as 1t will lessen the expense of sink
ing a we'll and operating it after 1t mas
been brought in, to a great extent.
The initiation of the use of these mo-
tors in the fields is considered the more
significant from the fact that power
lines are Just now being extended into
all the oil fields of this valley by the
san Joaquin Light and Power company
and other allied and subsidiary compa-
nies in this section. The Coalinga field
has already been placed in touch with
power plants in the Sierra Nevada
mountains, a hundred miles away
across the valley, and the Midway and
Sunset fields are soon to have connec-
tions with the same general system
thoroughly distributed through them
The spread of power facilities put the
motor in easy reach of operators in the
leading centers of oil production in the
Cnr Inanl1in NAlleN.