Report by Dennis Casebier
Tuesday
I talked with Raymond Ward this morning. It was the first chance I've had to hear what actually happened when the rig broke down last week. They hit some really hard stuff and had gotten down to about 420 feet when they broke through into clay. So
he turned the speed up.
After about ten feet the Rotary Table broke. This is the topside mechanism that runs everything - transfers power to everything. He is having trouble getting parts. At this point it is open-ended - he don't know when he'll have the parts.
Turns out that unless he gets the parts before the 11th of November, it isn't likely he'll be back out here until after Thanksgiving ... that because he'll be gone from the area for a few weeks.