A GREAT NAME IN OIL

[Music] [Music] how do you measure the success of an industrial enterprise by what standards do you judge its stature what makes it great where do you look to find the key to that greatness well let's take a look at sinclair known throughout most of the world is a great name in oil suppose we begin at headquarters on new york city's famed fifth avenue it's an impressive building tall and handsome but sinclair isn't built of stone and steel and cement this is a company built by people people representing a wide diversity of skills and talents in many fields but all directed to a common goal to advance sinclair as a great name in oil the name of an enterprise so complex and so far-reaching is to fan out over most of the united states into foreign countries and across the sea this being headquarters you find as you'd expect the nerve center of a vast communication system by telephone teletype and cablegram instant and constant contact is maintained with hundreds of vital points of operation here the fabulous story of supplying the ever increasing demand for oil is spelled out minute to minute and day to day under dateline of texas wyoming louisiana oklahoma cuba or venezuela another running account of oil production is maintained in visible form in the map room here on large-scale electrically operated maps covering the principal oil producing areas of the united states day-to-day reports on thousands of wells are posted for study exploratory drilling begun wells that have come into production wells that turned out to be dry holes wells going out of production all this and much more not only for sinclair but also the activities of others are noted with the accuracy of a flight plan now perhaps you begin to get some vague idea of one phase of headquarters activities and why varied skills of many people are required to keep operations running smoothly and up to date for this is a fully integrated oil company which is just another way of saying that the subsidiaries of sinclair collectively are engaged in the various phases of the oil business from exploration through production transportation refining research and development marketing and service to the ultimate consumer this is a big company aggressive and progressive it has to be to meet the pyramiding demand for petroleum products by american industry and the consuming public look around maybe you haven't been aware of the tremendous upsurge in power requirements over the last few years [Music] yes look around and as you look bear this in mind not only has there been a spiraling demand for more power but also for more petroleum products new and finer products fuels and lubricants of equality and with characteristics unknown just a few short years ago those were the days of easy oil production was uncontrolled and any field promising less than a forest of derricks was scarcely considered worth working the producer sold his oil at the well and forgot let others worry about transporting refining and marketing he was a driller at heart and when the well quit producing he could always move on but even in those early days one of those oil men decided to build an integrated company the company to engage in every phase of the oil business from the well to the finished product and then to the consumer it was a sound concept and within a little more than a generation operations had expanded and the company advanced to the position of a great leader in the oil industry oil is still found under the surface of the earth but what a difference in the methods and means of getting it out let's ask one of our modern oil production men yeah the old method of hit or miss drilling and prospecting for oil with a defining rod wouldn't get very far today we have to go a lot farther afield and a lot deeper than the old timers ever dreamed of [Music] of course we have all the advanced technical devices and instruments for mapping the underground structure probably the most useful in exploring a new territory is the field seismograph an outgrowth of the device developed to locate and record earthquakes you fire a shot and the instrument interprets the underlying rock structure formations by means of reflected shock waves [Music] the findings of this instrument are recorded on film and magnetic tape by studying the film the field crew gets a pretty good idea of how attractive the underground structure is of course the machine can't tell you if there's any oil down there only whether the rock formation is such that there might be oil there if the records seem promising the films and tapes are sent to exploration and production headquarters at tulsa oklahoma for further study here at the lab they've got the most advanced scientific detection facilities available anywhere for instance there's a seismic magnetic playback unit that makes a complete analysis of the recording by the field seismograph [Music] i don't imagine that what appears on the face of that tube would mean very much to you but the fellow operating it can study that structure just as clearly as you'd get the world series on your tv set but in spite of all the advances in scientific instruments and know-how there's still only one sure way of knowing what lies hidden below the surface the final answer is obtained only by drilling [Music] to an oil man there's something mighty satisfying in watching a drilling crew working together maybe to you it just looks like hard work with heavy tools and i'm not saying it's easy but when you get to know you can sense the presence of teamwork there's got to be every man knowing his job and pulling his weight in step with the others [Music] takes you a while to get on to what they're doing even what they're talking about because the drilling crew talks a language of its own you hear talk about roughnecks and maybe wonder why nobody takes offense until you find out this is the accepted designation for certain members of the team you hear talk about gen poles and crown blocks draw works kelly's rat holes mouse holes and such apparently unrelated expressions as making a trip and finally you probably give up and accept it all as part of the strange profession of well drilling gradually you get to know a few of the marks of the expert one is handling the draw works with just the right touch to get the most work from a drilling bit before hauling it out for replacement another is the ability to accurately judge an oil pay by examining the drill cuttings every feature of the operation gives some significant evidence to the skilled eyes and hands of these experienced men even the consistency of the drill mud which flushes drill cuttings to the surface and also plasters the walls of the bore until casing is set offshore drilling perhaps 40 miles or so out in the gulf of mexico presents all the problems of dry land operations and many of its own besides nevertheless as the search for more and more oil goes on drilling crews are making history from their platforms high above the ocean floor investments in these offshore operations run high and always there is the haunting possibility of failure for no matter how carefully the area is surveyed with the most advanced techniques no one can be sure that there is oil to be found until he sunk a bit into oil pay formation and old mother nature can be mighty fickle as you can judge by the fact that even with the most modern methods of exploration out of every 100 wells drilled in unproven territory and known as wildcat oils about 85 on the average will turn out to be dry holes on the other hand some of the greatest producing fields have been tapped in areas where there was no promising evidence of even a potential oil reservoir you call it gambling well not exactly oil men like to consider it a calculated risk and this much is for sure if there hadn't been a willingness on the part of our people along with others to invest millions of dollars in areas of questionable promise we would never have the oil that has furnished much of the power for the greatest civilization in the history of the world don't ever suggest to a field superintendent that his is a gambler's job or you'll be in for trouble for sure maybe he's got 50 maybe a hundred or more wells under his direct responsibility some job you say it's more than a job it's his life or takes a production engineer it's his job to make sure that every well yields the last drop of oil and or the last bit of gas it's possible to get his is a responsibility that works two ways economical operation and the conservation of vital natural resources to understand how this works you've got to know a little about what goes on underground in various kinds of wells gas and oil are usually found together because the same geological phenomenon creates both oil fields contain two kinds of producing wells there are the few that flow without help because the natural formation pressure of water and gas is strong enough to force the oil to the surface at the surface you can recognize a flowing well by the assembly of pipes and valves which controls the flow and which for reasons that would make sense only to an oil man is called a christmas tree but in the case of most wells the natural formation pressure isn't capable of forcing the oil to the surface so the oil is raised by mechanical puppies there are also wells where the natural formation pressure is not sufficient to force oil into the well so it could be pumped out in that case water is forced into a centrally located well driving the oil to nearby wells from which it can be recovered this is called secondary recovery another example of hard-headed economics and practical conservation gone are the old-time flaming gas torches that used to light up the production fields because nobody knew what else to do with the gas today we know and gas itself is a valuable product from the fields oil and natural gas go their separate ways might be a good idea for you to follow this gas line and see how we handle gas which was once considered just a troublesome waste the processing of petroleum components of natural gas what we call liquid hydrocarbons has become an extremely important and valuable function located close to the producing wells sinclair's gas products plants are easily identified by tall slender towers and batteries of cylindrical storage tanks that seem to suggest a scene from mars the shape of the tanks is dictated by the engineering problem of containing the gas under pressure until it is processed into liquid products like natural gasoline butane isobutane propane and ethane among many other uses butane and propane are made into liquefied petroleum gas which is primarily used for cooking and heating in order to process crude petroleum pumped from the well it must be transported to the refinery if the route lies over land the pipeline regardless of weather is the most economical carrier and because the refinery may be located several hundred miles distant pumping stations are established at intervals of from 40 to 80 miles along the line depending upon the friendliness of the terrain and the size of the pipe each station is equipped with its own system of controls to regulate the flow according to delivery requirements overall direction of crude oil movement along the line is the responsibility of pipeline headquarters at independence kansas here in this busy center messages are constantly pouring in by telephone teletype and microwave radio information is passed on to the pipeline dispatcher the board in front of him conveys at a glance exactly what amounts and types of crude are moving in addition to pipelines crude is transported by a fleet of ocean-going tankers i'm on a super tanker 200 000 barrels capacity and that's just one of the large fleet of ocean-going tankers we use in our business maybe it seems funny to you that a blue water sailor should be an oil man or maybe you'd call me an ocean-going pipeliner anyway that's our job carrying crude from producing fields outside the united states to a refinery on the eastern seaboard and petroleum products to the coastal and caribbean deep water terminal after all it would be quite a trick to lay pipeline over water to our ports of coal and besides as anyone knows the cheapest way to move large amounts of oil is by water our company also operates a tanker and several other boats on the great lakes to supply refined products to sinclair's terminals along those water then too we've got barges and tow boats operating along the mississippi and its tributaries carrying products to market well maybe they're not quite as fancy as the old-time mississippi paddle wheelers but they do a right good job just one thing bothers me how come they call them tow boats towing means pulling in my book but these tow boats push well i suspect it doesn't matter any skipper who can get behind a string of barges almost as long as the queen mary and guide him up the tricky mississippi i guess he's got a right to call it whatever he wants but anyway by pipeline and by tanker the crude oil is delivered to the company's seven domestic refineries all of them strategically located to supply nearby marketing territories before exploring one of these refineries however it might be well to look in on the research and development laboratory at harvey illinois briefly stated the function of this laboratory is to find new products and ways of making them as well as developing new techniques for improving the quality of all our products the facilities are impressive of course but ideas are what count new ideas for new products and processes new progress born in the minds of people the multi-million dollar laboratory and facilities are the tools by which to prove or disprove new lines of thinking and develop the ideas that have a practical application one such development bears the highly unromantic name of rd-119 but as the rust and corrosion preventing additive for sinclair gasoline kerosene diesel fuel and home heating oil it is one of the outstanding developments of our time another not yet as well known but no less significant discovery there's the research development code number of rd 150 ask what it is and the scientist will simply tell you it's a catalyst years ago sinclair engineers foresaw the coming need for higher octane gasoline and far more of it but existing refinery methods were inadequate to meet those quality and quantity requirements so an intensified research program was begun which after countless experiments and failures finally evolved the platinum catalyst that changes the structure of the molecules bringing more gasoline and higher octane gasoline from every drop of crude but devising the catalyst was only half the job from test tube proportions a new refining process had to be developed step by step in pilot plants of increasing capacity until finally it went into production in full scale one of these reformers represents a cost of 14 million dollars [Music] so the work of the laboratory goes on the work of scientists technicians mechanics blowers and all the other skills and crafts that make up this team and over the luncheon table in the company cafeteria new ideas are born and the finishing touches put on many a problem for everyone at research it's a job without end each new development every challenge met opens avenues to new more challenging problems every new development widens the horizon of future progress refineries are manufacturing plants where crude oil is converted into gasoline kerosene jet fuel diesel fuel heating oils solvents lubricants greases waxes asphalt petrochemical raw materials and hundreds of other necessities for modern living although crude oil varies widely in composition each final product must meet exacting standards of quality and uniformity the steadily increasing demand for greater quantity of the very highest quality explains both the costliness of the equipment and its relative short life there's an old saying among refinery people that equipment seldom wears out because it's obsoleted by new advancements before it's well broken in of course that's an exaggeration but the hard fact is that the investment in tools and equipment for a modern refinery is greater for employee than in any other large-scale manufacturing enterprise in looking around the sinclair refinery don't be overwhelmed by the size of the facilities just remember that people designed them people built them and people run them have people check them too constantly few other industries approach the rigorous quality control which is sinclair's routine refinery procedures in some processes test samples are taken every hour in others tests are run off every few minutes and samples from each batch of finished products are taken and preserved as reference checks the people who work here will tell you that a refinery is never finished facilities are in a constant state of transition as some element of processing equipment representing yesterday's best is replaced by today's new thinking [Music] maybe it's part of a reformer or maybe it's a new machine what refinery men call the barrel house but which is officially known as the lubricating oil and grease packaging plant compounding lubricants is a custom job for in today's complex mechanized world there is no such thing as a universal lubricant each tailor-made formula is packaged in surroundings kept scrupulously cleaned [Music] [Music] [Music] the one thing more important than care for the product is care for the people in the refinery as throughout the organization basic training includes learning the company's safety rules precautions and practices accidents are caused not by faith but by failures the failure of someone to observe sinclair's safety code to prevent such forgetfulness constant reminders are posted throughout all work areas [Music] a new man in a refinery learns that he's not alone on his job there's a foreman to help him build confidence help him fit into the team little things can mean a lot the feeling of belonging the glow of well-being that comes from a brisk scrubbing at the end of the ship among the various leisure time activities enjoyed throughout the organization one of the most impressive is conducted during the lunch period in this meeting place at houston a simple quiet place for a man can join with other men in peaceful prayer and the worship of god among the more than a thousand products made by the refining of oil are petrol chemicals such as detergent ingredients and aromatics hydrogen is another by-product which has been released by catalytic reforming processes and will now be used for the manufacture of anhydrous ammonia fertilizers pure sulfur is another striking example of a byproduct derived from crude in this case sulfur is recovered from what were once waste gases which were simply burned in the plant as fuel unlike most manufacturing products in the refining process are not seen the crude oil is stored in tanks before it is processed through the plant and finished products are stored temporarily at the refinery or a tank farm before they are sent to market in tankers barges tank cars transport trucks and pipelines because the pipeline is the most efficient and dependable means of transporting liquid petroleum products on land the network of hidden highways is constantly being expanded [Music] product pipelines function in a manner similar to those which carry crude except that these transport gasoline kerosene heating oil diesel fuel and other refined products the pumping stations ensure a steady flow of products from refineries to marketing terminals thus having the right product available at the right place and at the right time to meet changing market demand in any case the push of a button or the turn of a valve is all it takes to start or stop a flow to divert it to another terminal where pipelines and tankers leave off the shipment of products to market may be by tank cars or transport trucks [Music] regardless of the means of transportation the products flow into distribution centers here they are delivered to customers in trucks owned by either the company or by independent marketers and distributors [Music] so [Music] [Music] behind the scenes is a phase of operation of which the public is scarcely aware but which in itself is a major activity the overhaul and repair shop part of their responsibility is to keep the huge fleets of trucks in top operating conditions in effect a complete service shop with all needed facilities and spare parts staffed by a core of expert mechanics another of their jobs is the reconditioning of service station equipment when returned to service this reconditioned equipment is equal in appearance and comparable in service to brand new equipment and here is another company activity of which the public is very well aware and grateful back at new york headquarters and also at chicago and tulsa the company maintains auto tour bureaus constantly informed as to the latest highway conditions here the motorist may obtain marked road maps for any anticipated tour all he has to do is write the bureau tell where he wants to go and sinclair does the rest however for one reason or another many people prefer to plan their tour routes through personal contact and in a conference room high above the tour bureau is another phase of our business advertising and sales promotion which directly affects the motoring public we are well aware that in today's highly competitive market merely to produce the finest of petroleum products is not enough the public must be made aware of the plus values and services behind the familiar sinclair emblem but how best to get the sinclair message before the public the answers are supplied by the public itself through the sampling of public opinion analysis of interest appeals and buying motives before any advertising theme is decided upon it is tested in representative market point of sale dealer promotions are then developed to tie in with the current advertising theme but before a campaign is begun in the field company salesmen are first familiarized with the advertising and promotional materials in such ways sales efforts are coordinated and controlled for the most effective results in sinclair's marketing territory in today's highly technical market the profession of salesmanship has also changed with the time for example in serving the air transport industry it is not enough that a salesman be familiar with all the performance factors of his own products he must also be authoritatively informed as to all the complex requirements and problems of aircraft engines and propellers in the last five years major airliners lubricated exclusively by sinclair have flown 900 million miles that's an average of nearly 20 times around the earth every day this is a tribute to both the company and its salesman similarly in industry the salesman must be able to provide technical council on fuels and lubricants often more exacting than the specifications prescribed by the machinery manufacturer here cost per gallon is a minor consideration compared with lengthening the period between overhauls stepping up productive capacity and reducing downtime from the days when steam engines needed servicing every 100 or so miles sinclair has served an advanced with american railroad the day when swift streamliners roll clear across the country with only minor servicing sinclair is one of the largest suppliers of lubricant and diesel fuel to the railroad the marine sales engineer must be familiar with the fuel and lubricating requirements of all types of power driven boats sinclair marine products find favor with operators of large tugboat fleets as well as ocean-going ships such as the world's largest ore carriers today the farmer is the largest user of motorized equipment in america and the sinclair salesman is qualified not only to supply all his needs for fuels lubricants and heating but also the latest and most authoritative information on services and maintenance most important in marketing are the retail service stations many of which are either owned or held under lease by the company and in turn leads to independent businessmen others are operated by their owners the sinclair salesman contacts the dealer to inform him of the latest developments in product in training in car service and other techniques all toward the end that the customer will recognize the sinclair sign wherever he sees it as his assurance of all around service and satisfaction in a broader sense that sign is the symbol of all the people all the diversified skills the talent and the dedicated loyalty that stand behind the sinclair name how to define that spirit working with these people you can feel it you can see it in their faces from what does it spring morale is a many-sided thing pride in accomplishment yes that's part of it company insurance retirement savings and benefit plans of course they're important even more important is the policy that to the fullest extent possible promotions come from within the company a policy that pays off in higher morale at all levels and better leadership these are the tools this is the spirit and these are the people which are the best guarantee that sinclair's 40 years of progress is the stepping stone to greater achievement an assurance that sinclair will always be a great name in oil [Music] you