Graham and Karen Taylor formed a partnership called East Coast Drilling & Pumps. A Gardner Denver rig was found in a quarry on the West Coast. The rig was rebuilt and mounted on the back of a truck. The rig was drilling wells around Canterbury by early 1992.
Graham and his father, Charlie Taylor, visited the USA and bought a Schramm T64 drilling rig from Taylor Well Drilling in Ozark, Arkansas (no relation). The rig was shipped to NZ on its left-hand drive truck and modified to suit local conditions. This rig is still in operation although it has had several upgrades including the truck and compressor.
A cable tool drilling rig was required for certain jobs so the Hydromaster 1500 rig was purchased.
A T685 Schramm drilling rig was bought from Australia to enable the drilling of larger diameter and deeper wells. The rig was mounted on a truck once it arrived in NZ.
The property on West Melton Rd was purchased and the workshop and yard, where the business is still based today, was established.
Another trip to the USA was taken to buy a larger cable tool rig – the Bucyrus Erie 28L was found in Salt Lake City.
A deck kit for a T660 Schramm rig was purchased. This was remanufactured in the yard and mounted on a truck together with a new Atlas Copco 350/900 compressor and an Atlas 6000 casing hammer.
East Coast Drilling Ltd was incorporated in 2004. This is a picture of the fleet taken at that time.
Graham and Karen’s son, Aaron started working for the business. Aaron is a qualified fitter and turner and is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. Aaron is pictured with the D&B 8-W rig.
The fleet was expanded with the addition of a Foremost DR-24 imported from Canada. The DR-24 is a dual rotary drilling rig with the capability to install 6-24 inch casing and is world-renowned for it’s versatility in drilling various formations with ease.
