The drilling platform went into position more than two months ago, 70 miles off the coast of Britain in the bleak, inhospitable waters of the North Sea. Crammed into submarine-tight quarters at night, buffeted by wind and wave, 36 men worked in staggered shifts, 20 hours a day, seven days a week, to keep the drill boring slowly into the sea floor beneath. Last week the punishing grind paid off: the rig's owner, Continental Oil Co. of England (a subsidiary of the U.S.'s Conoco), struck a promising, 64-ft.-thick pocket of natural gas that is yielding 3,600,000 cu. ft. per...
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