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By E. C. Reed

Drilling operations in Nebraska during 1942 were reduced to approximately 50 per cent of the previous year's record. Forty- No new fields were discovered, but the Barada field was extended and developed. Deeper drilling in the Dawson field was disappointing in view of the high expectstions held for the Viola, but some small Viola production did result, the first from

Jan 1, 1943

By John M. Kelly

New Mexico produced 31,913,816 bbl. of oil in 1942, the lowest annual production since 1936, and dropped one place to rank eighth among oil-producing states. This production decreased 7,838,052 bbl., or 19.71 per cent, from the 1941 figure is the result of transportation difficulties caused by the dislocation of tanker sailings to east coast ports. The average per-well allowable in New Mexico on Jan. I, 1942, was 43 bbl. and at the end of the year was 38 bbl. Allocations as set by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission followed the recommendations of the Petroleum Administrator for War. After setting the daily outlet, however, the average daily pipe-line runs were 87,545 bbl.—11.06 per cent short of these allocations. Production for Lea County was 26,812,949 bbl., Eddy County 4,624,578 bbl., northwestern New Mexico 473,609 bbl., Chaves County 2,680 barrels. Drilling activity for New Mexico in 1942 was approximately 84 per cent of that in 1941 with 339 completions. Of these completions 254 were oil wells, II gas wells, and 74 dry holes. Proven fields accounted for 55 of the dry holes and 19 were wildcats. Three new oil fields and one new gas field were discovered as the result of wildcat drilling. Extensions were made to one oil field and one gas field. By the close of the year, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission had designated 59 areas as proven for oil and/or gas. Southeastern New Mexico Lea County Monument was again the largest producing field in the state, with 5,729,336 bbl.; Eunice was next, with 5,217,965; Vacuum produced 3,295,624 and Hobbs 2,973,488. The Hobbs field has the largest accumulated production, which at the close of 1942 totaled 100,381,417 bbl. The 100-million-barrel mark for Hobbs focused attention on the fact that this is the first field in the state to attain this figure, and also that, as Hobbs has been under continuous proration since July 1930, or approximately the entire life of the field, this 100-million-barrel recovery was obtained with 86 per cent of the wells in the pool still flowing and having a drop in bottom-hole pressure of only 3.5 Ib. per million barrels recovered. Hobbs stands out as perhaps the best regulated major oil field in the world. Two new oil fields were discovered in Lca County, the most inlportant being the area designated as East Lusk, consisting of the south 4 tiers of Sections in T. 19 S., R. 32 E. The discovery well was drilled in the SW. SW. 1/4 of sec. 21, T. 19 S., R. 32 E., by Culbertson and Irwin, Inc., and others. It was completed at a total depth of 2751 ft. in the Seven Rivers formation of Permian age. The initial potential of the well was 237 bbl. per day on pump. The oil produced has a gravity of 24.10 A.P.I., with sulphur content of 0.9 per cent. This oil has an asphaltic base and because

Jan 1, 1943

By C. A. Hartnagel

The production of petroleum in New York state in 1942 amounted to 5,410,000 bbl. This represents an increase over each of the four preceding years, and, with the exception of 1937, is the largest production since the peak of over six million barrels in 1882, shortly after the discovery of oil in Allegany County. The oil industry in New York is virtually stabilized and there has been little or no exploration for new sources of supply in recent years. The boundaries of the present fields were established more than 30 years ago and since then no additional reserves have been found. Deep drilling for natural gas during the past 10 years both within and without the oil fields has failed to find oil in quantity below the present producing sands of Devonian age. Oil Since 1882, the New York fields have produced approximately 140 million barrels of oil. Of this amount, 65 million was produced up to the year 1919 by ordinary pumping methods; that is, without flooding by water or the use of other secondary-recovery methods. In the year 1919, when a law was passed making the use of water-flooding methods legal, the oil production, of the state amounted to only 851,000 bbl. In the 23 years since 1919, there have been produced in the state 75 million barrels, or 10 million more than in the previous 37 years, which included the period of flush production. Price.—On March 26, the price of crude oil was raised from $2.75 to $3.00 per barrel, hut this increase had little or no effect on the number of wells drilled. In the Allegany field, which accounts for three fourths of the state's oil production, 1259 wells were completed in 1942, 7 less than in 1941. The smaller number of wells drilled was not only due to the shortage of labor but also was caused by the fact that in water-flooding territory a definite program for drilling wells is followed, and the flush period of an oil well is not usually reached in time to profit by any given price increase. Daily Production.—All of the oil wells in New York state, some 21,000 in number, are small producers. The average daily oil production is 7/10 bbl. per well. Under good flooding conditions, a maximum production of 5 to 8 bbl, a day is reached about one year after the flood begins to act on the well. In 5 years the daily production usually is less than one barrel. Although most of the oil in New York is produced by flooding, an estimated 2500 old wells produce without flooding. Some of these produce as little as 1/20 bbl. a day and are pumped only at intervals. The small producing Wells are mostly on lands leased to the larger oil companies and later will be included in a flooding program. At present, they are pumped only because the owners of the land insist on the royalty. Government Aid Needed.—Because of its good lubricating qualities, New York oil is one of those for which there is an insistent and growing demand, but even at its present price of $3.00 per barrel, many of the operators are producing at a loss.

Jan 1, 1943

By Kenneth Cotingham

Many factors joined in reducing drilling activity in Ohio in 1942. Conservation Order M-68 was important, but other things, such as operators and members of drilling crews joining the armed services and going into war plants, had an important part. The reduction in number of completions was considerable. In 1941, the total of wells drilled was 1561 but in 1942 the total was 1008. The total initial daily open flow discovered by the 701 gas wells drilled in 1941 was 492,000 M cu. ft., whereas the open flow of the 471 gas wells completed in 1942 was 314,488 M cu. ft. The total initial daily production of the 333 oil wells drilled in 1941 was 10,300 bbl., and in 1942 the 181 oil wells had a total daily initial of 7570 bbl. The average daily initial per gas well therefore was somewhat less in 1942 when compared with the preceding year, but the initial per ail well increased about 36 per cent over 1941. General Activity The total depth of the 652 oil and gas wells drilled in 1942 was 1,597,000 ft. The most active county was Perry, where 63 oil wells were drilled, most of them in Clayton township. In Morgan County. where 43 gas wells were drilled, the greatest activity was in York and Marion townships. Medina County was third in number of wells drilled, although of the total of 33 gas wells in the county, 26 were in the new Hinckley township pool. The total initial open flow of these 26 wells was 39,202 M CU. ft., and was considerably larger than from any other single area. Muskingum was an active county, particularly Washington and Wayne townships, in each of which seven gas wells were drilled, and Blue Rock and Harrison townships, in each of which five gas wells were drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By Raymond D. Sloan

Retaining third place in crude-oil production among the nation's oil-producing states, Oklahoma's output in 1942 totaled 137,792,000 bbl., a decline of 9.4 per cent from the previous year's total of 152,117,000 bbl. Production declined from an average of 403,000 bbl. daily in January 1942 to an average of 355,000 bbl. during December, a reduction of 48,000 bbl. daily (11.9 per cent) during the year. At the end of 1942 it would appear inevitable that the downward trend in production will continue in 1953 unless halted in the immediate future by greater than normal discoveries and development. To Jan. I, 1943, Oklahoma has produced 5,067,013,000 bbl. oil crude oil. Development and Exploration Development dropped abruptly in 1942, reflecting the lack of any sizable discoveries and the effect of the provisions of Federal Well Spacing Order M-68, which became effective in December 1941. In all, 1210 wells were drilled in 1942. This represents a decrease of 42.7 per cent from the 1941 total of 2110. Of the total wells completed, 553 (45.7 per cent) were oil wells with an average initial production of 443 bbl.; 102 (8.4 per cent) were gas wells with an average initial of 3,359,000 cu. ft.; and 555 (45.9 per cent) were dry. Although the number of completions declined sharply, the total of 320 wildcats completed (26.4 per cent of all wells) repre-sents a decrease of only 2.7 per cent from the previous year's figure of 329. Of the wildcats drilled, 44 (13.8 per cent) were oil wells, 13 (4.0 per cent) were gas wells, and 263 (82.2 per cent) were recorded as failures. Reconditioning of wells throughout the state resulted in a total recompletion of 355 wells. Of these, 234 were oil wells with a combined initial production of 96,808 bbl., 32 were gas wells with a total initial of 381,488,000 cu. ft., and 89 were abandoned. None of the 26 pools found in 1942 has developed into a major discovery. The Pauls Valley pool, Garvin County, is the most outstanding. Since its discovery in April, 14 wells with an average initial of 1898 bbl. have produced 803,000 bbl. of 42' gravity oil from the Bromide zone. Development in this pool is believed to be almost completed. Other of the more important discoveries are the East Watchorn pool, Pawnee County; Guthrie Townsite and West Navina, Logan County; Brooksville and Macomb, Pottawatomie County, and the Liberty and Northeast Lucien discoveries in Noble county. The East Watchorn pool, at the close of the year, had 14 completed oil wells with an average initial of 989 bbl. from the Wilcox sand at 3930 it.; Guthrie Townsite, one well with an initial of 840 bbl. from dolomite at 5600 It.; West Navina, six wells with an average initial of 284 bbl. in the Lay ton sand at 5050 ft., Brooksville, eight wells in the Hunton at 4800 ft. with an average initial 01 355 bbl.; Macomb, one well with an initial of 160 bbl. in the IIunton at 4700 ft.; the Liberty pool, one well with an initial of 1268 bbl. in the second Wilcox at 4500 ft., and two wells in the Tonkawa sand at 2500 ft., with an average initial of 230 bbl. In the Northeast Lucien pool, four wells were completed in the Wilcox at 5380 ft. for an average initial of 1164 bbl., and one well was completed in the Viola lime at 5255 ft. for an initial of 55 barrels.

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur C. Simmons

The area that produces Pennsylvania grade, which includes New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and a part of Ohio, increased its production in 1942 about 1,580,000 bbl. over that attained in 1941. Such an increase is substantial for this area, and measured in terms of increased output of lubricants, for which the crude is particularly suitable, it represents a needed arid worth-while addition to the lubricant resources of the United States. The year 1942 was a difficult operating period for most of the petroleum-producing areas in the United States, but the Appalachian region, owing principally to its location, type of operations, and crude value, suffered less from war influences than other areas. The state of Pennsylvania produced 17,823,870 bbl. of crude oil, which is approximately 63 per cent of the total production of Pennsylvania grade in the entire area. Production Bradford Field The Bradford field, which produces almost wholly by water-flooding methods, increased its production nearly 4000 bbl. per day over 1941 despite a very slight reduction in total number of wells completed. Well completions in the Bradford field (in both New York and Pennsylvania) includc both producing oil wells and water-intake wells. About half of the well completions are producing oil wells and the remaining half are water-intake or injection wells. About 10 per cent of the total well completions of the Bradford field were in Cattaraugus County, New York. No segregation of well completions is available, so that precise statistics cannot be given for New York and Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 1943

By John T. Galey

The restrictions placed on drilling by the Federal Government, which caused a severe curtailment in activity at the beginning of the year, were relaxed somewhat so as to permit the drilling of one shallow† gas well per 40 acres. New wells numbering 574† were drilled for a combined depth of nearly 1,500,000 It., and of this number 131 were dry holes with a footage of slightly over 375,000. Inside locations account for the majority of these totals and the increasing demand for natural gas would normally have increased the number considerably, but many of the independent operators chose to ask for fewer exceptions to Order M-68 of the Office of Production Management, and consequently to curtail the number of wells drilled. Initial open flow of natural gas developed from all operations§ is over 230 million cu. ft. Nearly 191 million cu. ft. of this volume resulted from the 410 new gas wells drilled to horizons above the Lower Devonian, and the footage drilled in these wells accounts for approximately 93 per cent of the total. Shallow Development Oil.—Thirty oil, wells, with a total initial production of slightly over 152 bbl. and a footage of 50.000, were drilled during the § Including deepening wells previously drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By C. E. Shoenfelt

Wildcat drilling in the Rocky Mountain region did not suffer as large a decline in 1942 as was anticipated. The drilling program laid out by the Government at the beginning of the year stressed wild-catting operations and called for reduction of drilling in proved fields. The increased wildcatting campaign did not yield a great many new discoveries, nor important extensions to old fields. Several interesting wildcat wells were drilled in Colorado in 1942 but no new fields were discovered. The Wilson Creek field was extended and about 400 acres added to its reserves. In Montana two new oil fields and two small gas fields were discovered. The developments in the marketing situation had improved, however, making the prospects especially bright for 1943, as will be shown presently in the section on Montana in this report. In New Mexico eight wells were completed, which constituted discoveries ol either oil or gas but none of these was of major proportions. In Wyoming one new oil field and one new gas field were discovered, and one old oil field and one old gas field were extended. Most important was the disco-very of prolific oil producers in deeper sands in three old oil fields, of which one at least, Elk Basin, probably is of major proportions. Government Action On Dec. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the O'Mahoney bill, calling for a flat 12.5 per cent royalty on lands in the public domain. It is expected that the enactment of this bill will encourage wildcatting in the public land states. Opportunity for a full discussion of the problems of reserves and production was afforded at the hearings conducted on the O'Mahoney bill by the minerals subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands and the statements submitted at these hearings last fall placed the situation, its causes and the logical remedy, clearly on record. It was established at the hearings that for several years the volume of oil discovered per wildcat well drilled has steadily declined; new fields discovered have not been of major proportions; drilling costs have advanced rapidly; a sharp decline in exploratory drilling took place in 1942, while the proportion of dry holes increased; the inescapable conclusion is that to find new reserves the search for oil must be intensified and much more wildcat drilling ' must be done. To ensure an adequate drilling campaign, the Petroleum Industry War Council, the Interstate Compact Commission and other representative oil organizations have voiced by resolution their opinion that an upward revision of crude prices is necessary to provide an incentive to the prospector to undertake the hazards of wildcat drilling, since statistics prove that only ope in five or six wells drilled results in actual production. Former Price Administrator Henderson rejected the recommendations for price increases and declared himself unalterably opposed to a general price advance, On the ground that such advances would contribute to inflation. Now that Mr. Hender-

Jan 1, 1943

By Kendall E. Born

Production of crude oil in Tennessee during 1942 was approximately 8600 bbl., a decrease of 6500 bbl. from the production of 1941, and the lowest since 1934. As usual, the greater part of the production was from the Mississippian limestone pools in Scott and Morgan Counties. Some half dozen wells in Fentress and Clay Counties pumped intermittently produced about 1000 barrels. Natural gas was marketed from wells in Morgan and Fentress Counties for consumption in the Sunbright and Jamestown areas respectively. Figures are not available for the Morgan County production but 7,378,000 cu. ft. of natural gas was produced in the Jamestown gas field from six wells. The production of oil by counties is shown in Table I. Developments Drilling activities reached the lowest ebb since 1933. Only 10 wells were spudded during the year, one of which was drilling on Dec. 31, 1942. Of the nine completions, two were gas wells in the proven area south of Jamestown in Fentress County and seven were dry holes. The total footage drilled during the year was 14,198 ft.; the average depth of wells was 1578 ft. The completions are listed in Table 2. The distribution of tests according to physiographic divisions is given in Table 3. East Tennessee.—One well was drilled to 4219 ft., the second deepest well in the state, in Campbell County. The test was in the highly disturbed Valley and Ridge Province, an area long considered the most unfavorable in the state for the accumulation of oil and gas. Cumberland Plateau.-—There were no completions in the Cumberland Plateau area, although an old well drilled deeper found oil from 935 to 965 ft. in the Mississippi lime. This test has created a considerable amount of interest in the area and an active leasing campaign was underway early in 1943. Eastern Highland Rim.—Five completions on the Eastern Highland Rim brought in two small gas wells in Fentress County, which will be used to augment the supply for Jamestown. The producing horizons are shaly limestones of Ordovician (Trenton) age. Two wells in this area were drilled to the upper part of the Knox dolomite group. The most significant test during the year was the Stanolind Oil and Gas Company's test in Putnam County. This well, on a well-defined surface structure, was abandoned in the upper Knox dolomite group at 2130 ft. A show of oil was logged in the Knox at 1653 to 1661 ft. Northern Highland Rim.—Three tests widely separated in the Northern Highland Rim were dry.

Jan 1, 1943

By K. M. Fagin, D. W. Carter

Six new oil fields were discovered in the East and East Central Texas district during 1942. The Coke and Quitman fields, in Wood County, at this time appear to be the two most important oil discoveries for the year. The. four other oil fields discovered were Concord, in Anderson County; Kildare, in Cass County; Weiland (ClubLake), in Hunt County; and Larissa, in Cherokee County. The Rodessa lime in the Chapel Hill field, Smith County, provided the only new oil zone in older fields. The Hawkins field, Wood County, was the most active in drilling operations, 125 new wells being completed during the year. The Chapel Hill field tied the Coke field for second place with 30 completions each. The third most active field was Kildare, with 10 completions. Like the other oil-producing districts of the country, wartime restrictions reduced the number of oil and gas-well completions to 265 in 1942, compared with 964 completions in 1941. This represents a drop of 72 per cent and only a little more than one half enough to replace the 437 producing wells abandoned in the district during the year. Tn addition, the number of producing wells temporarily shut down nearly tripled, far two principal reasons: (I) the rule of the Petroleum Administration for War preventing operators from equipping more than, one well on each 10 surface acres with pumping or artificial-lift equipment, and (2) the Railroad Commission's issuance of various orders permitting the transfer of allowable for wells having high water-oil ratios and high gas-oil ratios to other wells capable of producing the same with less waste of reservoir energy. No changes were made in prices of crude oil in the district during 1942. Production and Probation The district produced 158,928,281 bbl. of oil and distillate during 1942, compared with 163,566,695 bbl. during 1941, which represents a decrease of 3 per cent. The East Texas field produced 120,680,595 bbl. of oil, compared with 130,377,793 during 1941; a reduction of 9,697,198 bbl., or 7.4 per cent. The production of this field represents 75.9 per cent of the district total, compared with the 79.7 per cent that it furnished in 1941. The district had an estimated basic daily oil allowable of 623,242 bbl. on Dec. 31, 1942. Approximately 31.8 per cent of the production in Texas during 1942 was supplied by this district, compared with 33 per cent during 1941- Changes in the annual production of newer and flush fields in this district are attributable either to a difference in the number of wells producing during the year or to changes in basic allowable and number of shutdown days due to shifting market dconditions brought on by the war. All regularly prorated fields in the district were shut down 123 days. Major exceptions were the East Texas field, closed128 days; Hawkiis, shut down 106 days; and Cayuga, Sulphur Bluff, Talco, and Rodessa, which

Jan 1, 1943

By W. H. Hough, P. B. Leavenworth

Development during 1942 led to the discovery of 26 new fields in the Texas Gulf Coast, as compared with 27 during 1941. Of these, 19 are classed as oil fields, 4 distillate fields, and 3 gas fields. Production from the new fields amounted to 614,467 bbl. to October 1942. Producing Sections.—Discoveries in I942, compared with the previous two years, classified by producing formations, are shown in the following table: It is interesting to note the increase in Wilcox discoveries due to the extensive geophysical campaign that has been con. ducted since 1940. Drilling.—During the year 688 wells were drilled, of which 574 produced oil or gas and 114 were dry. This represents a considerable decline in activity over the previous year, when 1405 wells were drilled in the area, of which 1081 were producers and 324 failures. Jackson County continued to hold the lead, with 222 wells completed. Production.—-Despite curtailed drilling, production amounted to 118,009,451 bbl. for 1942, indicating a slight increase over the 113,726,893 bbl. produced during 1941. The statistics in Tables I and 2 include condensate and distillate as oil production, because many Gulf Coast fields produce oils with a wide variation of specific gravities, all of which are commingled in pipe lines. Table 3 shows by counties most of the activities referred to. The number of wells drilled includes only field wells; not wildcats. Outstanding Fields of 1942 The Texas Gulf Coast covered in this report has 270 more or less active oil and gas fields, including the new discoveries of 1942. Of these the most outstanding from the standpoint of production are listed in Table 4. Each of these fields produced one million barrels or more during 1942. Some of the fields where new extensions are occasionally referred to as separate fields, such as West Columbia and New West Columbia, or Thompson and South Thompson, are combined to give a more accurate outline. Two interesting facts may be noted from this list of some 26 oil fields: (I) that the Lolita field, Jackson County, is the only discovery since 1938 to produce more than one million barrels annually, although there have been 79 discoveries since Jan. I, 1940; (2) that 20 of these 26 fields produce from the Frio. New Fields ALief, Harris County.—Pure Oil Company's No. I Mike Albanese was drilled to 8637 ft. in Cook Mountain shale. After numerous tests the well was completed on Apr. 20, 1942, in a Yegua sand at 7919 to 7924 ft. for 54 bbl. of 52' gravity oil and 3,335,000 cu. ft. of gas through

Jan 1, 1943

By R. B. Gilmore, Lewis W. MacNauhgton

The North Texas district, as' herein defined, includes the counties of Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Foard, Hardeman, Knox, Montague, Wichita, and Wilbarger. This area covers generally the crest and south flank of a system of buried mountains known as the Red River uplift. The oil and gas accumulations along this feature are in traps, which, although localized by structures incident to the regional uplift, usually are modified by stratigraphic changes in the sediments. Excepting those in southeastern Baylor, southern Archer, and southwestern Clay counties, all the fields within the district are on this Red River uplift. These exceptions, which have the same type of oil and gas accumulation as the other fields, are on the extreme north end of the Bend arch, which is a broad anticline plunging northward from the Llano uplift in central Texas to Archer County. The larger part of past oil and gas production has come from Pennsyl-vanian strata, with less important amounts from the Permian, and minor but increasingly important quantities from the Ordovician. Developments during 1942 Approximately 500 wells were drilled in the district during 1942, in contrast with some 1600 wells drilled during 1941, and only some goo oil wells were completed, a decrease from 1941 of more than 10 per cent in the number of successful drilling operations of the total wells drilled. Production increased slightly over the previous year in spite of a decrease in the number of producing wells. The average depth of discovery wells was some 600 ft. deeper than in 1941. Although more discoveries produced from horizons above the base of the Strawn series than those below the Strawn, the deeper horizons, including the Bend series of the Pennsylvanian, the Mississippian limestone, and the Simpson and Ellenburger of the Ordovician, furnished most of the addition to oil reserves. The largest single addition to the reserves was again in the Ellenburger formation in the K. M. A. field. During the year 47 wells were completed, bringing the total developed acreage in this horizon to some 5450 acres. The most active area was Montague County, in which eight fields, or potential fields, were discovered although only 39 oil wells were completed. K. M. A: Pressure Maintenance Satisfactory progress was made by the K. M. A. Pressure Maintenance Association in 1942, At the end of the year, 100 wells were being used for input and total monthly volume of gas returned to the reservoir reached a high of 430,971 M cu. ft. in December, with an input ratio of 587 cu. ft. of gas returned for each barrel of oil produced during the month. This represents a utilization of 50 per cent of the gas available for return during that month. Comparison of the present average bottom-hole pressure by means of a decline

Jan 1, 1943

In the Texas Panhandle 277 oil wells and 60 gas wells were completed during 1942, as compared with 647 oil and 52 gas wells completed in 1941. Fourteen dry holes were drilled in the Texas Panhandle in 1942, of which five were wildcats, resulting in four failures and one gas-field discovery in Sherman County; the latter being Hazy-Herrington-Marsh No. I Bivins completed for 5,600,000 cu. it. ol gas from 2989 to 3226 feet. During the year 1942 the Texas Panhandle produced, by counties, the following quantities of oil:

Jan 1, 1943

By James J. Halbouty

The restraining effects of war conditions on oil-field development are well illustrated by statistics on South Texas † fields for the year 1942. Statistics also show a decline in wildcatting, but this decrease is much smaller than that shown by field activity. In comparison with results in 1941, there was a reduction of about 44 per cent in the total number of wells drilled in the area (802 in 1942 against 1452 in 1941) This 44 per cent drop represents declines of 50.4 per cent in field wells and of 17.4 per cent in rank wildcats. Field wells (exclusive of 18 wildcats that discovered fields) totaled 598; also, 204 rank wildcats were drilled (see Tables 3 and 4). The corresponding figures for 1941 are 1205 field and extension wells and 247 rank wildcats. In this connection, it should be noted that whereas in 1941 the rank wildcats made up only 17 per cent of all wells drilled in the area, their percentage of the 1942 total was 25.4 per cent. In spite of the decrease of 43 in the number of rank wildcatst drilled, there were 18 new productive areas discavered, one more than the 17 new fields found in 1941. Thus the field-discovery rate for 1942, one new field for every 11.3 wildcats drilled, compares favorably with the I to 14.5 rate of 1941. Thirteen new producing levels were opened in fields; this includes the finding of 44' gravity crude on the west flank of the Sejita field in a 5700-ft. sand, which produccs distillate higher on the structure. Interesting, and showing the general scarcity of sand discoveries, is the fact that of the 13 new sands discovered, 7 were found in Jim Wells County. The year's sand-discovery rate of one new level for every 46 field wells compares very unfavorably with the I to 19.7 rate of 1941, during which 61 new producing horizons were found. Developmeilt of new fields was on a small scale. In several instances activity in these areas was not carried beyond the drilling of the discovery well. The field discoveries of 1942, together with the type of production obtained from the discovery wells and the total number of wells (productive and dry) drilled in them, are given below: Discovery Num- Field.I County Well her Produced Wells I. Cadena....... Duval Oil 2 a. Garza......... Duval Oil I 3. Dinn......... Duval Gas I 4. Keller......... Duval Gas I 5. East.......... Tim 0 11 I 6. Green Branch . McMullen Gas 3 7. Frost. .GreenBranch........ Starr Oil I 8. Garcia........ Starr Oil 6 9. Ulrich........ Starr Oil 4 10. Lykes......... Webb Oil 2 11. McLean....... Webb Oil 9 Iz. Alamo........ Hidalgo Distillate 2 and gas 13. Penitas....... Hidalgo Distillate 2 and gas 14. Xmpnan..... Jim wells i a 15. South Premont Jim Wells Distillate i and gas 16. Quinto Creek.. Jim Wells Gas 4 17. Roth.. . :..... Jim Wells Gas I I 18. South Sinton.. San Distillate I Patricio and gas . • See Table 2 for data on discovery wells and Table I for information on these fields. • See Table 4.

Jan 1, 1943

By William H. Spice

The year 1942 in the South Central Texas area was marked by a sharp curtailment of exploratory drilling as compared with the past several years. In the 33 counties that compose this district, 17 of which are nonproducing counties, only 51 exploratory wells were drilled during the year 1942. This compares with 118 exploratory wells drilled during 1941, or a decrease of more than 50 per cent. At the end of the year 10 active exploratory wells were drilling in this area, as against 19 being drilled at the end of 1941. Of the exploratory wells drilled, two brought in oil wells and were new field discoveries and one was a gas well extending a recently discovered shallow gas area in the western part of the district. This compares with five new oil fields, one new . gas field and two extension wells drilled in 1941. Both new field discoveries were small and in areas outside of the general trend of the main producing horizon of the district in Edwards limestone: One new field, the Imogene, in Atascosa County, is a deep Edwards limestone prospect at 7500 ft., and the other new field, the Poth, in Wilson County, is a sSEa110w Wilcox (Eocene) prospect at 4000 ft. Subsequent drilling in each field to the end of I942 has proved disappointing. There were no new discoveries along the old Balcones fault-line trend, although 35 of the exploratory wells were drilled in counties along this trend. Approximately 38 wells were drilled in or adjacent to the proven fields of the district, of which 18 were oil wells, 2 were gas wells and 17 were dry holes. The district produced 6,186,178 bbl. of oil during 1942, which was a 7 per cent decrease under production for 1941. Approximately 4,961,000 bbl. of this total production, a slight increase over 1941, was produced by the four Edwards-limestone fields, Luling, Branyon, Salt Flat and Darst Creek, and the rest of the production came from the other 42 active fields in the district. During the year, 20 new producing wells were completed and 221 wells were abandoned in the producing fields. This alarming excess rate of abandonment~ over completions will be further reflected undoubtedly by a further decreased rate of 1943 production under 1942. Two active fields in the district in which more than one producing well was completed during the year were Bee Creek and Washburn. The majority of exploratory work in the district was confined to areas along the Wilcox trend, with a certain amount in progress along the deeper Edwards limestone trend. The successful completion of sevemi wells in the Washburn field from multiple sands in the Lower Wilcor (Eocene) has stimulated exploratory work along this trend, while the completion of a small well in the Imogene field from the Edwards limestone at 7500 ft. has renewed interest in this horizon at depths greater than generally are producing in the district. New Fields ounty. ble Oil and Refining Company's No. I

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert S. Dewey

Drilling in West Texas during 1942 was substantially less than in the previous year. In all. 1267 Wells were drilled, as compared with 2325 wells in 1941. Of these 1267 wells, 1052 oil wells, 10 gas wells and 69 dry holes were drilled in proven fields and 36 oil wells, one gas well and 99 dry holes were wildcat operations. Of the 36 wildcat wells completed as oil producers, 16 led to new field discoveries, three found new productive horizons in old fields, and 17 extended the productive limits of established fields. Where semiwildcat drilling took place along established productive trends, there was often no sharp demarcation between wildcat wells that extend field limits and normal development to fulfil lease obligations, other than the arbitrary classification of a well as a wildcat if it was drilled at a distance of 2 miles from a producing oil well. The dry hole drilled on the edge of a field may have proved a more hazardous operation than a semiwildcat drilled several miles from production but favorably located on structure. The percentage of successful wildcatting ranges from 26.5 down to 14 per cent, dependent upon the degree of inclusion of the semiwildcat operations. Irrespective of which figure was used, the West Texas area maintained its better than average exploratory position. No doubt a number of factors may have influenced the extent of the 1942 development. Among those arising from the economic dislocation attendant on the war effort, the following are worthy of note. Owing to inductions into the armed forces and shipyard competition for mechanically trained men, experienced drilling personnel was sharply reduced, thereby increasing drilling costs and well-completion hazards. Replacement labor has not met the same standard of responsibility or workmanship to which the oil industry has grown accustomed. Increased military consumption of aviation gasoline and other crude products, coupled with decreased domestic consumption of lower-octane gasoline, has stimulated the market demand for the types of sweet crude most readily processed with available refinery equipment to meet war requirements, and has depressed the market demand for the sour West Texas crudes. As a majority of the purchasers of West Texas crude normally ship a substantial portion of sour crude to the refineries on the Atlantic seaboard, the loss and diversion of tanker service between Gulf Coast and north Atlantic ports have further curtailed the market demand for this type of crude oil. As some purchasers of crude oil were able to move by pipe line their West Texas trunk-line capacity to Midwestern refining centers, they were not impelled to curtail purchases of West Texas crude. The varying ability of the purchasers of crude oil to market West Texas crude was reflected back to various fields to which they were connected, causing an unequal distribution of production as among fields and operators. The pipe-line runs from the West Texas-New Mexico area decreased from approximately 354,000 bbl. Per day in January to about 265,000 bbl. in December 1942. .Approximately 2,991,000 bbl. of West

Jan 1, 1943

By M. G. Cheney

Careful estimates indicate that during 1942 new discoveries and extensions in West Central Texas added oil reserves slightly in excess of the eight million barrels produced. Drilling activity fell 40 per cent below 1941 and 82 per cent below the normal drilling activity of the late 1920's. Total production for the district continued its downward trend, now being less than % of the 42.7 million barrels peak in 1921. Rapid revival of activity is not probable under existing conditions, as costs of discovery, development and operations on the average probably now exceed current market price for the oil, the latter having remained constant since the spring of I941. Costs have advanced materially since the third quarter of 1941, when reports to the Tariff Commission indicated a margin of profit of 13.3 per barrel. Physical as well as economic conditions are holding back the amount of drilling in this district. The lenticular sands are not suited to 40-acre spacing regulations. There is no surplus of experienced oil-field labor. To reduce costs, much second-hand material is used for all except the deeper wells.. Price controls have retarded movement of used equipment by prescribing maximum prices that arc too low for the better grade materizl, thus making , owners reluctant to sell. On the other hand, buyers are unwilling to pay ceiling prices asked by sellers for poor material. Seventeen new oil fields and five new gas fields were found during 1942. Extensions and deeper 'drilling brought favorable results in eight older fields. The most significant new developments appear to have been in Coleman, Jones, Shackelford and Taylor Counties. A 5800-ft. completion in Wise County brought this county into the producing column for the first time. None of these new discoveries can he rated above one million barrel reserve on the basis of present development. Probably the most important development was discovery of a deeper pay (Gunsight lime) in the Wimberly field of Jones County, which shows promise of producing over an area of about 1000 acres. Jones and Shackelford Counties still lead the district in total annual production. Discovery of the Reddin pool, north central Taylor County, is credited to geochemical methods, making one success out of five or more wildcats based on such methods. Geophysical surveying increased decidedly during 1942 and returns from these studies are expected during coming years. Most of the wildcatting in the district is still based on surface and subsurface geological structural mapping, study of log data as to distribution of prospective producing reservoirs, and drilling in proximity to previous showings of oil and gas. Geological debate continues as to the proper correlation of the 100 to 300 ft. of gray lime that has produced more than 100 million barrels in the Parks, Brecken-ridge, Curry, Eliasville, Ibex, Pioneer and other important fields of this district. Fossils indicate that this limestone is younger than the Atoka beds of Oklahoma. On a structural basis most geologists include this formation with the Bend but a number of paleontologists believe it is more properly classified with the Strawn.

Jan 1, 1943

By M. R. J. Wyllie

Eight laboratory-prepared aqueous base drilling muds representing common mud types, and 15 aqueous base drilling muds sampled in the field, have been used in an experimental investigation of the relationship between the streaming potential developed across a mud filter cake and the differential pressure causing filtrate flow. It has been established that the relationship is of the form, ES = kPy, where Es is the streaming potential, P the differential pressure and k and y are constants for any particular mud system at constant temperature. Beyond a certain minimum thickness this relationship is independent of filter cake thickness. Experiment has shown that both k and y are temperature dependent parameters and that in certain mud systems there is a critical value of P above which the simple relationship Es = kPY ceases to hold. The constant k tends to be a function of the mud resistivity at 77ºF, but the exponent y has not been found to be related to any commonly measured mud property. Certain field experiments are described which serve to demonstrate that the total SP (self potential) developed opposite a formation may be quantitatively accounted for as the algebraic sum of an electrochemical potential and an electrokinetic potential. A chart to permit the simple use of mean solution activities in the interpretation of electrochemical SP data is given and its use described. Various field methods for computing the electrokinetic SP component of the total SP are considered and rejected as being unduly complicated and inaccurate. It is shown that the employment of low resistivity drilling muds is essential if optimum accuracy is desired in the use of the S.P. curve for the purpose of computing connate water salinities by the electrochemical SP method. The use of such low resistivity drilling muds is accordingly recommended. INTRODUCTION In a previous paper' a quantitative analysis of the electrochemical compovent of the SP (self potential) curve was made and it was shown that the electrochemical* emf, E, could be expressed as E = ZtRT/F In a,/a,, where t is the transference number of the chloride ion, R is the gas constant, T the absolute temperature of the formation water and mud, a, the mean activity of the connate water (assumed to be sodium chloride) and a, the mean activity of the mud (as sodium chloride). The essential accuracy of this expression was confirmed by an investigation 2 of the SP kicks opposite sands of known water salinity. The logs examined had been routine runs in oil wells in a number of Mid-Continent states. Further confirmation of the original analysis of the electrochemical SP is implicit in the paper by Tixier3 wherein a relationship between the SP and the ratio of connate water and mud resistivities, based only on field data, is given. Allowing for the fact that mud and connate water resistivities were used instead of activities, and that electrokinetic effects were ignored, the constant reported by Tixier is essentially 2tRT/F. The error involved in the universal substitution of resistivities for activities will receive further reference below. Possible reasons for the fact that the electrochemical properties of shales do not appear to be significantly dependent upon either the nature or the quantity of cation exchange materials, such as clays, they contain has been considered at some length by Wyllie and Patnode.4 In the same paper, the probable effects of shale thickness and compaction on electrochemical efficiency, and hence the inherent difficulty of obtaining reliable laboratory-scale data, were also pointed out. However, it is

Jan 1, 1951

By John S. Bell, J. M. Shepherd

pressure difference of 280 psi measured initially on opposite sides of the major fault in the Hawkins Field led to pressure determinations in the Woodbine sand throughout the East Texas basin. Considering the large area, there is unusually good correlation between pressure losses and points of major withdrawals, these losses indicating that the basin pressure has been materially reduced by withdrawals, primarily from the East Texas Field and secondarily from the old fault-line fields of Limestone and Navarro counties, with the pressure loss varying inversely with the log of the distance from these two main areas of basin withdrawals to the measurement points. Apparently faults located throughout the basin serve as local blocks to continuous pressure gradients. INTRODUCTION The pressure anomalies found in the Hawkins Field, Wood County, Texas,' shortly after discovery have led to an area-wide investigation of the pressure distribution within the Woodbine sand of the East Texas basin. These pressures were obtained by drill-stem tests made for that sole purpose while drilling wildcat wells to deeper horizons. The Woodbine sand of Gulf Cretaceous Age is or has been productive of oil and gas in 42 different fields, with the 28 oil fields currently active having produced 118,000,000 bbl of oil during 1949. With one exception, producing energy for all Woodbine reservoirs has been from water drive provided predominantly by expansion of the tremendous volume of water contained in the Woodbine sand. This producing mechanism was recognized at an early date and was described mathematically by

Jan 1, 1951

By W. R. Davis

This paper presents a sunimary of the results of a study of the Dornick Hills-Springer sand reservoir of the Velma Pool. Stephens County, Oklahoma. The data are of interest because this type of reservoir is unusual in the mid-continent area. The reservoir is characterized by very steep dips and a relatively thick producing section. Its up-dip productive limit is defined by truncation of the productive sands, and the down-dip limit is defined by deterioration of sand quality rather than by the presence of an oil-water contact. The crude oil is of 29" API gravity, is relatively viscous and was saturated with dissolved gas at the original reservoir pressure. Consideratiqn of the physical characteristics of the reservoir indicates that natural water encroachment will be negligible, and that the producing mechanism will be a dissolved gas drive augmented by gravity drainage. Performance to date tends to confirm this. INTRODUCTION It is the purpose of this paper to present some of the features of the Dor-nick Hills - Springer sand reservoir which are unusual in mid-continent operations. The study was undertaken in an attempt to define the producing mechanism or mechanisms that will control reservoir performance, as an aid in determining well completion and production practices. GEOLOGY The reservoir under consideration is a series of sand bodies of Pennsylva-nian age found in the Lower Dornick Hills and/or Springer formations. For the purpose of this paper, the sand series is referred to as the Dornick Hills-Springer sand. This sand series lies on the northeast flank of the Velma anticline, and dips very sharply to the northeast in TWP 1S-5W, the average dip being about 45º. However, as shown in Fig. 1. the trend of the pool swings eastward in TWP 1S-4W with a coincident de- crease in dip angle. In this portion of the pool the average dip is about 25". Faults in Sections 30-1S-4W and 32-1S-4W are shown in Fig. 1. These faults show only minor displacements for the horizon contoured in Fig. 1, but they do show a pronounced displacement of the immediately overlying beds. Similar faults are thought to exist in TWP 1S-5W; however, since the detailed geological studies necessary to properly define these faults were not available to the author, no attempt to show them in Fig. 1 has been made. The up-dip productive limit throughout the pool is determined by the truncation of the Lower Dornick Hills-Springer sand. The down-dip productive limit does not appear to be defined by edge water, but by a gradual reduction in permeability of the sands. No dry hole has produced a significant volume of water from this sand section. There was a small gas cap in TWP 1S-5W. Most of the wells in TWP 1S-SW encountered an oil sand 70 ft to 150 ft thick, a shale 20 ft to 80 ft thick, and another oil sand 50 ft to 130 ft thick. A few scattered wells in this area encountered other and bodies below these

Jan 1, 1951