CHAPTER VI

LOCATING THE OIL WELL

When Edwin Laurencine Drake went to Titusville, in 1859 the first question he asked of the natives was the location of “the oil spring” known to the Indians and the farmers who succeeded them. The modern oil seeker no longer concerns himself with surface indications.

In truth there is little or nothing in the contour of the latter-day oil-fields to suggest oil to the eyes of the uninitiated. But geologists first located probable oil bearing formations and have made calculations of the formations two or three thousand feet below and the drilling sites are located in accordance with them. Roughly, the theory upon which such operations are based is that the sub-surface rocks undulate, and that the presence of oil is most assured at the highest points of the undulations. By measuring dips at given points they calculate the distance in a certain direction to what they deem the most favourable site and surveyors proceed to fix and designate it. In cases, not infrequent when the lease which conveys the right of drilling is limited in area, it is the business of the surveyor to see that the site chosen is well within the boundaries of the plot acquired for drilling purposes.

On the subject of present-day methods of location a recent contributor to “The Lamp,” an American oil journal, provides much interesting data. Oil geology, he points out, is not an exact science but it enables one to focus exact information upon the creation of a theory regarding the probable structure of an untested area. In Oklahoma, for instance, geological investigations made within the past five years resulted in the discovery of many of the new pools. All drilling is in some sense speculative, or to use the oil man’s phrase, a “wild cat,” at the outset; but in Oklahoma it was found that the proportion of dry holes on territory recommended by the geologists was less than one-third of the failures that resulted before that science was invoked. The speculative nature of the oil business in its initial stages is indicated by the fact that less than one per cent. of the area of the oil region of Pennsylvania is producing territory, although it has probably been more thoroughly drilled than any field in the world. The limited extent of even the permanently productive fields is one of the phenomena of petroleum. More than one-half of the production of the State of Wyoming is found within an area of not more than six square miles. The famous Tepetate-Casiano pool of Mexico, which produced more than seventy-five million barrels of oil from 1910 to 1918, is about one-half mile wide and three miles long. When we compare the acreage of oil areas with that of the continent, the analogy of the needle in the haystack at once suggests itself.

The geologist draws the certain deduction that oil migrates through some porous formation from its original source and concentrates itself in detached “pools” of comparatively small dimensions. It is the oil pioneer’s business to find these pools. Again, there may be several successive deposits of what are known as “oil sands,” separated from each other by hundreds of feet of barren formation. The depth of a well in itself means nothing. The operator must know in what strata he expects to find the oil. If these beds prove dry, then he abandons the test, regardless of whether the drilling has reached 1,000 or 4,000 feet.

Past experience has taught the geologist that oil-bearing formations manifest themselves by certain surface indications, such as gas springs, and surface seepages of oil or asphalt. In an untested field the expert studies the character of the successive formations along such outcroppings. In any mountainous region earthcrust upheavals during past ages have exposed a series of formations, similar to those which lie deep below the surface of the plains. Thus it is possible to predict with a fair degree of accuracy just what the formations will be for a considerable depth from geological indications. Geologists have also learned to recognize certain types of structures favourable to the accumulation of oil pools, known as anticlines, synclines, salt domes, monoclines and so forth. Thus it is sometimes possible to make in advance of drilling a surprisingly accurate forecast of what these operations will reveal.

Because for the most part oil fields exist in rather sparsely populated districts, remote from centres of commercial and industrial activity, the general reader has probably very little knowledge of the unceasing efforts that are being made in many parts of this country to maintain the supply of crude oil at an adequate level through new discoveries. The spirit of enterprise and initiative is even more alive to-day than it was in the time of Drake and the pioneers who followed him in the Pennsylvania field. The hopeful speculative spirit is as ever necessary; the capital fulfils an ever-growing function in this source of prosperity and employment for the community at large.

In the oil industry any well drilled outside the narrow limits of a producing “pool” is regarded as a “wild cat” test. The element of a gamble is inevitably present, but has been materially reduced by science. An old established company in an important field is constantly adding to its land holdings in advance of the trend of development, and out of the profits from its developed productions sets aside a certain amount to expend for speculative ventures, to protect its investment in pipe lines, refineries, etc. The company also continues to drill in the vicinity of a producing pool until it is entirely surrounded by dry holes, and its limits demonstrated. Consequently, in an established oil field development work and prospecting are one and the same thing.

The matter of opening up new fields in regions where there have been no previous wells to serve as a guide presents a very different phase of speculative enterprise. The pioneer producer must make a very substantial financial investment for roads and equipment. He must have the courage and grit to continue his efforts, even though he at the outset obtains negative and unsatisfactory results; sometimes for a period of years. Nor do his troubles end when he has made an important discovery, for then land hitherto almost valueless becomes much sought after by competitors, and legal complications involving titles and taxes are not slow to develop. If he has been fortunate enough to open up a real oil-field his exploration work must be of sufficiently broad scope to determine the location of the principal belt of favourable territory, the approximate depth and character of the oil bearing formations, and the possibilities of permanence in the wells themselves. The quality of the crude petroleum “mined” may be less important than the quantity.

Though it is obvious that the obstacles that confront the pioneer operator are not insurmountable, the conditions described show why the history of oil discovery is bestrewn with failures. This has been particularly true of the Latin American fields of Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Costa Rica, and of many Asiatic attempts. Even in the great gusher field of Mexico the first tests were drilled in 1869, yet it was not until 1902 that any important production indicative of the great future of that region resulted. More than 50 wells drilled in a space of 33 years were failures.

It is, therefore, apparent that detailed, scientific information on which to proceed is almost as important in the initial steps as strong financial backing, and efficient organization. The methods used in the early days of the Appalachian fields of Pennsylvania depended absolutely on “fool’s luck” and steadfast optimism. As this field extended down into West Virginia and Kentucky, and over into Ohio, the ever-increasing number of failures caused the operators to cast about for some sort of a working formula in choosing locations. From the crude efforts of these early investigators the fundamentals of modern oil-geology were developed. The old-fashioned operators’ creed contained this axiom: “If you wild-cat enough in an oil field, you will make money in the long run.” But this no longer is a safe working motto. The steadily increased cost of drilling has made it of paramount importance to make careful selection beforehand. The modern oil operator realizes that Mother Earth provides many clues and hints which he cannot afford to disregard. The oil geologist interprets the surface indications and such other information relating to a given area as is available; and is ever on guard against the over-optimism of the promoter.