241.* New Method of Constructing Subsurface Models. K . M. Bravinder, D. H. Sheldon, and J . E . K oogle. Petrol. Tech., J a n . 1941, A .I.M .M .E . Tech. Pub. No. 1271, 1-4.—
A s a su b stitu te for peg m odels or g la ss panel m odels, celluloid sheets arranged ver
tically and in a series a t right angles to the stru ctu ral trend are used. Well columns are traced in In dia ink on one side, an d the stru ctu ral correlations are traced on the other side. The celluloid sheets are suspended in a suitable fram e a t the correct spacing. The vertical and horizontal scales should be equal.
A model with ten sheets of 60-gauge non-inflam m able celluloid 20 b y 48 in., with the base and fittings, cost $60, and to fill in sixty-one w ells on a scale of 1 in. to 200 ft. required 2 weeks’ plottin g by two men.
These m odels are very useful where com plex structures occur, and are a useful complement to the sections and contour m a p s. G. D. H.
242.* Vigorous Search for Reserves Successful in U.S.S.R. M. Jo e l. Oil Gas J., 26.12.40, 39 (33), 115.— Diming 1940 490 geological, geophysical, and test drilling parties were operating in the U .S .S .R ., and prim ary exploration w as completed in twenty new areas. The Grozny area is declining from its 1932 peak, whilst the U ral-V olga region is rising in im portance. The principal source of new production in Azerbaijan is the sub-K irm ak series. Production h as extended under the sea off the Apsheron peninsula. S till deeper production h as been found a t K ala, and an entirely new region h as been opened a t Siazan , in north-east A zerbaijan.
The deep production a t Old Grozny w ill probably be more effectively developed by the new directional drilling technique which h as been introduced. A new pool h as been opened a t Oisungur, 60 km . e ast of Grozny, a t a dep th of 1460 m.
Further discoveries have been m ade in the Penza an d Ivanovo districts of the U ral-V olga region. A t B uguru slan good production h as been found a t a depth of 250-300 m. A 1937 discovery a t T uim azy, 150 km . north-w est of Sterlitam ak, has now been enlarged considerably. Several oil-satu rated lim estones of Devonian age have been found. The R om ny discoveries of the U kraine have been followed up and others made a t D m itrovka. Oil is said to have been found a t Lubna in the P o ltava district. Numerous abandoned an d shut-in wells have been restarted in former Poland.
The indications are said to favour full-scale testin g a t T avd in sk (West Siberia), Tolbinsk (Y akutia), the Ayano-M aisky d istrict near the sea of O khotsk, and several areas in the vicinity of Leningrad and Moscow.
Proved gas reserves am ount to 50 billion cu. m . and estim ated reserves to 700- 900 billion cu. m . New gas-fields ready for exploitatio n e x ist in D aghestan, West Ukraine, Izhm a (near U khta), and a t various points in the U ral-V olga region.
Much oil has been obtained by the reh abilitation of shut-dow n wells in the Caucasian region.
The E stonian oil-shale reserves am ount to 5,000,000,000 m etric ton s, and contain up to 43% of com bustible m atter. K oksher Is ., near T allin , h as an im portant gas reserve, and E se l Is. possesses oil indications.
Various new drilling devices are n o te d ; there is an electrical oil-field model and a rapid porosity measurer on the W heatstone-bridge principle, and therm al logging
has been applied to cased holes. G. D. H.
243.* Hawkins, East Texas, Discovery Starts Drilling Campaign. R . M. Sanford. Oil Gas J ., 9.1.41, 39 (35), 8.— A m onth ago a well 3-ml. north of H aw kins, south-west Wood county, indicated oil production in the W oodbine san d, but during testing salt w ater came in and it is giving 80% w ater an d 144 brl. of oil/day. On 30th December two other wells blew in, one estim ated a t 2000 b rl./day, the other as a wild gasser. These are 200-400 ft. higher stru ctu rally th an the discovery well.
In R otondi 1 Cobb the shut-in tubin g pressure w as 710 lb ./in .2 The Nacatooh sand was topped a t 2245 ft., Pecan G ap a t 2954 ft., A u stin Chalk a t 4075 ft., W’ood- bine at 4398 ft., and oil sand a t 4450 ft. The ga sser w as estim ated to flowing 50,000,000 cu. ft. of gas/d ay, and w as brought under control a t 25,000,000 cu. ft./day.
I he gas well produces from the sub-Clarksville san d of th e E ag le Ford.
A B S T R A C T S . 87 a
P rob ably th e H aw kins area h as a large anticline, and it is believed to be due to a deep-seated sa lt dom e. L easin g is very active, several wells are sta rtin g , and location s are being sought for th irty to thirty-five w ells. G. D . H .
244.* Ten Pay Levels Now Producing at Texas’ Hull-Silk Field. R . M. Sanford.
Oil Oas J . , 9.1.41, 39 (35), 13.— The ten th p ay level a t H ull-Silk is a t 4563 ft., and is prolific. T h e field’s discovery well found oil in the Straw n a t 3800 ft., an d since then oil h as also been found a t 464 ft., 962 ft., 1403 ft., 1627 ft., 4000 ft., 4300 ft., 4700 ft., 5200 ft., and 4563 ft. The w ell in th e new horizon is gauged a t 1246 b rl./d ay .
H ull-Silk is on a north -east-south-w est-plunging anticline, w ith several hundred feet of closure in th e lower str a ta . The m ajo rity of the p a y levels, ex cep t those a t 3800 ft. an d 4300 ft., are of th e lenticular san d ty p e or m odified stratig rap h ie trap s.
T h ey are d istrib u ted throughout four series of P en n sy lvan ian age. A t th e surface are P erm ian beds. T h e shallow est san d is in the U pper Cisco, an d th e other shallow p a y s are in the Low er Cisco and Canyon. The 3800-ft. an d 4300-ft. san d s are in the Straw n . T h e deepest zones are in the Caddo lim e of the B en d series.
The O rdovician h as n ot been tested , b ut the Sim pson or E llenburger m ay yield oil as a t K .M .A . The M ississipp ian lim e m ay be productive, for M ississippian beds have been found, in con trast w ith their general absence in m uch of the surrounding region.
H ull-Silk h as 500 w ells an d a daily allow able of more th an 10,000 brl. In no case does more th an one horizon give oil in a single well, because of the expense of settin g sep arate casin gs for each producing san d. The deep zones are b y no m eans fully defined, an d exten sion is going on stead ily . 12,000 acres of production have now been proved. Som e of the shallow san d s cover only a few hundred acres, w hilst the 3800-ft. an d 4300-ft. san d s cover th e whole field. New shallow san ds are found in exten d in g deep production. There is little or no g a s cap above an y of the p ay levels.
In th e 4300-ft. horizon th e bottom -hole pressure is 1500 lb ./in .2
A short description is given of th e drilling equipm ent and technique. A gas-
recycling project is being organized. G. D . H .
245.* Well Logs and Field Data of Active Oil Areas—Central San Joaquin Valley.
A non. Oil G as J . , 9.1.41, 39 (35), 50.— Oil h as been produced in th e S a n Jo aq u in V alley since ab ou t 1896, an d production h as now been ob tain ed below 13,000 ft.
T h e fields of th e w estern p a rt are in th e foothill b elt of th e C oastal R an g es. The older C oalinga fields h ave given m ore th an 350,000,000 brl. of oil, and these prolific fields led to prospectin g farth er out in the b asin , resu ltin g in the discovery of a number of curved tren ds. T h e earlier discovered fields on th ese tren ds produced from the E tch eg oin (Pliocene). In 1932 th e Tem blor (Miocene) w as proved productive on th e K e ttle m an N orth D om e, an d late r th e A venal (Eocene) w as opened up.
Th e San Jo a q u in V alley is a foredeep in front of th e C oast R an g es which in the T ertiary w as filled w ith sedim ents from the C oast R an g e an d from high land to the e ast. The beds p a ss upw ards from dom inantly m arine through p a rtly m arine and continental to w holly continental. E lo n gated an ticlines were form ed n ear the m argin s, b u t farth er out in the v alley th e stru ctu res are sm aller an d less regular.
There are m any unconform ities, an d th e shore-line dep osits round th e u p lifts form excellent site s for oil accum ulation.
New producing horizons are likely to be picked up on stru ctu res which h ave not p roved productive either tow ards th e m argin or deeper in the b asin . T h e estim ated u ltim a te recoveries range from 11,000 to 56,000 brl./acre.
A m ap an d a series of colum nar section s are included. G. D . H . 246.* Lisbon Sugar Creek Shows Interesting Possibilities. F . H . M iller an d G. Weber.
Oil G as J . , 16.1.41, 39 (36), 23.—-The L isb o n field w as discovered in 1936, an d gives oil from th e P e ttit lim e of the Low er Glen R ose. I t covers 6500 acres. In 1939 a deep te st w as tak en to 6900 ft., an d encountered three C otton V alley san d s show ing gas-condensate production. I t giv es 110 brl. of con den sate/day w ith 7,000,000 cu. ft.
of g a s, w hich is u sed for repressuring th e P e ttit lim e horizon. The structure appears to be a large anticline w ith th e field on th e south flank. T h e P e ttit production is
largely controlled, by porosity. T h e Low er Glen R o se and deeper beds have been little explored except on the south flank.
The Sugar Creek structure is a dom e sep arated from th e L isb on structure by a shallow syncline. Oil and gas production are developed in the Low er Glen Rose, and large sand bodies show oil and g a s in the C otton V alley form ation, although they do not a t present produce. One recent deep te st w as disappointing, but a second was more successful. Oil satu ration w as found in th e tran sition al zone above the H osston a t 5341-5362 ft., and th is zone gav e 75 brl. of oil/day in a well which was deepened to it.
The Vaughn san d of the C otton V alley form ation gives gas and condensate. This sand thickens down dip to the south-w est, an d th e C otton V alley sands improve in productivity down-dip.
The deep Cotton V alley san ds in th e Sugar Creek te st were thick, b u t the porosity and perm eability were too low for com m ercial production.
A subsurface structure m ap an d cross-sections are included. G. D. H.
247.* U.S.S.R.—Development of Gas Reserves Planned by Soviet Industry. Anon.
Oil G asJ.,2.1.41, 39 (34), 27.— T h e g a s reserves of R u ssia are estim ated roughly at 700-900 billion cu. m ., but reserves ready for com m ercial exploitation are only 50,000,000,000 cu. m ., located m ainly in th e oil-fields. 2,900,000,000 cu. m. were recovered from the oil-fields in 1939, b u t even where recovered sy stem atically it was used w astefully. Recent regulations require b etter utilization of the gas.
The first gas areas which w ill be ready for developm ent are th ose of Daghestan, W est U kraine, Izh m a in the K o m i R epublic, an d a gas- an d oil-field in the Bugu- ruslan d istrict. In W estern U kraine gas-w ells are a t present yielding 200,000,000 cu. m . of gas/year. The Izh m a gas-w ells are believed to be very prolific.
G. D. H.
248.* Australia—Secondary Recovery Considered for the Lakes Entrance Oil-field.
Anon. Oil Gas J., 16.1.41, 39 (36), 35.— Th irty-eigh t w ells have been drilled at Lak es E ntrance which show production over an area of 5 sq . m l. The 33-ft. producing sand is 1200-1400 ft. deep and sligh tly terraced. I t s p orosity is 15%, and oil saturation 27% . The average perm eability is 77-5 m illidarcys. Much water has invaded the field, and the oil is produced as an em ulsion w ith 97% of water. Various m ethods of secondary recovery are being considered. G. D. H.
249.* Improved Wildcatting Results Expected in Mississippi in 1941. G. Weber.
Oil GasJ.,23.1.41,39(37), 16.— D esp ite the greatest search for oil in M ississippi in 1940 the results were disappointing, for only a m inor field w as discovered. The discovery of commercial oil in 1939 led to exten sive leasin g an d w ild cattin g, often with little geological preparation. Ninety-five w ild cats were drilled, m any of them being far from satisfactory te sts. In ad eq u ate geophysical w ork w as undertaken, and many so-called “ highs ” proved norm al or low. More geological d a ta seem ed necessary to aid in geophysical interpretation. How ever, recently exploration has improved in quality.
The greatest activity w as in central an d w est central M ississippi, where the Creta
ceous Selm a chalk, E u taw an d T u scaloosa, productive a t T insley an d Pickens, were the principal w ildcat objectives.
The coastal section m ay produce from th e Sparta-W ilcox, an d involves deeper drilling. In the north-east the H artselle an d B eth el san d s and the G asper lime of the Palaeozoic are asphalt-bearing a t outcrop an d m ay yield oil on suitable structures down-dip.
Tinsloy’s curtailed production is 13,837 b rl./d ay from 109 w ells. The m ost exten
sive sand, the W oodruff ranges 0-100 ft. in th ickn ess, thickening down-dip. The Stevens, Perry, L am m ons, an d Pow ell san d s m ay also yield oil in Woodruff wells.
Tinsley’s oil reserve is conservatively e stim a te d a t 37,000,000 brl., over an area of 4500 acres. The lim its are only defined in th e e a st. M ost of the wells sire on the pum p.
Pickens has only slight closure. Production is in the W ilburn sand of the Eutaw.
The four wells have produced 290,000 brl. of oil. G. D. H.
g g A A B S T R A C T S .
A B S T R A C T S .
250.* Paraguay-Uraguay— Exploration Fails to Reveal Oil Indications. Anon. Oil Oas J., 23.1.41, 39 (37), 25.— G eological in vestigation s in various p a rts of U ruguay have failed to reveal an y su b stan tial oil indications. The only boring which traversed the whole of th e G ondw ana beds is a t Y aqu are.
A 5000-brl. refinery h as been com pleted a t L a T eja.
N o exploratory drilling h as been done in P aragu ay, an d there is no specific inform a
tion a s to the presence of oil-bearing form ations. In eastern P a ragu ay the Palaeozoic form ations in which oil m ay occur are prom inent in the valley of Piribebuy. A t V illa H ayes are beds like th ose found deep a t S a lta in A rgentina. G. D . H . 251.* Anse La Butte Salt Dome Shows Brisk Development. N. W illiam s. Oil G as J ., 23.1.41, 39 (37), 14.— F o r m an y y ears only sm all w ells were found in shallow sands over th e A nse L a B u tte dom e, b u t recently prolific flank san d s have been developed.
A year ago the production w as less th an 80 b rl./d ay, b u t now the allow able is more th an 2521 b rl./d ay .
On virtu ally all the fifty-five dom es of th e L ou isian a G ulf C oast drilling is being carried on, an d a t present only ten are w ithout production, a num ber which w ill probably be reduced. The first drilling on A nse L a B u tte w as in 1899. U p to 1907 several sm all shallow w ells were brought in, an d then a 3000-brl. well w as drilled.
Sporadic drilling over th e dom e continued to 1930, the b est san ds being found a t 900- 2000 ft. F la n k production w as then sough t, an d a san d a t 3700 ft. cam e in for a short tim e. Several deep t e sts were drilled, in consequence of which deeper production was revealed. N ow tw enty-one flank san d w ells h ave been com pleted, tak in g oil from six different san d s in sectors south-w est, south-south-east, an d east of the dome.
The B reau x san d w as opened on th e south-w est a t 4630-4650 ft. On the south is the F irst Moresi san d ly in g a t 2439-2478 f t . The P a tin san d on th e south-east is the m ost prolific. In places it is 200-300 ft. th ick, an d lies a t 4500-4800 ft. The P atrick san d w as discovered on th e eastern flank a t 3637-3647 f t. South of the dome is the Second M oresi san d a t 2848—2896 ft., an d on the south -east is the Bergeron a t 3240-3270 ft. The g rav ity of the oil produced varies w ith the san d . G. D . H . 252.* Paloma California’s First Distillate Field. L . P. Stockm an . Oil G a s J ., 23.1.41, 39 (37), 17.— The search for oil round the edge of th e P alo m a field h as failed. E v i
dently the field is a ty p ic a l d istilla te field. I t h as produced 150,000 brl. of oil of 52°
A .P .I. U n it operation seem s essen tial for satisfacto ry developm ent. I t s extent and productive lim its rem ain undefined, b u t the area w ill prob ab ly be large. A m inim um of 1200 acres seem s likely. T h e la te st well p en etrated the p ay a t 10,275 ft. The structure is ap p aren tly an ticlin al.
The tran sp o rt of d istillate production from P alo m a m ay be a problem , for it is
500 m l. from the m ain refining centres. G. D . H .
253.* Well Logs and Field Data of Active Oil Areas—South-eastern Nebraska. Anon.
Oil G a s J., 23.1.41, 39 (37), 42.— E a rly developm ent w as in a b elt in th e south-eastern p art of the S ta te . A n exten sion of th is b elt gave a series of shallow gas-fields. For m any y ears the northern p a rt of the F o rest C ity b asin to the north of th is belt w as not considered productive, b u t in 1939 production w as found in th is b asin . Three pools in th is area y ield oil from the H un ton lim e. E nco u ragin g show s h ave been found in th e V iola.
The F o re st C ity b asin is bounded on the w est b y the N em ah a gran ite ridge, on the south b y th e O zark u p lift, an d on the north-east b y an u p lift in eastern M issouri.
In the northern p a rt of the b asin the D ak o ta san dston e overlaps from the w est.
M ovem ents of th e three u p lifts bounding th e b asin gave rise to a num ber of uncon
form ities, w edge edges, an d shoreline d eposits in th e Pennsylvanian, which form stratig rap h ic tra p s. Com m ercial production h as been found in som e of these Penn
sy lv an ian san d s in th e south-w est p a rt of th e b asin , an d in the H unton lim e on stru ctu res asso ciated w ith fau ltin g an d w arping on th e e ast side of the N em ah a u p lift.
U p to the present the P en n sy lvan ian h as given m uch g a s an d relatively little oil.
T h is is prob ably due to m uch h aph azard drilling. D eeper form ations will alm o st certain ly be productive in th is b asin .
90 a A B S T R A C T S .
255.* Stratigraphic Traps Source of Major Production over Central Kansas Uplift.
J . A. Kornfeld. Oil Wkly, 13.1.41, 100 (6), 13-19; 20.1.41, 100 (7), 20-30.—In the
As regards reservoir perform ance, stratig rap h ic trap s h ave different characteristics from the usual domes and anticlines.
Flanking the Central K an sa s U plift are 110 local accum u lations due to stratigraphic structure. At Wherry, one of the largest, an u ltim ate recovery of 36,622,000 brl. of oil is estim ated for 7200 acres. A brief h istorical account is given of the development of the K an sas stratigraphic trap s.
In pre-Cambrian tim es a series of parallol bath olith s were intruded into schists and quartzites, and there w as truncation giving elastics on th e flanks of tho uplift. The core remained land in Lower Cam brian tim es, but in Cam bro-O rdovieian times a series of sandstones transgressively overlapped the entire u plift. Thick dolomitie limestones followed, some of which covered the whole u plift, an d there were strong
Commercial oil accum ulations occur in pro-Cam brian qu artzites at several places on the Central K an sas U plift. In m ost cases th e Pennsylvanian covers the quartzite, and Ordovician and Cam brian lie on the flanks. A ll tho accum ulations lio on the crest of the uplift. Oil is found in the pre-Cam brian gran ite w ash in the H all pool.
The b a s a l” Upper Cam brian san d yields oil an d g a s a t w idely scattered points, principally as local truncations off the flanks of the u p lift. Stratigraph ic traps in
A B S T R A C T S .
the Arbuekle dolom ite occur in a b elt ab o u t 50 m l. long, m ost of the pools being on
the Arbuekle dolom ite occur in a b elt ab o u t 50 m l. long, m ost of the pools being on