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TS —

|
|

 

 
 

Gould, William D.

 

Geology of Spellacy Hill,
Taft, California

|
¥

 
 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD TARGET

University of California at Berkeley Library
Master negative storage number: 03-67.26
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GLADIS NUMBER: 184788167B FORMAT : BK AD:991012/FZB
LEVEL:b BLT:am DCF:a CSC:d MOD: EL: 7 UD:030604/MAP
CP: cau L:eng INT: GPC: BIO: FIC: CON: ARCV:
PC:S PD:1925/ REP: CPI: FSI: ILC: II:1

040 CUScCU

090 SbDISS.GOULD.GEOL 1925

100 1 Gould, William D.

245 10 Geology of Spellacy Hill, Taft, California.
260 $cl1925.

300 [iv], 34 p. :Sbcol. ill., col. maps ;$c29 cm.
500 Includes index.
502 Thesis (B.A. in Geology)-- University of California, Berkeley,

November, 1925.
610 20 University of California, Berkeley.S$bDept. of Geology and

Geophysics$xDissertations.
690 0 Dissertations, Academic$xUCB$xGeology$y1921-1930

 

Microfilmed by University of California Library Photographic Service,
Berkeley, CA

 
 

FILMED AND PROCESSED BY
LIBRARY PHOTOGRAPHIC
SERVICE, UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY,
94720

 

DATE: 07/03
REDUCTION: 10 X

 
 

 

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William D. Gould

 

Geology of Spellacy Hill, Taft, California

1925

 
 

This report is for the fulfilment of the thesis
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Geological
Department of the College of Letters and Science of
the University Of California.

Instructor in charge:

Professor George D. Louderback.

William D. Gould,
November 25, 1925. & A:

 

. §

IND EX,

 

Purpose of the report -----------=-------==
Age of Midway-Sunset fields --------------==
Recent 0il discoveries ~e---=s=ec<c===- ase
outcrop of Spellacy Hill producing oil sands
Location of the field ~====-w---ccscc=~c===-
Relief of Spellacy Hill ===e-=ee--c=-cc-=c--
Relation of Spellaey Hill to surrounding

Rainfall -

Field work and acknowledgments ============<
Location of the anticlinal axXi8 =e=====<===- -
Bibl1i08raphy ======-=eeee-ccess==cc-scsssecs
Cresceus 0il Company ======-es==s=cc=e==- -——
paraffine 011 COMPANY =-=-=--===mm=m=m=====-
Standard Oil Company ===e==e==cce====c=s ———
Princeton 0il Company =====s=======s=== won
0il Age Magazine ===-==s=-=se=cc===- -———_—

california 0il World Magazine ==---=-
Bglish, Walter A, =========-=- te “—“
Pack, RoW =======- ERIC PLT
professional Paper 116 (U.S5.GeS:) ~=========
Winham, Wm, ========- 1 -

Kerr ’ Richard - an wn ww ED GD AE SED GS Eh ES ED a tn

3.

a.

a.

4.

4.

6.

6e

6a

6s

6

6e

6,29.
6,29,31.
6e
6,29,30.
6,29, 30.
5e

5.

 
   

Indian & Colonial 0il Company ~e=-ececceae- 5,24. wh Hige water at the Amador 0il Company «-==e- 25.

Johnston --=-c-=--- ~mmmsseessssecescnecaa-. 6431, Standard 0il Company =--=- 264

"Where oil is found in the Vaqueros" «ee=« 6,31, Paraffine 0il Company =-- £6.

Paso Robles formation ----m=-e=---c--o-- ren 6e Composition of saline well Waters -e-eec--- 26.

Lithologic characters of the Paso Robles - 7, Destruction of well G8SiNg =-==ccccemmecaa= 27.

Station 1 ~----- -- 10. Migration of water in an open hole ==-ee=== 27,

2 mecmcena il. : Improper cement s8hut=-o0ffs ---eveccecccecaaa 27,

7 econcca - 12. Caving sands in the wells ~eeceeecccceca-a- —- 27.

GYPSUM ~=cesccmeecccemececceceemeeecae——- - 13. . New 0il horizon ==-e-eeecececcae-- cmmmaneaa 29,

Buena Vista Lake - History ----e=--- —————— 13. Information of Belridge Well -eeeccecccc-we 29.

Quaternary Systell ~e-~==-cccccece- -———— - 13. Geology of area near Belridge well —————— 29.

Paso Robles formation Station 9 ==-=-= 14, outcrops of Maricopa 8h8les ee=eeeccececa=-= 29,

kes | 10 =eeea- 16. ® Location of Belridge well amsanentae nas - 30.
Structure of Spellacy Hill (description) = 16, "ot © Maricopa 8hale ====eccccccccccccccccccc=aen= 30.
011 sands of Spellacy Hill ~Secccmccccc-na 16. | QUALITY 02 O11 =wwaucucsmawmmemmuns om - Ee

Structure of Spellacy Hill (diagram) «=== 17. ] Vaqueros 0il ~eeecce-=- cemmmmccmceen————— - 31.

Structure of Spellacy Hill from cross- Geology of Belridge well (log) ===wecccece- 31.

: section by well-log data =w=eeecccea 19. sa i New oil horizon in Spellacy Hill ==ecccccca- 32.

Structure of Spellacy Hill from Depth of new horizon in Spellacy Hill ~==-= 32,

ir rire

longitudinal section by well-log | Diagram pf the new horizon ==e-ececcccccaas 33.

8818 =uewsesnunne ————— 20, Bush, ReDy ==cc=ececccama==- mtannseansnnanes | 20,

Plunge of structure -------------- ———————— 21. | Stieney -=---=em=c--=a=e ——mmae ammeemecc=es= 29,
Character of sands from bailer ~-ececccee-- 21. |

Character of oil a. a 21. ; | !
Hy Settling tank process ~-=eeceeccececcmccce-ea 21, |
{ fn Present conditions of the wells and LJ
present production «eececcecccca-- 23,

Rige WALEr ~m-mcemececomecmececscscccee——- 23,

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

i
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Se GT ;
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HERR
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TAFT -"WHERE OIL IS XING".

 
 

 

 

 

TAFT -"WHIRE OIL IS XING",

 
 

 

GEOLOGY OF SPELLACY HILL
Taft, California,

 

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT:

The present report is two fold. In the first place the geol-
gy of the general area of which the productive field constitutes
a part; and secondly, the intimate details of the geology of the
productive area as interpreted chiefly from the study of the rec-
ords of the wells,

The Midway-Sunset fields are the oldest fields in California
and have been producing for more than thirty years. Wells ranging
from five to seventy-five thousand barrels a day have been brought
in; but to-day it is thought that all big producers are gone for-
ever from this field.Wells have been drilled in many places 10 a
depth of over five thousand feet and no remarkable showing found,

so it has been the general idea among the geologists and oil men

that the field is "petering out". The present sands are, 1t is cer-

tain, decreasing in oil production and are slowly becoming flooded
with salt water, But there are other sands deeper down as shown by
the very recent wells which were brought in from an entirely new

sand with an initial production of from two thousand to ten thou-

sand barrels. The Pacific 011 Company off-set the Federal Drilling

Co.'s two thousand barrel well in Buena Vista Valley and on or

about August first it came in for two thousand barrels, On August

 

 

seventh the Obispo 0il Company of Maricopa brought in a well from a
depth fifteen hundred feet below the former producing sands for ten
thousand: barrels, The Standard Oil Company hit a new sand six hund-
red feet deeper in their M.J.M.&M property in Maricopa and their wells
are flowing two hundred barrels a day.

The oil sands of Spellacy Hill outcrop eight miles back in the
hills and near this outcrop the Belridge 0il Company is drilling for
a sand much deeper than the outcropping tar sand which under Spell-
acy Hill is the producing sand. If they strike oil, it will indicate
great possibilities of getting an even greater production from the
same sand in Spellacy Hill, if it is not too deep to operate.

This report, then, will deal with present conditions of the
producing field; and with the theory that there is an undeveloped

lower oil sand, below the present producing horizons.

LOCATION OF THE FIELD:

The Spellacy Hill oil field lies one mile to the south of
Taft. It extends for three miles east to west, and is one and one
half miles in width.

: This field is in the heart of the oil district and any part
is easily sccessible by roads from either Taft or Maricopa. The oil
is either gravitated down " Taft stock tanks or run directly into
tank cars near the east end of the field.

Phe land is unsuited for anything but oil production, being
a dusty alkali soil with no water, so that the oil industry is not
hindered.

 

 
 

oF

-

RELIEF:

Midway Valley is a long narrow valley fifteen miles long by
four miles wide, Its floor is gently sloping eastward to Buena Vista
Lake, otherwise it is perfectly flat. Spellacy Hill rises suddenly
from this floor to a height of over seven hundred feet in less than

one-half mile, |

Cloudbursts are frequent and the soil is loose and sandy so
that deep cuts and washes are everywhere on the slopes.

Spellacy Hill is elongated parallel to all the other principal
hills and the Temblor Range, and is one of the many anticlines comp-
rising the area, Just south of the anticline is the Hovey Hills mono=-
cline which is a continuation of the same sands of Spellacy Hill after
passing through a syncline. To the north is the Buena Vista Hills
anticline, the sands being of the same horizon. !

One of the most noticeable features of the topography of this
trea 18 the remarkable control exercised by the geologic structure.
The above mentioned hills have been formed by the structural uplift,

and the broad valleys between, by structural depression,

   

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4 4

 

 

 

oe lacy SAS Fre r7 AT sed #77 <p Se Le .

Fig.l

.

 

 

 

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me cama

 

 

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION:

The climate in this vieinity is arid, the rainfall rarely
exceeding ten inches a year, the average being about six, Most of
the stream valleys carry water during only a few days of the winter
and many for only a few hours following heavy rains. The vegetation
is 80 scant on the hills that but a small proportion of the rainfall
is held in the ground.

FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
| The field work upon which this report is based covers all the
area of sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, - T325-R23E. The time in-
volved in the study of this region in the field was two weeks during
which time all neceesary data were obtained from outcrops. Due to
very extensive weathering the surface detritus covers nearly all the

exposed formations and the few exposures are found in washes, or in

~ recent road cuts. For this reason I have taken a few logs of wells

which are so arranged as to give a correct representation of the
eross-section of the structure, and also others to give the longit-
udinal section. Because well data are used in this report, I will

discuss them sufficiently to give an idea of the present conditions

 
 

C

RELIZF

Midway Valley is a long narrow valley fifteen miles long by
four miles wide. Its floor is gently sloping eastward to Buena Vista
Lake, otherwise it is perfectly flat. Spellacy Hill rises suddenly
from this floor to a height of over seven hundred feet in less than

one-half mile.

Cloudbursts are frequent and the soil is loose and sandy so
that deep cuts and washes are everywhere on the slopes.

Spellacy Hill is elongated parallel to all the other principal
hills and the Temblor Range, and is one of the many anticlines comp-
rising the area, Just south of the anticline is the Hovey Hills mono-
cline which is a continuation of the same sands of Spellacy Hill after
passing through a syncline. To the north is the Buena Vista Hills
anticline, the sands being of the same horizon.

One of the most noticeable features of the topography of this
area is the remarkable control exercised by the geologic structure.

The above mentioned hills have been formed by the structural uplift,

and the broad valleys between, by structural depression,

 

 

 

Fig.l

 

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"ly

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION:

The climate in this vieinity is arid, the rainfall rarely
exceeding ten inches a year, the average being about six, Most of
the stream valleys carry water during only a few days of the winter
and many for only a few hours following heavy rains. The vegetation
is so scant on the hills that but a small proportion of the rainfall

is held in the ground.

FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

The field work upon which this report is based covers all the
area of sections 22, 23, 24, 26, 26, 27, - T325~-R23E. The time in-
volved in the study of this region in the field was two weeks during

which time all neceesary data were obtained from outcrops. Due to
very extensive weathering the surface detritus covers nearly all the
exposed formations and the few exposures are found in washes, or in
recent road cuts. For this reason I have taken a few logs of wells
which are so arranged as to give a correct representation of the

cross-section of the structure, and also others to give the longit-

Ee

udinal section. Because well data are used in this report, I will

discuss them sufficiently to give an idea of the present conditions

 

  

 
 

 

oH

future development.

in the producing field in which these wells are found. Considering

 

the materisl contained in this report it is not an exploration
report of a new field, but a study of an old field, dealing with its

structure, conditions of the present wells, and possibilities of

The contour map on which the areal geology was plotted was
made by Mr. Walter A. English, geologist for the Standard 0il Co.
Mr. English's assistance and instructions were invaluable. From
him I obtained material for the subject which I would not otherwise
have; and I feel that I would be quite helpless in securing such
an accurate report but for the interest lr. English showed in its
development,

I am also greatly indebted to Mr. William Winham and Mr,
Richard Kerr, geologists for the Standard 0il Company, and assist-
ants to Mr. English, for their timely suggestions, and patience in
answering questions.

Information obtained from employes of the various oil comp-
anies on the anticline was of great value, especially that obtained
from a pumper of the Indian & Colonial 0il Company, and from a
driller of the Paraffine 0il Company, regarding the water in the

 

wells.
From the State Mining Bureau's peg models I was able to check |
my results of the under-ground conditions, including structure; other |
information not being obtainable.
Through the courtesy of Mr. English I have been able to repro-

duce sections of the structure as shown by well-log data, The State

 

 

Mining Buream forbids the copying of log-data from their peg models

so I was limited to the use of those wells belonging to the Standard

 

EE

0il Company.

o
m————— bait?

I have compared the structure as 1 determined it with that of
R.W.Pack, U.S.G.S., and find that my plotting of the anticlinal axis
differs on the eastern end by a few hundred feet; but log-data and a
road-cut outcrop show that the crest of the structure is where I have
it located and not as Pack shows it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The geology of the Spellacy Hill has not been studied very ex-
tensively, Pack's report being the only one of value as a reference.
His determinations of the various ages of formations below the surface
were adopted, because the limited area I had to work in made it ime
possible to correlate ages of beds without assistance.

The well-logse deal with those wells of the Cresceus 0il Co.,
the Paraffine 0il Co., the Standard 0il Co., and the Princeton 0il
Co., all situated in section 25.

The information dealing with the ages of the formations was
obtained from Mr. English, and from Pack's UeS.GeSe Professional
Paper 116.

The 0il Age monthly magazine furnished the data of the Belr-
1dge 0il Company's well situated in Sec.32-1328-R23E, in its early

development. (July, August, and September, 1920, numbers).

Phe California 0il World of Thursday, November 5, 1925,
contained information dealing with the well throughout its drilling

operations, Article: "Where oil 1s found in the Vaqueros] - Johnston,

PASO ROBLES FORMATION:
The last formation to be laid down before the time when the

 
 

a
 o

most recent general movement affected the region was a thick terrane
of gravel, sand, and clay with a very few calcareous and gypsiferous
beds, This formation is much like the underlying Etchegoin formation
in lithology, differing chiefly in being somewhat goarser grained and
in having been laid down in part in fresh or brackish water and.in
part subaerially but not in marine water. The separation between the
Paso Robles and the overlying terrace deposits and alluvium is very
indefinite, for deposition has been practically continuous in the
Sunset-Midway district from the end of the Paso Robles up to the
present time.

This formation overlies the Etchegoin with perfect conformity,

but only the Paso Robles is exposed. Paso Robles is just four feet,

slightly more or less in different parts, below the surface on the
whole anticline and is easily picked up in washes and cuts (Fig.s 2,
3,4 P.8), Well logs show that it varies in thickness up to seventeen
hundred feet or more, the present producing sands being from six

hundred to seventeen hundred feet.

LITHOLOGIC CHARACTERS:
The general character of the upper part of the formation or
that exposed in the outcrops is composed of alternating beds of fine
granitic sand, clay that is in places more or less sandy, and coarse
gravel. The coarse gravel beds, although usually exhibiting no sort-
ing of the fragments as to size, in places show a remarkable segre-
gation in the character of the material. For example, the formation

for a stratigraphic thickness of two or three hundred feet may De

composed wholly of granitic debris - both fine sand and coarse gravel

- interstratified with beds of compact greenish clay. Overlying these

0 J RE YE El

 
 

outcrops of Paso Robles formation at Staticns

1, 3S, Sa - on the North flank of the

structure.

 

 
~~ 5 5 SWRA AJATALNT 41 ANALIVYELY

      

 

 

 

Outcrops of Paso Robles formation at Stations
1, S, Sa - on the North flank of the

structure.

 

 
 

 

beds may appear a bed composed almost wholly of fragments of diatom-
aceous shale, This bed of detrital shale is so free from granitic
debris and the underlying coarse beds composed of fragments of granitic
rocks are so free from fragments of diatomaceous shale that in many
places a sharp contact may be traced (Fig.s 7,8,9).

The fragments of diatomaceous shale in the "shale-pebble" bedec
of the Paso Robles are almost invariably only slightly sounded add
vary greatly in size, the largest being about four inches in the great-
est dimension. They are embedded in a clayey matrix that looks much
like that composing the clayey beds interstratified with the under-
lying beds of coarse granitic debris (Fig.6).

The clays are very compact and fine grained, and even with a
hand lens it is with difficulty that any individual grains may be
recognized, The clays are found between sandstone and gypsum in the
exposed outerops and vary in thickness from an inch to four or five
feet.

The sandstone beds are both coarse and fine varying from about
one tenth of a millimeter to one sixteenth of an inch in size. The
grains are almost entirely of quar tz with a few small flakes of
biotite. Some of the iron has been leached out of the biotite leaving
it colorless, and coating the sand grains a light yellow, The thick-
ness of the beds range from a few inches up to five feet or more. One
particular sandstone is very noticeable because of its outctanding
whiteness, The grains are uniform and well rounded, being uniformly
less then one tenth millimeter in size. It is absolutely pure quartz
with no other mineral present and resembles very ®losely a beach sand

in appearance. It is loosely consolidated and is sharply define from

the adjacent beds (Fig.6-G).

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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13

The gypsum is found invariably between sandstone and clay and

ranges in thickness from paper thinness to one half inch, It is found

below each layer of clay and above each layer of sandstone, It is

orystalline, with the orystals perpendicular to the stratification,
indicating crystallization from solution (Fig.5).

The white sand and gypsum lead to the conclusion that this area
wae at one time under water, having seasonal periods of precipitation
of gypsum.

This region is typically a desert with the present Buena Vista
Laie a playa common in such regions. This body of water originally,
before the region was greatly affected by extensive folding, extended
over the entire area with annual periods of crystallization when the

concentration was increased by evaporation. With frequent sandstorms
the well rounded and sorted sandstones accumulated. The beds dip with
the underlying Paso Robles formation, eighteen: degrees, so that between
the time they were laid down and the present there has been extensive
folding. This folding has limited the lake to the syncline of Midway
Valley and the upper San Joaouin Valley. It has been continually

filled up by inwash from the uplifted area so that we get the present
existing conditions.

Phere is also a conglomerate exposed at the top of the Paso
Robles containing boulders of granite. The matrix is limonitic and
gypsiferous and is extremely hard and compact. It underlies the
surface detritus on the greater part of Spellacy Hill but has been

eroded off at the extreme western end (Fig.8-B).

QUATERNARY SYSTEM:

The conditions that governed the deposition of the youngest

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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beds included in the Paso Robles formation have continued uniterrupt-
edly to the present day, and the sediments laid down since the end
of the Paso Robles include the beds of intermingled sand, gravel,

and clay that fill the larger valleys and cover the terraces.

STRUCTURE OF SPELLACY HILL:
The hills trend southeastward from the Temblor Tange and final=-
ly plunge beneath Midway Valley. The beds near the crest of this anti-

 olineare but slightly flexed, the dip rarely exceeding eighteen

 

degrees. The decrease in dip on the northeast flank is regular, but
on the southwest it varies slightly. Near the crest of the anticline,
in Section 36, the strike changes its course rather abruptly from

southeastward to eastward and passes through the central part of Sec.
30-1325-R23 5.

Phe structure is a simple anticline as shown by the field data
of areal geology and by well-log data. No disturbing elements, such
as faults, occur in the field; but there are sands which seem to

pinch out, and others giving the impression of being lenticular,

OIL SANDS:

The deep oil sands that furnish the oil in section twenty-
five lie in the basal part of the McKittrick group, mainly in the
Btchegoin formation. In all there are five producing sands ranging
from the bottom two hundred to the bottom four hundred feet.

In the Standard 0il wells #5 and #7 the first oil sand is
local so that the other wells do not produce from it, The lower sands,
* however, are produced from by all the wells,

The first appearance of tar sands was found at four hundred

 
   

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STRUCTURE OF SPELLACY HiLL
SIRLIKE #* BAD WEST.
Spellac 2
pe y (25) Hill 700’
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CEE BR A SF A TN Gl a bane dt MEF LO nw ri ise Res Sadie iid

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fig.12 i
Looking west along the structure just

   

 
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Fig.12
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LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF SFAPLLLACY

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feet, and they are met frequently as the holes are deepened. These
sands are not uniform, some not being encountered in the next well
up or down the slope, but a few can be traced across the entire
anticline.
- The main producing sands are located at a depth of six hund-
red feet at the extreme western end of the anticline and at seventeen
hundred feet in section 25 - the plunge of the structure being one
thousand feet in three miles, or approximately a three degree plunge.

The bailer at well #4 of the Paraffine 0il Company showed a
medium grained pure quartz sand, loosely consolidated. This well is
a good representative of the anticline in oil sand cavings. For two
years this well was bailed with a six inch bailer for twenty-four
hours a day before it was finally put on the pump, and even now it
must be bailed freouently. Thousands of cubic feet of sand is taken
out of it in the bailing operations. The sands cave in the bottom
three hundred feet of perforated casing so that there must be an
extremely large cavity surrounding the hole in which oil and water
accumulate (Fig. 18 P.28)

The oil is of very low gravity, being not more than fifteen

or sixteen degrees Baume, After being exposed to the weather in the

sumps for a few days it often becomes as heavy as water,

A great deal of sand and water come up with the oil and the
settling-tank process is therefore used throughout the entire field.
From the well the 0il goes into settling tanks in which sand and the
greatest mount of water settle out by gravity (Fig.16 P.24 ). The
0il which rises to the top is greatly emulsified with water so that
from here it is pumped into electric or agitating dehydrators which

break up the emmlsion. By this method much of the oil which in the

 
Fig,156

Looking northwest along the crest of

the anticline after it has turned to

parallel fold to the iemblor Range.

 
 

ANE J

AL A

nm Bd NT Al NN cB RTE TT

 

+

Fig,16

Looking northwest along the crest of

the anticline after it has turned to

parallel fold to the iemblor Range.

 
 

 

23

early days of the field was thrown away is now saved, but even now
the method is not efficient, a great deal of oil being wasted by the

inability to break the complete emulsion.

PRESANT CONDITIONS OF THE WELLS AND PRODUCTION:

The opening of the field brought in wells with the maximum
production of about two to three hundred barrels of oil per day, but
after producing for twenty-five years the sands begin to show signs
of extreme fatigue, and the production has dropped to a daily average
of ten barrels per well. :

With this great decrease in production there came a greater
increase of water, ninety per cent of the present production of each
well going to water. Water is flooding each oil sand, but whether it
comes as edge water or from up or down the casing cannot yet be

deteruined. There are two theories advanced for the presence of the
water:

1l)., Bdge water:

Because the field has produced from the same
sands for so long the oil has finally reached its maximum production
limit. That is, all that oil which is possible to be extracted by
pumping means has nearly been pumped out and water is taking its
place.

This theory would be reasonable if the decline increased more
rapidly on the lower flanks of the anticline, but it does not. There

are occassional wells on the flanks a few hundred feet from the crest

of the anticline that produce all oil and no water, while other well®

in the same sands surrounding them produce much more water then oil.

 
- iB

 

 

 

Fig,16
A sump in which the oil is allowed
to separate from the water, taking the
place of steel settling tanks.
“his picture was taken in the
property of the indian « Colonial 011 Co.

where water is ninety per cent of the

production.

24

 

 
  

 

Fig.16

A sump in which the oil is allowed
to separate from the water, taking the
place of steel settling tanks.
“his picture was taken in the
property of the indian « Colonial 0il Co.

where water is ninety per cent of the

production.

24

 

 
 

®
a

The Amador 0il Company has one well producing ten barrels of oil

and no water. One hundred and fifty feet north, placing it approximately ]

on the crest of the anticline there is another well down at the same
sand which has turned entirely to water, There are similar cases along
the whole anticline. The Standard Oil Company in section twenty-five
worked several months for a shut-off, but was only able to decrease
it a little; the Paraffine 0il Company in section twenty-five is
flodded with water, and one well in particular exhibits peculiar
phenomena. This well, #1, is allowed to rest nights as it takes just
about the day shift to pump all the oil in the hole. When the pump |
is first started in the morning there is considerable water, but
later in the day the water decreases and finally disappears leaving
only oil. This well is located within fifty feet of the crest of the
anticline and produces water and oil for only a part of the day, while
other wells of the Paraffine 0il Company lower down on the flank pro-
duce both oil and water for the full twenty-four hours.

If edge water were responsible its advance up the flanks of
the anticline would be more or less uniform so that wells lowest down
would be the first to go to water, and those above would turn to water
in order of the advancement. But, as indicated, such is not the case;
therefore comes the basis for the second theory:

The underground waters of this structure are extremely saline,
as shown by the great amount of salts left after the evaporation of
some of the pumped water, This water has not been analysed very
accurately, but the general composition, as determined by the Standard
011 chemist at Taft, is sodium, calcium, magnesium, sulphate, chloride,

and sulphide (HgS). Chloride solutions will react on any iron they

encounter, therefore, there is without doubt, reaction going on in

 — Y—————

 

 

 

 

 

Plate: 8

VILL SAND rLOUDLING.

 

 

 

Indicating how water after eating through the
casing will enter the oil sands.

26

 

 

 
 

alii a

 

a8 shown by the great amount of salte left after the evaporation of

The Amador 0il Company has one well producing ten barrels of oil |
and no water. One hundred and fifty feet north, placing it approximately |
on the crest of the anticline there is another well down at the same

sand which has turned entirely to water. There are similar cases along
the whole anticline, The Standard 0il Company in section twenty-five
worked several months for a shut-off, but was only able to decrease

it a little; the Paraffine 0il Company in section twenty-five is
flodded with water, and one well in particular exhibits peculiar
phenomena. This well, #1, is allowed to rest nights as it takes just
about the day shift to pump all the oil in the hole. When the pump |

®
is first started in the morning there is considerable water, but i
|

later in the day the water decreases and finally disappears leaving
only oil. This well is located within fifty feet of the crest of the
anticline and produces water and oil for only a part of the day, while
other wells of the Paraffine Oil Company lower down on the flank pro-
duce both oil and water for the full twenty-four hours.

If edge water were responsible its advance up the flanks of
the anticline would be more or less uniform so that wells lowest down
would be the first to go to water, and those above would turn to water
in order of the advancement. But, as indicated, such is not the case;
therefore comes the basis for the second theory:

The underground waters of this structure are extremely saline,

some of the pumped water, This water has not been analysed very
accurately, but the general composition, as determined by the Standard
011 chemist at Taft, is sodium, calcium, magnesium, sulphate, chloride,
and sulphide (HgS). Chloride solutions will react on any iron they

encounter, therefore, there is without doubt, reaction going on in

AS is a

»

wv.

 

¥

 

Plate:

8

VIL SAND rLOUDLNG.

Perforatio

Indicating how water after eating through the

 

 

 

casing will enter the oil sands.

26

 

 

777
  

y

fF)

 

the wells where these two substances come to-gether. If the solution
be weak, as it is, it will take considerable time to dissolve the

amount of iron in a thickness of a forty-four-pound-per-foot pipe.

 Pherefore, with this reaction going on it is possible that the pipe

became eaten through at least ten years after being placed in the
well. It was about this length of time that the wells began to show
a considerable decrease in oil and a greater inocreace in water pro-

duction. And with fifteen more years of chemical reaction we can

expect to find a still lower oil production and much more water, as

is the case. In some wells the reaction has been sO great as to
totally destroy the lower casings (Fig.l7 P.26).

With some wells so ruined by the destruction of the casing,
allowing water to enter, there should have been some means of pre-
venting the water from migrating up or down the hole so that there
would not be any flooding of the oil sands that might be in the
well above or below the water sands, For the open hole is a passage
through which the water will pass in entering the oil sands, thus
destroying the productivity of those sands entered,

Again, improper cement shut-offs have been responsible for
many wells being flooded with water. These result from the ignorance
of the driller in not knowing the position of the water sand. Or it
may be due to improper mixing and handling of the cementing job.

Still a further possibility and probably a direct cause is
the large vavity developed around the base of the casing due to the
caving sands (Fig.l18). In some wells thousands of cubic feet of sand

have been removed which have come from several hundred feet up from

the bottom of the hole, thereby forming a cone-like cavity with its

27

 

ES

RAL Osseo —— .

 

 

 

28

® apex at the bottom of the well, This cavity might enter water sands
allowing the water to run down to the oil sand outside the casing,
thus flooding the sand. In such a case it would be impossible to
prevent flooding of the sands and the injury to the field would only
be in the decrease of 0il production by the addition of water so that
the oil will still be there but it will take longer to. be extracted

as it is so greatly interferred with by the presence of water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

i 9 |

| CAV inu.

Showing how water sands are let in wells.
Before. After.
( \ =~
Water Er rs
Sands. ©. TS

er Sands.

k Both sands below shut -of

B® 2 : have been entered b, mater. !

 

Tig. 18

 
 

£\

 

A NBI_OIL HORIZON.

The deepest wells on the Spellacy (256 Hill) anticline are
eighteen hundred feet deep, and they are to-day producing little
more than ten barrels of oil per well. The purpose of the follow-
ing statements ts to advance the theory of the probable presence
of an 0il sand at a depth deeper than the present producing sands,

The information concerning the Belridge well in the SE% -
Sec, 32-1328-R23E was obtained from the July, August, and September
issues of the 0il Age magazine; and the California 0il World of
Thursday, November 5, 1925, which contained an article written by
Mr. Harry R. Johnston. Mr. R.D.Bush of the State Mining Bureau at
San Francisco assisted me in my search for information, and through
him I met Mr.Stiensy, of the Associated 0il Company, who was able
to give me all the information needed, and who confirmed the above
news articles,

The maps, dealing with the sub-surface structure and format-
ions of the present producing sands, were taken from Pack's Prof=-
essional Paper 116; and in them are placed the sands with which the

following will deal and endeavor to locate,

GHOLOGY:

The present producing sands of Spellacy Hill outcrop one
quarter mile west of the nearest production. It will be noticed
in the cross-section (Fig.l1l9) of this region that eastward from
the Temblor Range the oil zone thickens, and the outcrop on the
flanks of the range is but the pinched out sands exposed. This oil

 

 

—-

30

bearing formation is in the Etchegoin which overlies the laricopa

shale unconformably. This shale extends under the Etchegoin throu-
ghout the area and is exposed for several hundred feet in the

Temblor Range.*It is marked by being in the upper zone a soft dia-
tomaceous shale with lenses of coarse sandstone and huge granitic ’
boulders. The lower beds are chiefly indurated diatomaceous shale

with numerous thin calcareous layers and a few lenses of arkosic
sandstone.

It is in this Maricopa shale, two miles west of the nearest
production, in the SE 3 - Sec.32-P325-R23E that the Belridge well
is being drilled to determine the possibilities of production in
the Temblor Range.

Since the formations penetrated by this well pass under
Spellacy Hill, they can undoubtedly be struck by a well drilled
at any point on the anticline, And if oil is found to be present
at the Belridge well, then at Spellacy Hill there will be a thicker
oil zone and greater production, since there is a more favorable
structure and a thicker horizon. Even if only a tar sand is found
to be present at the Belridge well it may develop into an oil zone
lower down, just as do the present upper sands; so no matter what
is found higher up, as long as the indications are favorable there
will be yet stronger indications lower down in Spellacy Hill, It
is to be understood that the oil zone encountered will thicken

away from the Temblor Range just as does the the upper oil horizon.

MARICOPA SHALE:
Let us first consider the oil possibilities in the Maricopa

* Pagk - Professional Paper 116 (U.S.G.S.)

 
 

OC

 

shales as shown by the results of other wells:-

*High gravity oil has been found in the Vaoueros(lower
Maricopa) in various places extending over a distance of eighty
miles, At Maricopa on the Pioneer anticline southeast of Sunset a
little hae been found at shallow depths; in the area near the
Temblor ranch oil from the Vaqueros has been produced commercially;
mach of the oil at Coalinga is produced from the Vaqueros; and
most important of all, because it is so close to the area of Spellacy
Hill, is the recent ten thousand barrel well brought in by the Obispo
011 Company in the Maricopa flats. These oil-shows and production
indicate an 0il bearing formation in the Maricopa shales, so if tar
or oil is found in the Belridge well it is there because it is more

or less common in the formation and is not a mere accident.

GEOLOGY OF THE BELRIDGE WELL (GONYER)#1):

In the early part of July the well was started with a
twenty-two inch drill. The last of July a string of casing ( the
size not known) was cemented at six hundred feet. Here was encountered
the first indications, which were in the form of tar sand. At
eight hundred and fifty feet the twelve and one-half inch casing
was cemented; and on renewing drilling a tar sand with gas was
encountered at nine hundred and three feet, At eleven hundred
and seventy feet a rather fine grained gray sandstone presumed to
be thé top of the Vaqueros was encountered and this persisted to a
depth of thirteen hundred and thirty feet, where shales with

interbedded sandstones were drilled into. At fifteen hundred and

*California 0il World of Nov.5,1925 - "Where oil is
found in the Vaqueros" - Johnston.

A PS St a

 

 

 

 

—

-

32

seventy-five feet the ten inch casing was cemented, and almost
immediately on resuming drilling the drill passed into, at fif-
teen hundred and eighty-six feet, a uniform dark brown sand strongly
impregnated with high grade 0il, and this persisted without change
to sixteen hundred and twenty-eight feet. Cores of this sand show
it to be a typical fine grained stratum of the petroliferous Vacueros,
rather closely resembling the outcrop found at the ZErume locality.
The present depth is sixteen hundred and forty-eight feet. The well
is to be tested immediately , and the outcome, if successful, will
be of great importance since it will inaugurate the development of
& hitherto well known, but carefully avoided region in close proximity
to the long developed West Side fields*. |

But whether a new field is developed there or not does not
concern this discussion, An oil sand was found between fifteen hun-

dred and eighty-six feet and sixteen hundred and twenty-eight feet,

this being the information looked for, for, now the sands can be

extended down to Spellacy Hill at which place we will find greater

production as already indicated. |

The depth at which the oil will be found can only be
determined by drilling, since no formations belonging to the
Maricopa under Spellacy Hi11 are known to have been encountered
by drilling to the present sands; therefore the depth is not
known. But since the oil horizon will thicken, and considering
that the structure of Spellsey Hill is more pronounced, the oil
at this point is very likely to be closer to the present oil sands
then it is at the Belridge well. The Maricopa shales in some parts
of the region are known to be four thousand feet thick, with the

* Since pronounced to be productively a dry hole.

 
 

 

 

 

 

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Sector showing of ward errcouvritered by

7e Levrrobe Wel Sec. IZ 7528" R27, oF
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{ upper Maricopa about fourteen hundred and the lower, or Vaqueros,

 

 

about twenty-six hundred feet thick. Therefore, if this same

 

Stratigraphic thickness existed in Spellacy Hill the new horizon

 

in section twenty-five would be found at about thirty-five to four

 

thousand feet, since the oil at the Belridge well is found at the

 

top of the Vaqueros. The depth of the present well plus the thickness

 

of the upper lEricopa gives the minimum to which the wells must drill

 

to penetrate the new zone,

 

  

The accompanying diagram shows the present oil sands, and
the likely depth of the new sands just recently discovered in the
Belridge well (Fig.19).

  

 

 

 

 

 

 
  

 

 

 

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