(^i.<A Su&A>L<-{ 
 
 Press Bulletin Series For The Oil and Gas Industry 
 
 STATE OF ILLINOIS 
 
 HENRY HORNER, Governor 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 
 
 JOHN J. HALLIHAN, Director 
 
 DIVISION OF THE 
 
 STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 M. M. LEIGHTON, Chief, Urbana 
 
 No - 32 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM July 15, 1938 
 
 RECENT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS 1 
 
 ALFRED H. BELL and GEORGE V. COHEE 
 Urbana, Blinois 
 
 ABSTRACT 
 Tir during th * P^ st y ear new drilling in Illinois, especially in the deeper part of the 
 Illinois basin, has been providing a wealth of new information on the subsurface geology 
 of the region. Oil has been discovered in numerous widely scattered localities in the 
 basin, but as yet the boundaries of the productive areas are largely undefined Since 
 May, 1937, approximately 4 million barrels of oil has been produced from the new 
 fields and present indications are that reserves in the new areas will exceed 100 million 
 barrels. The producing strata and the structures controlling the accumulations are 
 discussed. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 One year ago, the discovery of oil in three new areas in Illinois 
 was reported to this Association. This discovery was preceded by 
 extensive geological and geophysical investigations which resulted 
 in the leasing of several million acres. The discovery wells were all 
 of small capacity— not more than 100 barrels per day initial— and 
 the question whether there were to be returns on the very considerable 
 investment already made was still unanswered. Today the picture 
 has changed. Initial daily flows varying from 1,000 to 2,600 barrels 
 of oil have been obtained in 26 wells. Instead of three, there are a 
 dozen new fields, with three hundred producing wells, yielding a 
 daily production of 25,000 barrels of oil. This is more than double the 
 total production of the old fields of Illinois for the same period, and 
 thus the state's production has been trebled. The number and 'wide 
 distribution of the new fields throughout the area of the Illinois basin 
 give promise of many more discoveries to come and indicate not only 
 increased drilling activity in the immediate future, but a period of 
 orderly development which should last for many years. Since May, 
 1937, approximately 4 million barrels of oil have been produced from 
 the new fields and present indications are that reserves in the new 
 areas will exceed 100 million barrels. 
 
 DATA FROM NEW DRILLING 
 
 Previous to this new development few wells in this area had com- 
 pletely penetrated the Pennsylvanian strata, and because correlations 
 
 ■ 'J 16 ™ b L for o the Associat 'on at New Orleans, March 18, 1038. Manuscript re- 
 ceived, March 18, 1938. Reprinted from Bull. Am. Assoc. Petr. Geol Vol 22 
 pp. 649-658, 1938. ~~,Aai 
 
 640 ILLINOIS GEOLOGICAL m ^ m 
 
 Su VE' R^ y 
 
CHICAGO 
 
 1L UNO.SSTAT |E GEOLOG.CALSUBVEV 
 
 ] AREA SHOWN 
 IN FIG. 2 
 
 A- A' CROSS SECTION 
 FIG. 3 
 
 Scnlo of Mile* 
 10 O 10 so SO 40 SO 
 
 3 3051 00005 0983 
 
 Fig. 1. — Index map of Illinois. 
 
PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS 651 
 
 of the few available logs were difficult, only very generalized subsur- 
 face contour maps or cross sections could be made. 4 
 
 Data from the new drilling are furnishing a wealth of new knowl- 
 edge of the subsurface stratigraphy and structure of Illinois, particu- 
 larly for the central basin area. Most of the new wells are drilled into 
 the Ste. Genevieve limestone of Lower Mississippian age and a few 
 penetrate the Devonian or older systems. Studies of the new data are 
 in progress, but are as yet far from complete. Only a brief mention 
 can be made here of some of the more important findings. 
 
 STRUCTURAL AXES 
 
 The principal previously known structural axes are the LaSalle 
 anticline — -broken in the region of the Southeastern Illinois oil field 
 by cross folds of which the most conspicuous is the Oakland anticline 
 — the DuQuoin-Centralia monocline, the Shawneetown-Rough Creek 
 fault, the faulted belt which borders the basin on the south and several 
 axes trending east-west and in other directions in Bond, Clinton, and 
 Perry counties. Studies of the stratigraphy and structure of outcrop- 
 ping Pennsylvanian beds in 1934-35 had revealed the presence of 
 several anticlines in eastern Marion and western Clay counties, the 
 axes of some of which are shown. A subsurface contour map of the 
 base of the Pennsylvanian appeared to indicate two east-west anti- 
 clinal structures in this general area. 
 
 The drilling in the Clay City, Noble, and Cisne fields and sur- 
 rounding territory has revealed the presence of anticlines arranged 
 en echelon and trending slightly east of north. The eastern axis, that 
 of the Noble structure, is in line with the axis of the Oakland anticline 
 in the Westfield-Siggins area of Clark and Cumberland counties, one 
 of the cross folds on the LaSalle anticline described by Mylius. 6 Ac- 
 cording to Wasson 6 seismograph findings indicate a structural dis- 
 turbance extending across Wayne, Richland, and Jasper counties. 
 This is of great interest from the point of view of further development. 
 It is interesting to note that oil showings were found at Rose Hill 
 (King well) almost along this axis and a new field has been discovered 
 near Aden on the south line of Wayne County on what may be a 
 southern extension of the same structural disturbance. This field is 
 16 miles from the nearest production. 
 
 The Aden field was brought in by The Texas Company's Silver- 
 
 4 Illinois State Geol. Survey Kept. Inveslig. 40, Figs. 2 and 3. 
 
 * Illinois Slate Geol. Survey Bull. 54. 
 
 6 Theron Wasson, "Recent Oil Discoveries in Southeastern Illinois," Bull. Amer 
 Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Vol. 22, No. 1 (January, 1938), p. 74. 
 
I DECATUR 
 
 DEVONIAN 
 
 2100' 
 
 VIGO 
 
 JACKSON 
 
 WILLIAMSON 
 
 ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 MARCH 12, 1938 
 
 (V) PRODUCING well; 
 
 NEW FIELD 1937-8 
 
 RECENT OIL TEST, 
 DEEPEST FOR- 
 MATION TESTED 
 & TOTAL OR 
 LATEST DEPTH 
 
 Fig. 2.— Map of Illinois basin, showing oil and gas fields and structural trends. Area shown in Figure i. 
 
PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS 653 
 
 man No. 1, SW. |, NW. J, Sec. 16, T. 3 S., R. 7 E. The well is 
 producing from the "McClosky sand" at a depth of 3,276 feet. The 
 initial production of the well was 385 barrels in 19 hours flowing. The 
 Silverman No. 2 is being drilled. 
 
 The Beecher City field was discovered by the Carter Oil Company. 
 Its Mary Miller well No. 1, located in Sec. 12, T. 8 N., R. 3 E., Fayette 
 County, with a total depth of 3,100 feet, was completed on December 
 20, 1937. An initial production of 57 barrels of oil was obtained in 17 
 hours from the Devonian limestone. Production of this well dwindled 
 to about 5 barrels per day after which it was plugged back to the 
 Cypress sand. A second well in the field is the same company's Clow 
 No. 1 which is producing about 40 barrels per day from the Benoist 
 sand at a total depth of 1,503 feet. A third well, the Farrelly et al. 
 Lilley No. 1 is reported to be showing oil and may be a producer in the 
 same sand. 
 
 Since January 1, 1938, the Dix field in the northern part of Jeffer- 
 son County was brought in by the Carter Oil Company's Tate well 
 No. 1, in the center, W. \, NW. f , NE. \, Sec. 10, T. 1 S., R. 2 E. The 
 well is producing from the Benoist sand at a depth of 1,982 feet and 
 had an initial production of 58 barrels in 18 hours on the pump. An- 
 other well was drilled in the field by the Carter Oil Company on the 
 Douthit farm in the center, E. \, NE. |, SE. \, Sec. 9, T. 1 S., R. 
 2 E. The initial production was 147 barrels of oil and 12 barrels of 
 salt water per day. 
 
 At present one of the most active areas in the state is the New 
 Centralia field, which was discovered in December, 1937. This field 
 now (March 12, 1938) has 12 producing wells, 7 drilling wells, 6 rigs 
 standing, 16 wells rigging up, and 3 locations. Production is from the 
 Benoist sand at an average depth of approximately 1,350 feet. The 
 productive area has been extended into the western part of the city 
 of Centralia. Initial production of more than 300 barrels is reported 
 for some of the wells, whereas the average initial production for wells 
 west of the city is between 150 and 200 barrels. 
 
 Showings of oil in scattered wildcats have been found near Ina, 
 Jefferson County, near Whittington (Mitchell well), Franklin County, 
 near Farina, Marion County (Nichols well), and east of Harrisburg 
 in Saline County (Beagle well, NW. \, NE. \, Sec. 13, T. 9 S., R. 7 E.). 
 The last is of special interest because of its location near the Cottage 
 Grove and Shawneetown faults. The oil showing was in the Tar 
 Springs sandstone from 1,780 to 1,824 feet. The well was shot with 
 160 quarts of nitroglycerine on February 15 and has been shut down 
 since that date. 
 
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PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS 655 
 
 CROSS SECTION 
 
 A graphic picture of some recent additions to knowledge of the 
 subsurface structure is seen in the cross section (Fig. 3). This has 
 been amplified after Figure 3 in Illinois State Geological Survey Report 
 of Investigations No. 40. Formerly no well had been drilled into the 
 lower part of the Chester series in this part of the basin. The base of 
 the Pennsylvanian in this area was shown in the earlier cross section 
 by a smooth dashed line. Since then numerous wells have penetrated 
 the Ste. Genevieve formation in the Lower Mississippian of which the 
 following wells were added to the cross section: Benedum-Trees' 
 Valbert; Pure Oil Company's Travis and Weiler; Ohio Oil Company's 
 Arbuthnot, Neely-Baughman, Strauss-Robeson; and Helmerich and 
 Payne's Stephens. Two well defined anticlines are shown in the Clay 
 City-Noble area. There is also evidence of structural disturbance in 
 the vicinity of the Lorenzen well in Marion County. 
 
 The correlations of Pennsylvanian beds as shown on the cross sec- 
 tion by dash lines must be regarded as merely tentative. In some wells 
 these beds are logged less carefully than are beds in the Mississippian 
 which include the pay zones. Because the Pennsylvanian beds vary 
 laterally to a considerable degree, most of the wells are spaced too 
 far apart along this cross section to admit of certainty of accurate 
 correlations. Studies of surface geology indicate that the outcropping 
 strata in western Lawrence County and across most of Richland 
 County belong to the same two cyclothems 7 (Cohn and Bogota). 
 From the crest of the LaSalle anticline in Lawrence County at the 
 Silurian Oil Company's Bowers and Ross well No. 18, westward to 
 the Neely-Baughman well No. 1 in the basin, a distance of 16 miles, 
 the base of the Pennsylvanian drops 1,370 feet, and the top of the 
 Lower Mississippian 1,700 feet. The tentative correlations indicate 
 that the greater part of this thickening from the LaSalle anticline 
 westward takes place in the Pottsville and a lesser amount in the beds 
 above Coal No. 6. Assuming these tentative correlations to be cor- 
 rect, a large amount of downwarping of the basin and of deformation 
 of the Clay City and Noble anticlines took place during Pottsville 
 time and a smaller amount later. 
 
 If the surface beds have not been deformed at all, there is of 
 course no use in attempting to map surface structure as a guide to ex- 
 ploratory drilling. However, previous work indicates that some surface 
 structures in the Pennsylvanian continue downward, for example, the 
 
 ' William Newton and J. M. Weiler, "Stratigraphic Studies of Pennsylvanian 
 Outcrops in Part of Southeastern Illinois," Illinois State Geol. Survey Rept. Investig. 45. 
 
656 ALFRED H. BELL AND GEORGE V. COHEE 
 
 Martinsville dome. 8 It is reported that seismograph findings have con- 
 firmed the presence at depth of some of the structures mapped from 
 outcrops in eastern Marion and western Clay counties. 9 
 
 Careful study and correlation of Pennsylvanian strata from the 
 surface down are necessary to work out the geologic history of the 
 Illinois basin. The Pennsylvanian has been very productive in the 
 southeastern field, but not in the new fields. It may well prove produc- 
 tive in some unexplored areas, but even if it should not be, the value 
 of detailed studies of Pennsylvanian stratigraphy has been amply 
 demonstrated, and justifies careful sampling of Pennsylvanian strata 
 in wildcat wells. The lack of oil production or even oil showings in the 
 Pennsylvanian in wells so far drilled in the central basin area presents 
 an interesting theoretical problem. 
 
 PRE-PENNSYLVANIAN UNCONFORMITY 
 
 The unconformity at the base of the Pennsylvanian is conspicuous 
 in the cross section. The uppermost Chester formation varies from 
 the lower part of the Golconda (at the Lahr well, Lawrence County) 
 up to the Kinkaid in Benedum-Trees' Valbert well in the basin. The 
 Kinkaid, Clore, and Palestine wedge out eastward and westward. 
 Important deformation took place after deposition of the latest Ches- 
 ter in this area and before the earliest Pennsylvanian deposition. This 
 is the earliest definitely known diastrophism in the central basin 
 area. The record of possible earlier diastrophism must await further 
 data from deeper drilling. 
 
 McCLOSKY LIMESTONE 
 
 Nearly all of the oil in the new fields is produced from the Mc- 
 Closky "sand" or McClosky "lime." The term "McClosky" is 
 applied to any porous zone in the Fredonia member of the Ste. Gene- 
 vieve limestone formation usually occurring within 25 feet of the top. 
 Wherever it has been seen (in well cuttings, cores, and in outcrops), 
 the Fredonia is composed largely of oolites (Fig. 4). The size and 
 character of the oolites and the amount of cement between them 
 vary greatly. In the best producing wells of the new oil fields, the 
 oolites are fairly uniform in size and are very slightly cemented. The 
 amount of cementation varies considerably from well to well both on 
 and off structure. In areas of tight, well cemented oolites, dry holes 
 
 8 For areal geology of the Martinsville dome in Clark County, see the following 
 Illinois State Geological Survey publications: Report of Investigations 45, Fig. 2, page 
 7; for the subsurface geology, see Bulletin 54, plate 22B, and Illinois Petroleum 14, 
 Fig. 3, pp. 6 and 7. 
 
 9 Illinois State Geol. Survey Rept. Investig. 40. 
 
PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS 657 
 
 . * 
 t * 
 
 b 4 v % 
 
 3 MM. 
 
 3 
 
 SCALE 
 
 Fig. 4.— Ste. Genevieve limestone (McClosky "sand"), W., SW., NE., Sec. 8, T. 3 N., R. 9 E., Noble field, 
 Richland County, Illinois. Left, broken surface; right, smooth surface, acid rinsed. 
 
658 ALFRED H. BELL AND GEORGE V. COHEE 
 
 have been drilled in the midst of producing wells in both the Clay City 
 and Noble fields. In some wells low on structure, where the oolitic 
 zone is very porous, the fluid contained in the pore space is wholly or 
 in part salt water. Among the wells located low in structure, Myers 
 and Fitzpatrick's Shannon, SW. \, SW. \, SE. \, Sec. 26, T. 2 N., R. 8 
 E., Wayne County, and Benedum-Trees' Knapp, SE. \, NW. \, SW. |, 
 Sec. I,?,, T. 2 N., R. 7 E., Wayne County, are producing water with 
 the oil. TheLiebke well, SE. \, SE. \, SW. \, Sec. 17, T. 3 N., R. 7 E., 
 Clay County, had an encouraging showing of oil, but the amount of 
 water obtained was too great to permit commercial production. 
 
 The available data appear to indicate that porosity trends are 
 largely independent of the structural trends in the new fields. In this 
 respect the new fields are similar to the old. The porosity of the oolitic 
 zones seems to be original and the cementation of the tight oolites 
 seems to be secondary. The problem of the conditions which con- 
 trolled the varying amounts of cementation is of scientific interest 
 and its solution would have practical value as an aid in future oil 
 development.