s IP <#! Bulletin Series For the Oil and Gas Industry STATE OF ILLINOIS ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Governor ^ P PjU DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION OVjO^ NOBLE J. PUFFER, Director — G^" -. v ^ DIVISION OF THE ^s/ \ ^ STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY M. M. LEIGHTON, Chief URBANA No. 61 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM August 19, 1950 Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA IN 1949 1 ALFRED H. BELL 2 and R. E. ESAREY 8 Urbana, Illinois, and Bloomington, Indiana ABSTRACT In all, 4,018 wells were drilled for oil and gas in Illinois and Indiana in 1949 as compared with 3,662 in 1948, an increase of 10 per cent. Total oil production increased 3 per cent, from 71,782,000 barrels in 1948 to 74,139,000 barrels in 1949. Wildcat drilling increased from 955 completions in 1948 to 1,217 completions in 1949. Fifty-one new pools, 84 extensions, and 53 new producing zones were discovered in the two states in 1949. Most of the discoveries in 1949 were in Mississippian formations, but the Devonian limestone produced oil in six new pools, Pennsylvanian sandstone in five, Ordovician limestone in three, and Silurian limestone in one. INTRODUCTION In Illinois and Indiana, 4,018 wells for oil and gas were drilled in 1949 as compared with 3,662 in 1948, an increase of 10 per cent. Total oil production increased 3 per cent from 71,782,000 barrels in 1948 to 74,139,000 barrels in 1949. Wildcat drilling increased from 955 completions in 1948 to 1,217 completions in 1949, an increase of 27 per cent. Fifty-one new pools, 84 extensions, and 53 new producing zones were discovered in the two states in 1949. In the Illinois basin area — southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana — 36 out of 46 discovery wells of new pools discovered in 1949 produced from Missis- sippian formations (15 Chester series and 21 Lower Mississippian). Of the re- maining 10 discovery wells of new pools, five produced oil from Pennsylvanian sandstone, four from Devonian limestone, and one from Silurian limestone. Five new pools were discovered in eastern Indiana outside of the Illinois basin, of which two produced from Devonian and three from Ordovician ("Trenton") limestone. The details of development are discussed separately for Illinois and Indiana. Illinois By Alfred H. Bell In Illinois 2,737 wells were drilled for oil and gas in 1949 as compared with 2,489 in 1948, an increase of approximately 10 per cent. (These figures are ex- 1 Reprinted from Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Vol. 34, No. 6 (June, 1950), pp. 1078-1090. 2 Illinois State Geological Survey, Urbana, Illinois. * Department of geology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. 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CQ " WMH^^. & fcfe ■So *s -J.-S 3 -«< ^ 4> 60[i} = 2 > a -a c ■oS« §>« = «5u S.S.S s -^ -° -° -o -° -° -° c c c c 0000 .ouuu .t o o o o o o o ^^2 0.3333333 ^^W^W 3W Q r -60 . W> 3 > a s, & ■ 1 Ml ^- nil - t- o c ■- •- s -j 3 C-a .j Q tc . . p to a offi Oh c o V M « fell •" o ■ g OfeQmOUHWO fficiffiH^ W)0 H M M i 1 5! •.9"-S |gb>.s s" oJ'gQN g ^►^1 . g ^ c e c.2 c ^.t: ^ s 2 2 JS rt ^ *-* rt "a u.y v^^ S'~" & a if e b >-a = 5 a 3R \A \4Cn t, B 3 O O e e SB g g >§ § i !5 JJS^^S |5 N 'f-LINO/S STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 3 3051 00005 0645 io82 ALFRED H. BELL AND R. E. ESAREY ►q o o Ph w Z o N O u p Q O Pfj Ch h-I < o I pq < a,fe. ■St'S 0» 0> O OO 00 N MW) H f M tn fj m lrtCsr-Ml/Jf>ON*ONMh -SO M M PO O ma m o ^m o **>co o oo oo ► "tOOOOO^OoOi^^Ow* r^-O 00 O O N n in C OMi-roO Oim mo rOCT>r* r^O O ^ w O r~ -rf\0 C4(N>0 PO M MM m (Oh - MM »0 rooo 0» 'O Tt Tf Tf O- rO M O- < o^ o J > t- > j *> n « oQHQ i O »0 pooO lOOOvOQO **> N o ' 2: n to ii co co Jj «-*■ S"S^SS|S|Ssl §.<* " Sg « SI g S|^« « « i-2^! =■= * °oJ=.£ g 00 OM o (OiO'nN lO O^O OOO-O OOr^w o\ k-> w m O OO OmO> ) \0 O- "> ^ I s - »« « 11«S WWM 'ig , §« f g'igww^'8«W W ^MWsMWWW«> t i M ^ oococoMMOMMa,ai7 c rMMMMOov77 H i7^7 N ' X X CO m CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO X CO X X CO co co co co X X X X X CO CO CO co X >OvOr-»M MINING rO'X GOOD r-O-M M mNNNNl^M M M Tj-l^t'-lO fO^O 3 2 o O Ji ^ •3 5 B 6 3 3 -1 < J - • ^'-° "S ■""§2^ * 3 3 ^o^ r r»H o 2 o a a ?fK g PL, Ph s *s .o-g-a" ° SP3 2 2-= -o 73 £73 a 5 a wrence elino «/ elino et . Skiles onal As S. Coc art Oil, on, Nat on, Nat :an & \ . Brehn" s & Aui o o • J? £2."*^ 3 -J3 S P 15 °LT; 2ffi F O C O • ►.-« uT * k -S S °-r tc« .vS ■■ - ■ ■ « 5(E?OHHHffiSPHOpq'^S H . J5 mi . oa -T3: ta . ^ ^ £ a H fc ^ a a o o OO J3^3 o o rt n) ca -b -tt ii c c c 4* 4> 4) ■3 oocSw a & 53 oS£~ °>° § a c a c a a c-2 S^XXKKS E § o^^ ^ w ESeeac^gggg|pS8«^i«a t^.00' O O* M H ro rf lAsO r~«3 Q. O I " 22 '43 'O E E ! "! B B B £ B 5.2 3 a a EE p P B 3 3 PJT3-T3 d • * DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA IN 1949 1083 elusive of water or gas-input wells, salt-water disposal wells, and old wells worked over.) Of the 2,737 wells drilled, 746 are classified as wildcat wells as compared with 628 in 1948, an increase of 19 per cent. Of the 746 wildcat wells drilled in 1949, 326 were located more than 2 miles from production ("wildcats far"), of which 24, or 7 per cent, were successful. In 1948, 12 per cent of the "wildcats far" were successful. Drilling in 1949 resulted in 1,404 oil wells, 7 gas wells, and 1,326 dry holes. Of the 746 wildcat wells drilled, 24 discovered new pools and 69 discovered extensions to pools (Tables I and II). In addition 32 wells, most of which can not be designated properly as exploratory wells, discovered additional producing zones in known producing areas (Table III). The geographic pattern of drilling resembled that of previous years except for a noteworthy increase in drilling in Edgar and Christian counties and the ad- jacent area north of the main structural basin which centers in Wayne County. The seven counties having the greatest number of completions were Wabash (357); Wayne (244), White (238), Gallatin (194), Christian (149), Clay (165), and Edgar (154). These seven counties had 56 per cent of the total number of completions in the state. The pools with the greatest number of successful oil-well completions in 1949 were Assumption North (Christian County), 124, Maud North Consolidated (Wabash County), 113, Clay City-Noble Consolidated, 101, Sailor Springs Con- solidated, 78, Inman East Consolidated, 62, Louden, 55 oil and 2 gas, Allendale, 56, New Harmony-Keensburg Consolidated, 55. Total oil production in Illinois in 1949 was 64,583,000 barrels as compared with 64,808,000 barrels in 1949, a decrease of \ per cent, or about one day's pro- duction. (Actually, 1949 had only 365 days as compared with 366 in 1948.) Aver- age daily production in 1949 was 177,000 barrels. The daily average by months varied from a low of 167,000 barrels in January to a high of 184,000 barrels in December. EXPLORATORY DRILLING Exploratory drilling in 1949 was done in 54 counties in Illinois as compared with 44 counties in 1948 and was more widespread than in the last several years. With few exceptions the new pools discovered in Illinois in 1949 are located close to previous production (Fig. 1). The most noteworthy exceptions are Dudley (map No. 5) and Elbridge (map No. 7) in Edgar County, Weaver (map No. 22) in Clark County, Edinburg (map No. 6) in Christian County, and Roby in Sangamon County (map No. 15). The producing zones in the Dudley pool are in Pennsylvanian sandstones at average depths of 325 feet and 425 feet, respectively. The reservoirs are probably lenses on the east flank of the Oakland dome which is part of the LaSalle anti- clinal belt. In the Elbridge pool, production is mainly from Ste. Genevieve lime- stone. The discovery well was deepened to the Devonian, from which a small 1084 ALFRED H. BELL AND R. E. ESAREY ***\ I* - * V J J- ' ~L-^- r r "TV" T* - ^T 7 ""^ - " 7Tr ^Vr I • 'cm* • _ ' • - • ! • N *. ^, .v. *■"■ '••••^ L* »2 —J -T-- J- 1 #» I o DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA IN 1949 1085 |4 *! •3& , IN M M M M tr> CS I 1 *+> t-^O t t 7 ? 7 6 r c- O t m ► 1 w <*") f} 0> *i" w fO>-"0 rOr^cO fO *t ^h O* 0< *"■ i - * c c c a "2 ad « a 9.2.2 a. 2. 2 5 a a a a c.g c a « a a a-S*s ■C a g P a P gV a a a a c P"E a P'E a a g-J ro ■* o o ^"in *^o o >n tj- o o o o> *o t-~ 10 <-o Mh 'ftO'OpiMI 1 i-sO io>o o* ' ■05 a a ^ u . ■„,■§■£« c«c rt -gO s « o S'E n 2 a *J3 Qk, o Hid o a 00 M o (i> a> p at ^ Xd,^ gjd. a - o o a -&o° ■ -j ra w ►— _> rt -q « 9 s K . s « .2.2^-cj.S S pgS.a.g ggSSStSc, -3.2.2 g J2 >• 3 Q^O t~00 O- I 110 1^00 Oi o 1 1086 ALFRED H. BELL AND R. E. ESAREY amount of oil was produced. The type of structure is not yet known. In the Weaver pool, oil is produced from the Devonian limestone at an average depth of 2,050 feet to top of the producing zone. The structure is possibly a reef of Devonian or Silurian age. It is located near the Siosi and Prairie Creek pools in Indiana, which are believed to be in reef structures. The Edinburg and Roby discovery wells yielded only small production and there has not been enough drilling to determine the type of reservoir. Table V. Wildcat Far Wells Classified by Method of Location Method of Location Total Producers c rc " / , J i> uccessful Geology 269 22 8.2 Geophysics 22 1 4.5 Geology and geophysics 18 1 5.6 Non-scientific 17 o o Total 326 24 7.4 A list of some of the most noteworthy dry holes completed in 1949 is given in Table IV. There was little deep testing. METHODS OF EXPLORATION The principal methods used in locating exploratory wells continued to be subsurface geology and the reflection seismograph (Table V). The amount of seismograph work decreased 17 per cent from 64 crew-months in 1948 to 53 crew- months in 1949. Gravity-meter work increased three-fold from 9 crew-months in 1948 to 25 crew-months in 1949. Table VI. Number of Geophysical Crews Active in Illinois during 1949 by Months Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total Seismograph 334434S470SS 53 Gravity meter 013324222222 25 Indiana By R. E. Esarey Production in Indiana has increased substantially over the preceding year for the third consecutive time. The total oil production was 9,556,000 barrels (U. S. Bureau of Mines figure), which is 37 per cent greater than in 1948. The total of 1,288 wells drilled during the year represents an increase of about 10 per cent in drilling activities. Wells were drilled in 55 counties, indicating a much greater spread in exploration over the state. Except for Sullivan County, the number of producing wells equaled the number of dry holes in the 7 counties leading in new discoveries and production. The footage drilled was approximately 2,352,900 feet, representing a considerable increase for 1949. The total initial production from discovery wells was about 44,650 barrels of oil daily, and new gas was DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA IN 1949 1087 if? CJCJ UU U v>m OCO^S O O "> O O TO mm Mr* m CO 0> mOioOOO'^'tM ft »■ O m O O lOO i(-!m ^^o^a »** . . . ** i_ jT TO _Q CO flj ~* TO QJ l*5 W TO aj i_i r*\ . t_-i i_i • • li ti t*2 ^ r- 0>MD O 1^,00 o *0 r—o "i fOO CT 1 "^ O , 1 O "5 "^OO t m ^o O o ") m O (OOM ~-0 m wj'O WO «*) < 3 00 uTO m ionnqO < NCO r*. *"*»""■ Oi *•*• 0» r- 1 f^iMi lOi^^^tj'OtHOi-^il Oi*"^ r*)(^ N< 1 1 1 O _ %h£> w o r~ w r^oo ^ fO M m coo 10 r~o oo tt t^o t-i ft m *4-ao -» — £ U < « «g.Cr=«t;gg ago •■=!*-' g-a !iS™S3SM .o > . £- »E = J o o o ■* £ ™-^ o > a S o rt JS c „ o fe a Or" i a S^J : 2d 3 o io88 ALFRED H. BELL AND R. E. ESAREY 26,000 M cubic feet daily. The average daily production of oil was about 27,000 barrels. A breakdown of the new discoveries includes 27 new fields, 20 new pay zones in producing areas, and 15 extensions of existing fields. The Pocket area of south- western Indiana, Posey, Gibson, and Vanderburg counties, contained 34 of the new discoveries, 9 new fields, 13 new pay zones, and 12 extensions, thus con- Table VIII. Discovery Wells of Additional Producing Zones in Pools in Indiana 1949 Total Producing Initial Dale of Pool County Company and Farm Location Depth (Feel) Forma- tion Production (Barrels) Com- pletion I. Bufkin Posey C E. Skiles, Meier i 7-6S-12W 1,140 Penn. 96 12/15/49 2. Carlisle Sullivan Unger, Knotts i 17-6N-9W 1,727 Salem 4 12/ 1/49 3- Cypress Pond Knox Winmar, Johnson i H-1S-12W 2,362 Benoist 79 10/20/49 4- College Posey Basin Drlg., Oakland City College i 16-8S-14W 1,857 Walts. 32 1/26/49 S- Grafton Posey George & Wrather, Hempfling i 21-6S-14W 2.30s Hards. 44 12/ 8/49 6. Heusler Posey Coy, Gumbel i 36-6S-12W 2,191 Jackson 15 5/ 5/49 7- King Gibson Evans & Dobbs, Woods i 21-2S-11W 2,250 Aux Vases 85 n/n/49 8. Lamott Ext. Posey Heppard et al., Thomas i 24-7S-13W 2,369 Cypress 25 4/14/49 9- McGary Gibson Chas. C. Clark, Montgomery et al. i 18-3S-11W 2,908 St. Louis 7 12/22/49 10. Monroe City Knox Zanetis, Doty i 29-2N-8W 1,868 St. Louis 15 12/ 1/49 1 1. Monroe City Knox N. W. Strange, Scott I 10-2N-8W 1,652 McClosky 12 8/11/49 12. Mumford Posey Skiles, Mumford el al. B-i 33-3S-13W 2,605 Walts. 20 n/22/49 13. Oaktown Ext. Sullivan 111. Mid. Cont., Walden i 3-SN-10W 2,915 Salem 8 9/22/49 14 Oaktown Knox J. B. & L. Drlg. Co., Shepard 2 13-5N-10W 1,491 McClosky 50 6/16/49 IS- Parker Posey Slagter Jr., Korsmeier Hrs. 1 2-6S-12W 2,264 Cypress 9 2/ 2/49 16. Rochester Gibson Sharp, Ryan, Aurora, Berry-State Comm. 1 Boland, Boyle 1 4-2S-13W 2,026 Penn. 300 3/30/49 17. Stacer Vanderburgh 32-4S-10W 2,357 Aux Vases 20 9/22/49 IS. Terre Haute, S. Vigo Froderman, Royse 3-A 2-11N-0W 1,530 Carper 55 9/22/49 19. Vaughn Vanderburgh Ashland, Brose etal. i-Comm. 0-7S-11W 1,652 Walts. 40 1/26/49 20. Vaughn Vanderburgh Jarvis, Kolb 1 22-7S-11W 2,505 Ste. Gen. 60 10/13/49 tinuing its predominance over other areas. Sullivan and Vigo counties ranked third and fourth, respectively, in initial production and new discoveries. In Posey County, discovery wells produced 6,400 barrels of new oil per day; in Gibson County, 10,600 barrels; Sullivan County, 5,600 barrels; Vigo County, 3,000; Vanderburg County, 2,500; Knox County, 2,400; and in Pike County, 2,300 barrels. The counties rank similarly in new discoveries. Devonian production was augmented by the addition of oil from the new fields in Vigo County, Terre Haute South and Blackhawk. The Carper sand in the Borden or Lower Osage series produced commercially for the first time in Indiana in the Terre Haute South field. The Marts field in Sullivan County, opened about the first of the year, has produced more than 500,000 barrels of oil from the Devonian. Many wells in the field had estimated initial productions of more than 1,000 barrels. The Oaktown and Carlisle fields of southern Sullivan County found new production in the McClosky and Salem limestones. Additional shallow Pennsylvanian production was opened in Sullivan County in two new areas. In Gibson County, probably the outstanding event was the discovery of oil in the shallow Pennsylvanian sands of the Rochester pool, which to this time had produced only from the Waltersburg sand. Because of this fact, production con- tinued above 500,000 barrels for the second straight year. The Dead River field in Posey County, producing from the Tar Springs sand, has produced 26,504 barrels during the 4 months of its existence. Only 8 wells DEVELOPMENTS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA IN 1949 1089 Table IX. Discovery Wells of Extensions to Fields in Indiana in 1949 Total Producing Formation Initial Date of Pool County Company and ''Farm Location Depth Production Com- Feet) (Barrels) pletion I. Beman E. Knox Zanetis, Gilliatt I 20-3N-10W 1,915 Ste. Gen. 20 4/14/49 2. Hazelton E. Gibson Holland, Pauley Hrs. i 84-1S-10W i, S 8o fienoist 17 6/30/49 3- Lamott Posey Vail, Hill 2 18-7S-12W 1,942 Tar Springs 66 4/21/49 4- Owensville N. Gibson Ryan & Sharp, Lewis i 35-2S-12W 2,567 L. Ohara 35 6/ 2/49 5. Owensville N. Gibson Schuller, Springle i 20-2S-11W 2,339 Ste. Gen. 20 4/ 6/49 6. Patoka E. Gibson C. F. Robb, Hardiman i 32-1S-10W 1,784 Cypress 20 10/27/49 7- Patoka E. Gibson Winmar, White i 29-1S-10W 1,684 Cypress 46 8/ 3/49 8. Springfield Posey George & Wrather, Clements i-A 29-5S-13W 2,043 Palestine 105 4/28/49 0. St. James Gibson Luttrell, Clark I 7-4S-10W 2,290 McClosky 60 10/13/49 10. St. Wendell E. Posey Skiles, Luigs, Heifer, Schauss i 25-5S-12W 2,292 Cypress 4 11/22/49 11. Sweezer Spencer Benoist, Wilson i 28-6S-7W 957 Walts. 5 12/15/49 12. Trenton Huntington Lynn Oil & Gas, Lohr i 2-26N-9E 984 Trenton 12 1/26/49 13. Union — Bowman Gibson Haynes, Thompson i 101-1S-10W 1,685 Benoist 1,000 MCF 9/29/49 14. Union — Bowman Gibson George &iWrather, White i 7-1S-9W 1,671 Benoist 60 6/16/49 IS- Union — Bowman Gibson Holland, Whiting i 2-1S-10W 1,770 McClosky 40 1/ 5 49 have been completed to January 1. The Spencer field, opened in 1948 and developed this year, had the largest producer of 1949, which flowed 2,223 barrels. The discovery well made 1,137 barrels. Production is obtained from the McClosky limestone and the daily average was 1,691 barrels from 20 wells. The accumulated production to January 1 was 450,000 barrels. Table X. Selected List of Dry Tests Total Deepest County Company and Farm Location Depth (Feet) Formation Tested I. Clark Louisville Cement Corp., i in fee 131-1S-7E 1,806 Prairie du Chien 2. Crawford Sun Oil, Eaton i 27-3S-1W 1,948 Silurian 3- Fountain Ratcliff & Beckelhymer, Young i 23-21N-8W 1,788 Trenton 4- Greene Whitaker & Dyer, Sharr i 10-8N-4W 2,394 Trenton 5- Greene C. E. Skiles, McDermot I 33-8N-SW 2,615 Trenton 6. Greene Sohio, Sherwood-Templeton Coal i 6-7N-7W 2,312 Silurian 7- Kosciusko Hunt, Henwood I 29-34N-7E 1,821 Trenton 8. Lake Sewage Sanitation, Burge i 24-35N-9W 1,250 St. Peter 9- Marshall V. & S. Oil Co., Wexelberg i 30-3 3 N- 1 E 1,417 Trenton 10. Orange Burton, Hardiman I 3S-3N-1E 1,185 Devonian 11. Owen Brake, Hauser i 4-9N-5W 2,446 Trenton 12. Pike Texas Gas Transmission, Smith 5 17-1N-7W 2,741 Devonian 13- Spencer Mulzer Bros., Mulzer Bros. 1 21-5S-5W 2,766 Devonian 14- Vermillion Neubert, Darroch 1 9-17N-10W 2,039 Trenton 15- Washington Spang, Stobbe 1 18-1N-3E 2,555 Trenton The Plainville field in Daviess County, opened in late December, found pro- duction in the Aux Vases, McClosky, and Salem limestones. Four wells are pro- ducing from the shallow sands and the saturated zones of the Salem are being tested. A considerable flurry of wildcatting and testing was created along with town-lot drilling in the town itself. The structure now producing was outlined by seismic exploration. The Lake of the Woods gas field in northern Marshall County opens new De- vonian production in the extreme south edge of the Michigan basin. Four wells are completed to date. The field is 30 miles from production. Exploration and leasing have been very active in the marginal counties of the basin in the search for Salem, Devonian, and Trenton production. Such counties as Daviess, Clay, Greene, Parke, Vermillion, and Warren are under lease almost entirely. Seismograph and gravity-meter parties have covered much of the area. Activity has spread eastward into Jackson and surrounding counties where shal- iogo ALFRED H. BELL AND R. E. ESAREY low Devonian and Trenton production is being sought. Several wells in Jackson County have had good showings of oil and gas in the Devonian. A selected list of important dry tests is included in the report. A summary of drilling activities for the year shows 526 producing oil wells, 37 gas wells, and 727 dry holes. In all, 62 new discoveries were made, one more than last year. Operations for 1950 should equal or exceed the record of 1949.