. , z &»*/ /^<^t?-. R. L. LANGENHEIM, JR. DEPT. GEOL. UNIV. ILLINOIS 254 N. H. B., 1301 W. GREEN ST. URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801 Press Bulletin Scries Issued Twice Quarterly STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION A. M. SHELTON, Director DIVISION OF THE STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY M. M. LEIGHTON, Chief, Urbana No 12 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM September 24, 1927 DEEPER PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD By Gail F. Moulton Introduction During the 15 years since the discovery of production on the Adam Biehl farm in August, 1912, various geological reports on Wabash County have been issued by the Illinois Geological Survey. Of these the more im- portant are as follows : 1. Rich. John L.. The Allendale oil field: Illinois State Geol. Survey Bull. 31, pp. 59-69, 1914. 2. Rich, John L., Oil and gas in the Vincennes quadrangle: Illinois State Geol. Survey Bull. 33, pp. 164-166, and map, 1916. 3. Collingwood, D. M., Extension of Allendale oil field: Illinois State Geol. Sur- vey Press Bulletin, May 17, 1924. 4. Moulton. Gail P., Further contributions to the geology of the Allendale oil field, with a revised structure map: Illinois State Geol. Survey Rept. of Investigations No. 7, 1925. Each of the above reports appeared during or shortly after a period of renewed activity in the field. Now new developments are taking place which again direct the attention of the oil operators to the area. Therefore the present report has been prepared to present new data to producers interested in the development of production in the deeper sands, particularly in the McClosky ( Ste. Genevieve), which lately has been proven productive. Recent Developm ent Up to the present only two wells in Wabash County are known to have prospected as deep as the McClosky, and very few wells have gone deep enough to test the other Chester sands which are productive in the Lawrence County field. .Most of the latter test^ were not located on the most favorable structures in the county, so they cannot be considered particularly significant. Accordingly, the possibility of finding production in sands corresponding to the Kirkwood and Tracy sands of Lawrence County and the fact of produc- tion from the McClosky sand in the Eastern Gulf Oil Company's 2 II. I [N'OIS P1CTKOLEUM Jesse Cisel well No. 4 ( sec. 2, T. 1 X., R. 12 W.) make such deeper prospect- in"" appear particularly attractive at the present time. The Eastern Gulf ( )il Company completed the first McClosky sand well for Wahash County on the Cisel farm in May, L921 at a depth of 2209 feet. After drilling about two or three feet of pay sand, the drillers found that oil was rising rapidly in the well. Soon it was standing within a few hundred feet of the surface, and popular local rumors circulated claiming that the well would make from 100 to 1000 barrels per day. Bailing tests soon shewed the error of these gnoses, and later pumping has demonstrated that the well is of small commercial size. Shortly after the drilling of this well, other wells were planned to test the newly found producing horizon. Among them was a well on the Kogan farm, just north of the Cisel well, which was drilled as a test of the Biehl sand but failed to find production there. An attempt to deepen this well resulted in failure following a considerable expenditure of money. No wells have yet been drilled to the McClosky since the discovery of production, but several te>t^ are reported to be either planned or started. Geology STRATIGRAPHY The surface in Wabash County is largely covered with unconsolidated deposits from a few feet to a hundred feet thick, which are principally sands, gravels, and clays of recent origin, unrelated in form or structure to the folds in the underlying consolidated rocks which contain the oil and gas. The consolidated rocks belong to the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian systems. Below the surface deposits are found about L200 feet of rocks of the Pennsylvanian system which, in turn, are underlain by rocks of Missis- sippian age of which only the upper 900 feel are known from wells drilled in Wabash County. If conditions in Wabash County are similar to those in Lawrence County and adjacent areas in Indiana, the remainder of the Mis- sissippian system is probably represented by a series of massive limestone beds and a basal series of shales. The character ol the rocks, and die correlations of the sands found in Wabash County with the producing sands in Lawrence County are shown by the graphic logs of two typical wells in southern Lawrence County, and of the more important deep wells drilled in Wabash County and an adjacent portion oi Indiana. (See figure 1.) PRODUCING HORIZONS The producing horizons thus far proven tor Wabash County are the Bridgeport sand oi Pennsylvanian age, the Biehl-Jordan sands, the 1600-foot DEEPER PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD TOTAL DEPTH 2565 2S402S60 ~ UE LICK WATER SMALL OIL SHOW 2150 Slate Sand Red rock R. Limestone Shale Sandy lime TOTAL DEPTH 2286 A. Jane Jones well No. 7. sec. 28, T. 2 X 11 W., Lawrence County. is. Perkins well No. 1. sec. 13, T. 2 X., H. 11 \\\, Law nine County. ('. Big Four oil Company's Johnson No. 1, sec. 6, T. 1 V, If. 11 W., Wabash County. 1). Eastern Gull oil Company's Cisel Xo. 4, sec. 2. T. 1 X.. R. 12 W., Wabash County. ■'.. Eastern Golf oil Company's Steckler No. 1, sec. 35. T. 1 X., R. 12 W., Knox County. Fig. 1. Graphic logs of typical wells with correlation of the producing sands in Lawrence County and Wabash County, Illinois, and Knox County, Indiana. (Drawn by 111. State Geol. Survey.) I.I I \<>IS PETROLEUM sand, and the newly developed McClosky sand, all of Mississippian age. Onlv a small amount of additional production has been developed in the Bridgeport or 1000-foot sand since the 1925 report 1 , and this sand is still of minor importance as an oil producer in Wabash County. During the past two years very considerable extensions have been made to the producing area of the Biehl sand north of Allendale where the sand is found at a depth of about 1400 feet and has the irregular character and lenticular structure typical of the older areas producing from this sand. Largely as a result of the developments in sees, (i and 7, T. 1 X., R. 1 1 W. and sees. 1 and 2, T. 1 X.. R. 12 \Y.. the Biehl has become one of the important oil producing sands of Illinois. Evidence of a "robber sand" has been found in at least a part of the new producing area. Kogan well No. 1 in sec. 1. T. 1 X.. R. 12 W. was deepened when the production had declined to about 50 barrels per day. The drillers noticed that they went through a hard streak in the sand a few ieet below the point at which the well had stopped orig- inally, and then into softer sand again. The well was tested but gave prac- tically no oil. Later, lead wool was used to plug the well back to the top of the hard streak, and the production increased. The presence of this peculiar condition suggests the need for care in drilling and shooting wells in this part of the field. A sand of Chester age (the 1600-foot sand) which is found 11)5 to 2 1 ■"> feet below the top of the Biehl cap rock has proven productive in two sep- arate areas in Wabash County. The first well producing from this deeper sand wa> completed in L926, by Charles Foreman and others on the Cisel heirs' farm in sec. 1, T. 1 X., R. 12 W. Subsequently other wells in that vicinity have been drilled to this sand, but none of them have been large pro- ducers. More recently, wells producing from the 1600-foot sand have been com- pleted south of Allendale on the J. VV. Price farm in sec. 14, T. 1 X., R. 12 \\\, indicating that the 1600-foot sand is probably present over a consider- able area and that tests should be drilled to it on the higher parts of other known structures as outlined on the structure map (fig. 'il Company's J. Cisel No. 2 in sec. 2, T. 1 X., R. 12 W. was cored through the 1600-foot sand'-'. The solid pieces of sand obtained showed that much of the sand in this well was cemented by a limy material and that only a small proportion ot the sand was permeable enough to be very productive. This condition is believed to account for the small size of the wells which have so far been found in this sand. It is entirely probable 1 Moulton, Gail !•'.. Further contributions to the geology of the Allendale oil field, with a revised structure map: Illinois State Geol., Survey Kept, of Investigations No. 7, 1925. 2 Moulton, Gail !•'., Notes cm a core l > 1 1 for cable tools: Illinois state Geol. Survey Press Bulletin Series. Illinois Petroleum No. 2, .May 29, 1926. HI I I'll; PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD 5 that in some other parts of the Wabash County fields better sand conditions will be found and larger wells will result. The McClosky sand is the only one of the deeper producing sands of Lawrence County which has been proved productive in Wabash County. Two wells have tested this horizon in Wabash County, and two others in the northern part of the county have tested most of the possible oil sands overlying the .McClosky. (See tig. 1 tor logs, and table of logs, pp. 5-15, for drillers* records and geologic interpretation thereof.) The wells testing the McClosky are those drilled by Norwood Johnson on the W. ( ). lohnson farm. sec. (i. T. 1 X.. R. 1 1 \Y.. and by the Eastern Gulf Oil Com- pany on the J. Cisel farm, sec. 'i, T. 1 X., R. L2 W. Other deep wells were drilled by Treat and Hays on the J. E. Taylor farm. sec. 7, T. 1 X.. R. 12 \\ ., and hv the Arkansas Fuel Oil Company on the Otis Matheny farm, sec. IS, T. 1 X., R. \'i W. The log of the latter well is given in the table of logs. The McClosky has been found to lie approximately 800 feet below the top of the Biehl cap rock in Wabash County. As far as can be determined now, there should be no large variation in this interval in the county except that it will probably increase to the west, for all of the rocks, both Pennsyl- vanian and Chester, seem to thicken down the west dip. In other words, the west dip in the lower Chester beds may be expected to be somewhat steeper than in the upper Chester and Pennsylvanian. The McClosky of Lawrence County is somewhat irregular in porosity although in some pools it has been found to be a rather consistent producer over areas of several hundred acres. Consequently, the problem of develop- ing production from this pay is somewhat similar to locating production in the Biehl sand; the proper combination of sand conditions and structure must be found. In the Eastern Gulf ( )il Company's Cisel No. 4, the McClosky zone has at least two porous streaks, the lower one of which carries water. It seems possible, therefore, that drilling higher on the local dome in that vicinity might show the lower pay to be oil-bearing and might result in more satisfactory production. I )rillj ng Records Several logs arc given below to show the nature of the formations pene- trated, the geologic interpretation of the data, and the depths ol the various sands. A record of the pipe used is also given. DriUii's log from Big Four Oil Company's well No. I on Johnson farm in WW. Vi NE. Vi sec. 6, T. I A'.. B. // W. Elevation — 410± feet Thickness Depth Pleistocene system Feet Feet 1. Soil and sand 20 20 2. Gravel 10 30 6 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM Driller's log from Big Four Oil Company's Johnson No. 1 — Continued Unconformity Thickness Depth Feet Feet 3. Slate 15 45 4. Quicksand 23 68 Pennsylvanian system 5. Slate 12 80 6. Sand ; hole full of water 20 100 7. Slate 25 125 8. Shell, sandy 5 130 9. Slate 75 205 10. Lime 8 213 11. Slate, red 2 215 12. Slate 5 220 13. Lime 20 240 14. Slate 75 315 15. Lime 10 325 16. Slate 2 327 17. Lime 8 335 18. Slate 55 390 19. Sand, hard; 12 bailers of water 36 426 20. Lime 5 431 21. Sand 35 466 22. Slate 12 478 23. Lime, broken 37 515 24. Coal 2 517 25. Lime 7 524 26. Slate 6 530 27. Lime 20 550 28. Slate 4 554 29. Sand 22 576 30. Slate 5 581 31. Lime, hard 3 584 32. Slate 6 590 33. Sand 12 602 34. Lime 4 606 35. Slate 10 616 36. Lime, hard 12 628 37. Slate 12 640 38. Lime 10 650 39. Slate 85 735 40. Lime 3 - 738 41. Slate 20 758 42. Lime 2 760 43. Slate 62 822 44. Lime 5 827 45. Slate 13 840 46. Lime 8 848 47. Slate 42 890 48. Lime 2 892 49. Slate 38 930 Hi I I'l K PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE oil. FIELD Driller's log from Big Four Oil Company's Johnson Xo. I — Continued Thickness Depth 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. Feet Lime, gritty 20 Slate 45 Lime, hard 2 Slate 37 Sand, hard 12 Sand, soft ; show of oil 3 Sand, hard 7 Slate 2 Lime, hard 4 Slate 4 Lime 14 Lime, hroken 40 Slate 74 Sand 61 Unconformity Mississippian system Chester series Slate 13 Lime 5 Slate 3 Lime 4 Slate 56 Lime 8 Sand, water 8 Slate 2 Lime 6 Sand, water 12 Slate 4 Lime 6 Slate 2 Lime 14 Slate 7 Lime 3 Slate 4 Lime 6 Slate 3 Lime 4 Slate 21 Lime 2 Slate 22 Sand, soft 24 Sand, hard 23 Slate 4 Lime 4 Lime 5 Slate 2 Lime 5 Feet 950 995 997 1034 1046 1049 1056 1058 1062 1066 1080 1120 1194 1255 1268 1273 1276 1280 1336 1344 1352 1354 1360 1372 1376 1382 1384 1398 1405 1408 1412 1418 1421 1425 1446 1448 1470 1494 1517 1521 1525 1530 1532 1537 8 ILLINOIS I'ETUOLKUM Driller's log from Big Four Oil Company's Johnson No. 1 — Concluded Thickness Depth Feet Feet 94. Slate 8 1545 95. Lime, broken 8 1553 96. Sand, water 30 1583 97. Slate 3 1586 98. Lime 9 1595 99. Sand, broken 25 1620 100. Sand, water 25 1645 101. Slate 2 1647 102. Lime, hard 18 1665 103. Slate and broken lime 19 1684 104. Slate 13 1697 105. Lime, hard 4 1701 106. Sand, hard 18 1719 107. Slate .' 2 1721 108. Sand, hard 12 1733 109. Slate 3 1736 110. Lime 12 1748 111. Sand, hard 15 1763 112. Slate 45 1808 113. Lime, hard 14 1822 114. Slate 20 1842 115. Rock, red 11 1853 116. Slate 12 1865 117. Lime 2 1867 118. Slate 24 1891 119. Sand 6 1897 120. Slate 6 1903 121. Lime 25 1928 122. Slate 6 1934 123. Lime 11 1945 124. Slate 2 1947 125. Lime 5 1952 126. Slate 23 1975 127. Lime 5 1980 128. Sand, water 8 1988 129. Lime 47 2035 130. Slate 3 2038 131. Lime 30 2068 132. Rock, red 2 2070 133. Lime 65 2135 134. Sand; water, 8 bailers at 2140 feet 19 2154 Pipe record Casing Depth set Size Feet 16-inch 73 12%-inch 190 10-inch 650 8%-inch 1525 DKEPKR PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD 9 Pipe record Casing Depth set Nice Feet 6%-inch 1697 5 3/16-inch 2000 Driller's log ]ru»i Eastern Gulf Oil Company's well Ko. ) on Cisel farm in SE. \i 8E. y 4 see. 2, T. I .V.. R. 12 W. Thickness Depth Feet Fed Pleistocene system 1. Clay, yellow, soft 20 20 2. Mud. blue, soft Hi 36 Unconformity Pennsylvanian system 3. Slate, dark 29 65 4. Sand, light, soft 55 120 5. Slate, dark, soft 38 158 6. Sand, light, soft 4 162 7. Slate, light, soft 75 237 8. Sand, light, soft 53 290 9. Slate, light, soft 145 435 10. Coal, black, soft 2 437 11. Slate, light 3 440 12. Lime, light, hard 3 443 13. Slate, light, soft 14 457 14. Sand, light, soft; 3 bailers of water 28 485 15. Slate, dark 20 505 16. Slate, light 6 511 17. Lime, light, hard 4 515 18. Sand, light, soft; hole full of water 22 537 19. Slate, dark, soft 50 587 20. Slate, light S 595 21. Sand, light, soft 63 658 22. Lime, light, hard 2 660 23. Slate, dark, soft 12 672 24. Slate, light, soft 16 688 25. Lime, light, hard 6 694 26. Sand, light, soft 10 704 27. Slate, light, soft 2S 732 28. Sand, light, soft 8 740 29. Slate, dark, soft 9 749 30. Coal, dark, soft 3 752 31. Slate, dark, soft 5 757 32. Sand. light 6 763 33. Slate, dark, soft 99 862 34. Lime, light, hard 2 864 35. Slate, light, soft 12 876 36. Slate, dark, soft 18 894 37. Slate, light, soft 11 905 38. Lime, light, hard 3 908 10 ILLINOIS I'ETISOLKI'M Driller's log from Eastern Gulf Oil Company's Cisel No. 39. Slate, dark, soft 40. Slate, light, soft 41. Slate, dark, soft 42. Slate, light, soft 43. Slate, dark, soft 44. Sand, light, soft 45. Slate, dark, soft 46. Sand, light, soft 47. Slate, dark 48. Lime, broken, light, soft 49. Sand, light, soft; hole full of water 50. Slate, light, soft 51. Sand, light, soft Unconformity Mississippian system Chester series 52. Slate, light, soft 53. Lime, gray, hard 54. Slate, dark, soft 55. Lime, light, hard 56. Sand, light, soft 57. Slate, dark, soft 58. Lime, gray, hard 59. Slate, brown, soft 60. Sand, light, soft 61. Slate, light, soft 62. Lime, white, hard 63. Slate, light, soft 64. Lime, light, hard 65. Slate, light, soft 66. Sand, light, hard 67. Slate, dark, soft 68. Sand, light, soft 69. Slate, dark, soft 70. Lime, light, hard 71. Slate, dark, soft 72. Lime, broken, gray, soft; show of oil at 1560 73. Sand, broken, soft 74. Sand, light, soft 75. Sand, broken, hard 76. Sand, light, hard 77. Sand, black, soft 78. Sand, light, soft 79. Slate, dark, soft 80. Lime, light, hard 81. Slate, dark, soft 82. Sand, light, soft 83. Slate, dark, soft J — Continue >d Thickness Depth Feet Feet 19 927 55 982 74 1056 14 1070 16 1086 8 1094 64 1158 4 1162 23 1185 12 1197 63 1260 4 1264 62 1326 2 1328 6 1334 23 1357 3 1360 14 1374 64 1438 2 1440 3 1443 2 1445 11 1456 6 1462 11 1473 4 1477 16 1493 7 1500 13 1513 10 1523 22 1545 3 1548 8 1556 4 1560 10 1570 2 1572 5 1577 9 1586 8 1594 88 1682 4 1686 26 1712 24 1736 3 1739 16 1755 DEEPER PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD 11 Driller's log from Eastern dull Oil Company's Cisel Xo. .'/ — Concluded Thickness Depth Feet Feet 84. Lime, light, hard 5 1760 85. Slate, light, soft 4 1764 86. Lime, light, hard 11 1775 87. Slate, dark, soft 5 1780 88. Lime, light, hard 10 1790 89. Slate, light, soft 7 1797 90. Lime, light, hard 28 1825 91. Slate, dark, soft 29 1854 92. Lime, light, hard 14 1868 93. Slate, dark, soft 27 1895 94. Rock, red 12 1907 95. Sand, broken, soft; show of oil 8 1915 96. Sand, light, gray 28 1943 97. Slate, dark, soft 10 1953 98. Sand, light 28 1981 99. Lime, gray, hard 9 1990 100. Slate, light, soft 10 2000 101. Lime, light, hard 13 2013 102. Slate, dark, soft; rainbow in bottom— Tracy (?) 45 2058 103. Lime, gray, hard 5 2063 104. Slate, dark, soft 5 2068 105. Rock, red, soft 9 2077 106. Lime, light, hard 6 2083 107. Slate, light, soft 7 2090 108. Lime, dark, hard 5 2U95 109. Slate, light, soft 5 2100 110. Lime, light, hard 12 2112 111. Slate, light, soft 5 2117 112. Lime, light, hard 86 2203 113. Lime, light, soft 4 2207 114. McClosky sand 2 2209 115. No record 5 2214 Pipe record Casing Depth set Size Feet 8%-inch 1330 6%-inch 1705 5 3/16-inch 1983 Driller's log fro*x Ellinson's well No. 1 on Price farm, in center of E. % sec. 1'/. T. 1 X.. R. 12 W. Thickness Depth Feet Feet Interval 190 190 Pennsylvanian system 1. Shale 20 210 2. Slate 90 300 3. Slate, blus 40 340 4. Lime, gray 10 350 12 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM Driller's log from Ellinson's Price No. 1 — Concluded Thickness Depth Feet Feet 5. Slate, blue 50 400 6. Slate, white 50 450 7. Lime, blue 10 460 8. Slate, blue 60 520 9. Sand, white ; 7 bailers of water 10 530 10. Slate, blue 45 575 11. Sand, white; hole full of water 15 590 12. Slate, gray 60 650 13. Slate, dark 90 740 14. Lime, blue 10 750 15. Slate, gray 15 765 16. Slate, blue 25 790 17. Slate, black 40 830 18. Lime, gray 10 840 19. Shale, light 105 945 20. Lime, brown 5 950 21. Sand, light, hard 10 960 22. Slate, dark 10 970 23. Lime, dark 10 980 24. Slate, dark 80 1060 25. Lime, hard 5 1065 26. Slate, gray 10 1075 27. Slate, light 25 1100 28. Slate, white 50 1150 29. Sand, hard 10 1160 30. Slate, white 10 1170 31. Sand, white 120 1290 Unconformity Mississippian system Chester series 32. Slate, dark 20 1310 33. Lime 10 1320 34. Sand, hard, white 60 1380 35. Lime, brown 15 1395 36. Slate, dark 25 1420 37. Slate, gray 60 1480 38. Slate, blue 20 1500 39. Sand 20 1520 40. Slate and sand 15 1535 41. Lime, hard 5 1540 42. Slate, broken 40 1580 43. Lime, dark, hard 7 1587 44. Sand oil 7 1594 45. Slate and sand, broken 3 1597 Casing Pipe record Depth set Size Feet 814-inch 765 6%-inch 1390 DEEPER l'UODrt Tlo.N IX THE ALLENDALE Oil. FIELD 13 Driller's log from Eastern Gulj Oil Company's well No. J on Steckler farm in SE. % NW. % sec. 85, T. 1 N., A'. 12 \Y . Elevation 410± feet Thickness Depth Feet Feet Pleistocene system 1. Soil 8 8 2. Quicksand 16 24 3. Gravel 6 30 4. Sand 48 78 Unconformity Pennsylvanian system 5. Slate 5 83 6. Lime, gray, hard 5 88 7. Slate, white 132 220 8. Sand 5 225 9. Slate, dark 8 233 10. Slate, light 27 260 11. Lime, gray, hard 5 265 12. Slate 3 268 13. Lime, white, hard 17 285 14. Rock, red 3 288 15. Slate 212 500 16. Sand 5 505 17. Slate 30 535 18. Sand; water, 6 bailers 10 545 19. Slate 20 565 20. Sand 4 569 21. Slate 13 582 22. Sand 18 600 23. Slate 12 612 24. Sand 38 640 25. Slate 138 778 26. Lime 4 782 27. Slate 73 855 28. Lime, gray 4 859 29. Slate 30 889 30. Lime, white 2 891 31. Slate 2 893 32. Lime, soft, broken 6 899 33. Lime, hard 5 904 34. Slate 33 937 35. Lime, brown 3 940 36. Slate ." 20 960 37. Lime 7 967 38. Slate, light 83 1050 39. Slate, dark 10 1060 14 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM Driller's log from Eastern Gulf Oil Company's Steckler No. 1 — Continued Thickness Depth Feet 40. Slate, light 29 41. Lime, brown, hard 4 42. Sand, light 17 43. Slate 20 44. Sand, light; hole full of water at 1136 feet 40 45. Slate 60 46. Sand 130 Unconformity Mississippian system Chester series 47. Slate 48. Lime 49. Slate, dark 50. Sand, broken, dark, soft 51. Slate, dark, soft 52. Lime, broken, light, soft 53. Sand, broken, light, soft 54. Sand, broken, brown 55. Sand, brown, soft 56. Lime, brown, hard 57. Slate, gray, dark; fragments of coal 58. Lime, sandy, soft 59. Lime, gray, hard 60. Slate, dark, soft 61. Lime, light, hard 62. Slate, dark, soft 63. Lime, light, hard 64. Slate, dark, hard 65. Lime, light, hard 66. Sand, light, soft; pyrite and coal 67. Slate, dark, soft 68. Sand, light, soft 69. Slate, dark, soft 70. Lime, gray, hard 71. Slate, dark, soft 72. Sand, light 73. Slate, dark 74. Lime, light 75. Slate, dark 76. Lime, light 77. Sand, light 78. Lime, light 79. Lime, broken, soft 80. Slate, dark 81. Rock, red 82. Slate, dark 83. Lime, light Feet 1089 1093 1110 1130 1170 1230 1360 34 1394 1 1395 16 1411 6 1417 27 1444 19 1463 5 1468 3 1471 13 1484 8 1492 19 1511 9 1520 2 1522 5 1527 17 1544 9 1553 2 1555 21 1576 6 1582 14 1596 8 1604 44 1648 5 1653 6 1659 22 1681 12 1693 5 1698 3 1701 2 1703 7 1710 40 1750 40 1790 20 1810 15 1825 6 1831 13 1844 6 1850 DEEPER PRODUCTION IX THE AL1, 1:\PAI.K oil, FIELD 15 Driller's log from Eastern Gulf Oil Company's Steckler No. I — Concluded Thickness Depth Feet Feet 84. Slate, dark 14 1864 85. Lime, broken, light 26 1890 86. Rock, red 4 1894 87. Slate, dark 42 1936 88. Lime, light 7 1943 89. Slate 19 1962 90. Sand, light 8 1970 91. Rock, red 16 1986 92. Slate, dark 6 1992 93. Sand ; water, 2 bailers 20 2012 94. Slate, dark 5 2017 95. Sand, light 7 2024 96. Slate, black 19 2043 97. Sand, light 8 2051 98. Slate 6 2057 99. Lime 12 2069 100. Sand ; oil from 2069 to 2071 feet 3 2072 101. Shale, dark 5 2077 102. Sand; water, 5 bailers an hour 16 2093 103. Slate 3 2096 104. Lime, light, hard 7 2103 105. Sand ; oil from 2103 to 2105 feet 47 2150 106. Lime 13 2163 107. Sand ; water rose 700 feet 4 2167 108. Slate; streaks of red rock 8 2175 109. Lime 13 2188 110. Slate 2 2190 111. Lime; blue lick water 96 2286 Pipe record Casing Depth set Size Feet 10-inch 213 814-inch 855 6%-inch 1657 5 3/16-inch 2175 Structure The structural features of a portion of Wabash County are shown on the map. fig. 2, by contours giving the elevation of the cap rock of the Biehl sand below sea level. These contours are on the same bed contoured in the last previous report, but the interpretation of the data given is somewhat different, particularly in the northeast and east part of the county. The two earlier maps 3 for that part of the county were not based on as complete data » Collingwood, D. M„ Extension of Allendale oil field: Illinois State Geol. Survey Press Bulletin, May 17, 1924. Moulton, Gail P., Further contributions to the geology of the Allendale oil field, with a revised structure map: Illinois Stale Geol. Survey Kept, of Investigations Nil 7, lH2. r >. 16 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM as the present map, for little drilling had been done in that area until slightly less than two years ago. The structure of the Pennsylvanian rocks could not be relied upon to determine the details of the structure of the Chester beds. Nearly all (if the wells which furnished the data for the earlier maps, as well as for the present one, were drilled only 125 to 200 feet into the WBENCfi.. IA WREN I EoUntv Contour interval 25 feet 'ft///////. Ar ea recommended for deep drilling Scale l/ 2 "H/2 Miles Fig. 2. Structure map of part of the Allendale field. Contours show elevation of Biehl sand in feet below sea level. Chester. Since no persistent limestones or other beds which serve as de- pendable markers occur in this part of the Chester, correlations are very un- certain except for wells only a short distance apart. The recent drilling supplied the additional information needed to give the correct correlation of the records of wells in the eastern part of the county with those to the west, DEEPER PRODUCTION IN THE ALLENDALE OIL FIELD 17 SO that it is now known that the eastward dip shown in Wabash County in the earlier maps does not exist. As the map (fig. 2) shows, the general structure of Wabash County is a westward dipping monocline. The general dip is interrupted by several terraces and low domes which have been largely responsible for the accumu- lation of the various oil pools of the county. Beyond the western limit of the present map the rate of west dip increases so considerably that there is little hope of finding structures capable of causing oil accumulation developed on the slope. A very short distance north of the Wabash County line in Lawrence Count} - , the Chester beds rise rapidly to the north without any corresponding rise in the Pennsylvanian beds, so that several hundred feet of the upper Chester beds which are present in Wabash County are missing in Lawrence County. These relations are indicated by the correlation lines drawn con- necting certain equivalent beds in figure 1 which shows in graphic form the succession of beds found in a few typical wells. Because of this relation between the Chester and Pennsylvanian, the present producing sands in the upper Chester beds in Wabash County are not known in Lawrence County, and the principal producing sands of Lawrence County are so much further below the Buchanan sand at the base of the Pennsylvanian that few operators have realized that they were not testing these sands by drilling to 1600 feet. Further Prospecting This report recommends further prospecting by deeper drilling- only in areas already known to be structurally favorable for oil accumulation as a considerable amount of development should be undertaken to determine the conditions in the deeper sands, and the information now available does not indicate the presence of untested favorable structures. Results of recent development, however, clearly show that the possibilities of deeper produc- tion in and near the present producing area are good. Certain areas in which testing of lower horizons down to and including the McClosky sand is considered advisable have been outlined on the structure map, figure 2. Since nearly all of the leases within these areas are held by production, there is some likelihood that no active campaign of deeper drilling will be under- taken in the near future. Prospecting in the 1600-foot and the McClosky sands in particular and the lower Chester sands in general is recommended on the hasis of geologic structure determined from elevations of the top of the Biehl cap ruck because that is the only Chester horizon for which data scattered over the field generally are available and because it is believed that the structure of the lower beds will be found to resemble closely that of the Biehl except 18 ILLINOIS PETROLEUM that the west dips will probably be somewhat steeper. The east or reverse dip, however, seems to be principally the result of later folding which affected the lower and upper Chester alike. From an examination of published data on the Lawrence County fields 4 , it appears that some of the best McClosky production has been obtained from wells located near abrupt changes in dip as, for example, where a steep dip flattens out or changes to a dip in the opposite direction. If similar struc- tural features are most favorable in Wabash County, the areas shown in sees. 8 and 9, T. 1 N., R. 12 W., as suitable for testing should have an excellent chance of getting worthwhile production in the McClosky sand because immediately west of each of these small domes the westward dip is pro- nounced. Prospecting for deeper production is also urged for all of the other shaded areas shown on the map, figure 2. Each area is believed to have good possibilities of getting production in one or more of the deeper sands down to and including the McClosky. It seems somewhat likely that deeper testing on the high parts of the present producing structures will result in the discovery of production in some of the other Chester sands which are now producing in Lawrence County. As most of the wells drilled deep enough to test the Kirkwood and Tracy sands were in locations of doubtful merit and did not adequately test defined structures, it is not demonstrated that production cannot be expected from the equivalents of both these horizons. Therefore, wells drilled to test the McClosky should be cased to exclude water as far as possible in order to determine conditions in these other sands. The Kirkwood and Tracy sands are reported to have had shows of oil in the deep well of the Eastern Gulf Oil Company on the Cisel farm in sec. 2, Wabash Township, and also in the deep test on the Steckler farm, Decker Township, Knox County, Indiana. These reports are import- ant for they are known to be reliable, and they encourage the hope that the Kirkwood and Tracy sands may be productive in Wabash County. For the present it is advised that testing should not be carried below the McClosky horizons, but operators should be sure that they have drilled all of the porous zones of the McClosky before abandoning a well. This statement is based on the fact that although a number of tests have been drilled several hundred feet into the main Mississippi lime in both south- eastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, wells in only one locality in In- diana are reported to have given any promise of oil production from the lower part of the lime. In consideration of the present price of oil and the great cost of such drilling, testing below the McClosky is not believed to be worth undertaking at the present time. 4 Rich, John L., Oil and gas in the Vincennes quadrangle: Illinois State Geol. Survey Bull. 33, pp. 164-166, and map, 1916. DEEPER PRODUCTION IN THE AI.I. i:\liAI.K OIL III: I.I) 19 Casing A word of caution in regard to casing should lie heeded by operators in Wabash County. In several instances wells which were started for a test of the Biehl sand at 1400 feet have been carried deeper in an atleir.pt to test the McClosky sand at 2200 feet. As the 6-Hs-inch casing is usually set above the Biehl sand to case out the water from the Buchanan sand, and as several water-bearing sands interbedded with cavey shales are commonly found in the next few hundred feet, an attempt to continue drilling such a hole to 2200 feet is at best very expensive and may result in failure. It is therefore strongly urged that future wells drilled as possible tests to the McClosky sand be started with large enough casing to permit an 8-inch hole to be carried to at least the first water sand below the Biehl. In this way it should be possible to avoid much of the expensive underreaming, fighting a cavey hole, and drilling with light tools inside a ."> ;> L6-inch casing, which must be undertaken if present Biehl sand producers are deepened. Appar- ently the cost of deepening such a well in many cases is as great as drilling an entirely new well, and only about one in three such attempts is likely to be successful. Therefore, it is urged that only wells which are in large enough casing at the depth of the Biehl horizon be drilled on down to test the deeper pays. Tentative casing sizes and depths are listed below: Casing depth table based on top of Biehl cap rack nt UfOO feet Casing Plan 1 Plan 2 Size Depth Depth 20-inch none conductor 16-inch conductor 350 12%-inch 350 775 10-inch 775 1350 8%-inch 1350 1450 6%-inch 1700 1700 5 3/16-inch 2000 2000 Plan Xo. 1 gives no protection to the Biehl sand if water is found above Km) feet unless mud is used to fill the space between the N 1/4-inch and the 6^-inch casings. Plan Xo. ~> calls for casing to shut the Biehl sand out of the well with a string of casing without water behind it, thus protecting production in the vicinity. In other particulars, the plans are essentially similar. Depths of casing points should be modified to correspond to any differences between the depth of the Biehl cap rock and 1 100 feet. These plans of casing call for a minimum of drilling in a wet hole, for each time casing is run the operator may expect from 1(10 to 300 feet of drilling before getting more water than can be carried. 11 (74660—1,500)