Show SHOOTING OIL WELLS A few days after a well is drilled in a charge of about twenty quarts of nitroglycerine is exploded in the sand for the purpose of increasing the flow of oil says the wyoming industrial journal of evanston then after several months when the flow becomes sl sluggish or stops altogether a charge of forty quarts is used this greatly enlarges the cavity in the sand at the bottom of the well other and larger charges are subsequently used if the condition of the well requires such treatment the charge for the first shot is applied by putting I 1 the nitroglycerine in a tin tube and lowering it to the proper location in the oil sand the tube is about four and one half inches in diameter and from five to six feet long it has a conical bottom to the apex of which is attached a piece of two inch tube also made of tin the length of this small tube is made to suit the conditions of the well as shown by careful measurement so that when the tube rests on the bottom of the well the charge of nitroglycerine will be located at the proper height in the sand before introducing the shot the well is cleaned out thoroughly with the sand bucket and a swab lowered the entire depth and drawn out the depth is measured carefully with a steel tape having a weight or iron basket fastened to the end the top of the tube containing the nitroglycerine for the first shot is fitted with aheady a heavy metal disk and a fulminate cap A heavy copper bale completes the arrangement the bale is supported by a flat hook on a light cord that passes over a small pulley tied to the drill rod just over the well and then to the reel clamped to tho the flywheel of the engine at the farther end of the rig the tube is suspended in the well with the top at a convenient height above the floor of the derrick and the nitroglycerine is slowly and carefully poured into it from the two gallon cans as they are brought from the wagon near by the reel is then turned by hand and the charge slowly lowered to the bottom of the well when the anchor tube attached to the lower end of the nitroglycerine tube buttons the slack in the cord loosens the hook the clutch on the reel is set and the engine is operated so as to rapidly wind up the cord all boiler fires if any near the well are put out and a two foot piece of two inch pipe called a go devil is dropped into the well after waiting to hear the report of the explosion as transmitted instantly by the well casing and thus being assured that it is a live shot the shooter rapidly hunts a safe location with the other spectators to watch the results after quite an appreciable time which seems much longer to the spectators than it really is a gradually increasing roar is heard followed by a grand fountain display of gas oil and rocks the latter making a noisy n bombardment of the derrick the oil generally rises above an eighty foot derrick and during the progress of the display the derrick is sometimes entirely hid from view by the cloud of oil it is a sight well worth going a long distance to witness the pieces of rock from the berea sand and the slate are usually small though sometimes a rock as large as ones fist is forced out in caso case it is not convenient to take the empty nitroglycerine tro glycerine cans back to the magazine for refilling the shooter destroys them by means of a fuse and cap the cans are piled up at some out of the way place and exploded the nitroglycerine adhering to the inner surface of the cans is powerful enough to annihilate the cans and make a good sized excavation in the ground where they were located the subsequent shots are applied in a different manner as the tube containing the charge will not stand vertical in the well but drops into the cavity formed by the previous shot or shots at the bottom of the well the nitroglycerine is poured into several tin tubes about three or four feet long these have conical ends and the top of each tube has a small nozzle for introducing the nitroglycerine by the use of a funnel each tube has a copper bale at the top and some of them have a bale also at the bottom by this arrangement the tubes are lowered into the well in pairs two being tied together by a short piece of twine extending from the top bale of the lower tube to the bottom bale of the upper tube when filled the nozzle is closed with a cork the pairs of tubes lie in irregular positions in the cavity of the bottom of the well and it is not possible to fire the charge by dropping a Is go devil on a cap attached to the top of any of the tubes hence a square having a fuse is used for firing the charge the construction of a squib is such that the fused cap is surrounded by the nitroglycerine and thus is in the best location to insure an explosion of the charge the fuse is lighted with a match and the squib dropped into the well an awl and a pair of pliers are the only tools needed for making a squib the extent of the display following a shot depends upon the size of the charge and the amount of oil in the well at the time |