Show IMPROVED conditions IN SAN JUAN OILFIELD OIL FIELD the cheering news recently received that oil had been struck in the honaker sand below the seeps in san juan canyon in the galloway well of the bluff norwood oil company at a depth of 1800 feet and with the oil rising to within a few feet of the top of the casing has caused renewed interest in the san juan oil field in san juan county utah for several years work has been in progress in the development of this field which in the opinion of many experienced oil men and engineers is yet destined to become a prolific producer of the highest quality of illuminati illuminating ing and other grades of oil the product so far being of exceptionally tio nally high grade with w ith a paraffin base the arl greatest latest obstacle to successful operation however has been the lack of transportation p por or tation facilities and the long distance to supply points this difficulty at times almost insurmountable and which has been at the southeast corner of the state to a point 20 or 30 miles north of bluff city from that point it win will tike take a slightly northwesterly direction passing the great natural bridges section of the la sal national forest reserve on through white canyon mining district and crossing fie connections with the salt lake los angeles and san pedro road which it will cross and also with other lines extending south from the southern pacific line so that several important business centers will be brought within easy distance of the oil fields quite recently geo aw im k rita atik RA 17 R 4 w j W ak j VV ja fc mtv i ino 10 R ass i 1 a ss ia rv ggs a W alk t mg V 11 1 irsik M JL 4 1 4 rf V I 1 ait m es fotss N az mexican hat section of san juan field photo by chas goodman a decided menace to extensive development and exploitation may possibly be overcome at no distant day as it is stated that a railroad company has been incorporated while preliminary surveys have already been partially made for the building of a through line from points on the rock island and santa fe in new mexico to san francisco this road it is stated will enter utah the colorado river at hite from here it is stated the route will be in as nearly a westerly direction as possible through garfield and iron counties taking in the great iron deposits of iron county then as nearly as can be the road will follow the parallel through lincoln and nye ny counties nevada and on to san francisco it is possible that the proposed road will have braf D james an experienced mining engineer of salt lake city after twelve months investigation in n that section contributed tri buted an article on the san juan oil fields to the et engineering 1 and mining journal of new york which on account of the many interesting facts contained therein we hereby republish as follows the present locations in the san juan oilfield bilfield oil field are in southeastern utah being approximately in lat 37 deg north and long deg west and in town township ship 40 41 and 42 south and ranges 17 IS 18 and 19 east of the salt lake base and meridian the extent of the field has determined as with development along the various anticlines anti clines which exist through a large area with the same characteristics as those which have thus far been exploited the existence of oil in all directions will probably be shown probable extension of field the san juan river has evidently cut through oil territory east and west and there is no reason why alie area may not include the reservations odthe of the navajo and pah ute indians in new mexico and arizona to the south as well as the country and water the sands being reached at and feet these developments were prosecuted however more for the purpose ol oi finding oil and validating the locations a and n d the work was discontinued for the Z 4 J 7 Z oil exploitation in lime creek areek basin photo by chas goodman Oo odman north through moab and in the direction oi green river indeed the entire region is practically unexplored with commercial possibilities ties of all kinds throughout the region is a portion of the colorado plateau with an abundance of mountain ranges conspicuous by a series of isolated buttes and monuments scattered scat ered throughout forming a most unique representation of the results of erosion where the sedimentary rocks were removed leaving the in comparative profusion the anticlines anti clines which appear up caved heaved from the general horizontal strata continue for many miles and where the san juan river has cut its way vay through porous lime stones which are formed between the jura red sandstones above and the upper carboniferous sandstones below seepages see pages of oil are encountered the deep canyons which occur along the river originated not as a result ol 01 of volcanic disturb disturbances a aces but by the erosion of the sandstones the history of the oil discoveries in this region may be traced back as far as 1901 when after analysis of samples taken from seepages see pages discovered while prospecting for placers the results were sufficiently satisfactory to interest capital to the extent of placing a drill on the ground but on account of the country where this first discovery was made being practically inaccessible and unsuitable for continuous operations work was abandoned until 1907 when renewed attempts were made farther eastward and higher up the stream with results of oil time so that while at present no shipments of oil are being made it is quite probable that with systematic development oil will wil be found in satisfactory quantities about ten months ago and for some months previous one well near mexican 1700 feet and in some it is stated that oil has been found it is probably due to lack oi of funds that continuous work has not been carried on in 1910 heavier rigs commenced to be placed on the ground with a view to reaching leaching deeper strata and encountering some of the oil sands which have been proved to exist from the erosions ero along the river and some of these have been cut transportation facilities unfavorable it would seem that the field has labored under a series of misrepresentations in the way of costs of transportation poor facilities for operation delays in securing repairs as well as the nature of the country surrounding by the time machinery was gouled from the railroad by teams to the various points for drilling it was found that the cost was far greater than represented delays in securing teams for the long and rough roads added to the expense and when on the ground and extra tools were necessary on 0 n account of breakages break ages the time consumed in waiting for new pieces was longer than anticipated anticipate d and the additional cost of hauling supplies of all kinds so reduced the dT dil lers illers bank accounts that in the majority of cases operations were suspended such is practically now the situation not because the oil is not in existence but because of local conditions much activity however is being expected in the near future the scientific reports together with the experience of those who have paid dearly for their efforts in the past have brought matters to a basis which has resulted in the desire of those of ample capital to test thoroughly the oil resources of the region from former developments it would seem that APO A goodridge rig in the san juan oil field photo by chas goodman hat twenty five alve miles west of bluff yielded a daily production of about fifty five barrels which was consumed for fuel by the rigs then operating within a radius of eight miles since that time deeper wells have been sunk the greatest depth being about satisfaction was gained when oil was encountered at a shallow depth these thesa findings however are probably the results of drainage or small confined pockets at varying depth to abo about ut GOO feet the deeper sands which have not been affected by erosion of the river are those now projected to be drilled through and preparations are being made to sink with heavy rigs to feet it if necessary in various places through the field when it will be seen if the san juan field will become a permanent factor in the oil industry H B E gregory of the U S geological arrived at as to permanency with depth the dempst well yet sunk 1700 feet is claimed to be feet below the bed of the river and at present operations are stopped on account of a reported recent large finding of oil and the well has been plugged so that no definite or reliable data it is to bo be regretted can be forthcoming at press nt low ilk ZIA wn ir A the san juan river near bluff city photo by bachas chas goodman survey states that up tip to december 1909 there have been twenty five wells drilled of which twenty were reported to have struck oil the shallowest lowest well was thirty feet deep the deepest 1300 feet the average of all wells drilled was feet eight distinct oil bearing sands are represented in the canyon section in order the baby goodridge no 3 mendenhall amber gooseneck blue shale and honaker each being practical identical in character at each horizon oil was struck in each well drilled whenever the oil sands were penetrated but the three lower sands have not been tested by drill H E gregory states that in making plans for the future it should be noted that the deep canyon of the san juan may have drained the oil from the field this consideration taken in connection with th the e formation afforded by the wells already drilled indicates that there is little probability of finding gushers bushers or wells of phenomenal yield it seems reasonable to predict however that several wells will be found in this district from which oil may be pumped with profit greatest hope in deep drilling such a statement appears to me premature from the fact that operations for the most part have been conducted along phd syncline rather than the anticline also that depths below the erosions ero shown by the san sall juan river have not been penetrated the oils that have been hitherto found cannot be treated as those which will be of commercial value as they may be classed more as seepages see pages or small pockets which exist above the plane of the river and may have exhausted themselves at the face of the canyon walls so that no criterion lias has yet been it has been conceded by those capable of expressing opinions from a scientific and experienced perien ced standpoint that the san juan oil field is a deep well proposition and that foot holes must be considered as a basi sis of development and in this connection options have been taken by those of influence and wealth on o n tracts of several thousand acres with the int intention antion to prosecute development on such a basis the field is in embryo it at the present time stock companies with limited means have commenced their work without the knowledge knowls dge of conditions which accounts for the present status in the field the general conditions for oil discoveries were summarized by raymond S blatchley atchley BI thus another important necessity for the accumulation of oil and gas in pools is the pressure of structural features in the rocks the sedimentary strata were deposited under water or practically so and the natural distillation of oil probably took place primarily while the beds were in that position subsequent disturbances took place causing the strata to be folded forming as it were an arch or dome in one case and a corresponding trough or basin in the other the arches are known an anticlines anti clines while the depressions are called syn synclines clines when these undulations took place the water petroleum and gas within the sand formation were forced to move and d distribute is tribute themselves according to their specific C gravities the water was the heaviest of the three fluids and therefore sought th P synclines syn clines as far as possible depending ot course upon the porosity of the sands its ts tendency was to displace the oil and gas f forcing the oil to float on the water and the gas ga s to rise still higher the oil was enabled to rise as far as the water extended up the slopes of the syncline while the gas was able to free itself from the fluids and rise to the highest place in the porus bed usually the crests of the anticlines anti clines oil in the anticlines Anti clines W T griswald with reference to the appalachian region conci concludes lides in dry rocks the principal poin points ts of accumulation of oil will be at or near nea r the bottom of the syncline or at the lowest points of the por ous medium or af at any point where the slope of the rock is not sufficient to over 4 M alk 41 M IM uy 43 N wa ina 9 at setup set up for drilling in the san juan field photo by chas goodman come the friction such as structural terraces or benches in porous rocks completely saturated the accumulations of both oil and gas will be in the anticlines anti clines or along level portions of the structure where the area of porous rocks is limited the accumulation will occur at the highest point of the porous stratum and where areas of imper inizer rock exist in a generally porous stratum the accumulation will take place below such impervious stop which is really the top limit of the porous rock in porous rocks that are only partly filled with water the oil accumulates at the upper tipper limit of the saturated area the limit of saturation traces a level line around the sides of each structural basin but the heights of this line may vary greatly in adjacent basins and in different sands of the same basin under all conditions the most probable locations for the accumulation of gas are on the crests of anticlines anti clines small folds along the side of a syncline may hold a supply of gas or the rocks may be so dense that gas may not travel to the anticline but will remain in volume close to the oil from a study of about well records in the eastern illinois fields it was shown conclusively that the oil and gas occur along the crest 0 of the la salle anticline drilling west of volcanic dike in the san juan field near the center of hitherto attempted operations a volcanic dike occurs largely of a basaltic character arid and it has been noted that to the east of this dike approaching the syncline where the lowest contour is seen at lime creek arthe the principal creek flowing north and south through the fields water has been found in greater quantities than on the lands to the west of the dike where the slope approaches pro aches the west anticline it may reasonably be suggested therefore that in an all probability the larger body of oil will vill be found in the latter portion of the field as it would seem that the water has been cut off through the continuation of the dike to unknown depth up to the present time the deepest wells have been sunk on the west side of the dike toward the western anticline and it is in this locality where the well at 1700 feet depth is reported to have encountered a large body of oil limestone is the characteristic rock in the san juan oilfields oil oll fields overlying the oil sands which has allowed the oil to continue in place in the porous sands up to the present the drilling has ben practically confined to the sections along the syncline syn clims s or of near the creek beds and while the occurrences of oil may differ in various fields yet as oil will naturally be found above the vater it is natural to presume that until drilling is done on the higher elevations of the field to considerable depth no final conclusions clu can be arrived at but on the data presented by professor gregory showing that oil was encountered in each well wherever the oil sands were penetrated the deduction may be made that oil exists in the san juan field and it remains for systematic drilling at depth to reach the lower sands which are undisturbed by erosions ero to prove its continuity and commercial value but all opinions |