Show coal and oil in in wyoming byomin by 0 E K JAMISON while ahil e there was no large increase in production during the past year the oil industry of wyoming is in a healthy condition the advent of the standard oil company has encouraged the smaller operators and strengthened their faith in the state As a result the industry has been characterized by extensive wildcatting wild wells having been drilled in many new fields though as y a rule such drilling has been illy advised I 1 As in the preceding year the salt creek i field yielded practically the entire prodoc tion of the state that there was no largel increase in production is due to the fact that the producing companies devoted their energies to increasing refinery capacity the midwest mid west oil company completed enlargements large ments of its refinery thereby doubling its capacity while the standard oil company of indiana and the franco petroleum company successor to the wyoming oil field company are at present erecting refineries fin eries the refinery capacity at casper will be barrels per day when the new plants are completed drilling in salt creek field in the salt creek field a number of wells were drilled into the sand within the proven area west of this field in the bothwell syncline region some twenty wells were drilled no production being obtained As geologic conditions in this region are such as to preclude the accumulation of olathe oil the results were as generally expected although this region has been proven barren of oil it seems to hold a peculiar attraction for the smaller operator the byron field A production of two hundred barrels per day was maintained throughout the year from the byron field the mutual oil company pany of salt lake is now marketing the production of this field and has enlarged the refinery at cowley to a daily capacity of five hundred barrels it is reported that the entire field has been purchased by the ohio oil company and that the refinery I 1 will again be enlarged to handle the entire production of the field about twelve hun dred barrels per day near cody park county two fields have f been brought to the producing stage in the oregon basin field the mineral oil com k pany a french concern has carried on an extensive campaign of development throughout the year bringing in a number of good wells in the cody field two miles east of the town of cody the mountain states oil company has three producing wells and is now drilling a fourth the oil president mountain states oil co formerly state geologist Chey cheyenne efine wyo from the fields is not marketed at present as no refinery is at hand from the dallas field near lander a production of barrels per day was made by the wyopo oil company As this company is in the hands of a receiver no wells we were re drilled during the year A small irregular production was made from the wind river reserva reservation tion in the lander district south of riverton fremont county in the conant creek field the mountain states oil company brought in a small well at 1325 feet and is now preparing to carry on a vigorous campaign of development during the coming summer the ohio oil company drilled to a depth of feet in this field losing its tools and abandoning the hole without reaching the first sand near douglas converse county a nam ber of shallow wells were drilled during the latter part of the summer ten to twenty barrel wells being obtained at feet A two inch pipe line will be laid to the railway and a small refinery erected in the spring in the greybull field big horn county which supplies gas to the towns of greybull and basin the secretary of the interior granted a permit for further drilling in the withdrawn area in order to increase the supply of gas which was rapidly failing five wells were drilled oil being obtained in three and gas in two As the entire field is withdrawn from entry and the permit does not provide for the production of oil the oil wells have been plugged the combined production of the two gas wells is estimated to be eight million cubic feet per day wells are now being drilled in the lusk glenrock glenbock Glen rock new castle and thermopolis Thermo polis fields drilling in the moorcroft field was effectively stopped by the recent withdrawal order of the government production increased barrels the total production for the year being 2 barrels section 36 in the salt creek field was again the banner section the state receiving in royalties at five cents per barrel equivalent to a production of barrels the midwest suit of great importance to operators was the ahe decision handed down by the federal court in the suit of the government against the midwest oil company the govern government men 00 sought to oust the midwest company from a number of sections in the salt creek field and recover the value of oil removed basing its suit cult on the ground that the lands were withdrawn from entry before any dis discovery coveri of oil was made the contention of the the midwest company was that the original withdrawal was made before the president was authorized by congress to make such withdrawals and was therefore not valid after the first withdrawal and before the second authorized withdrawal the midwest company entered the field made its discoveries co veries and commenced to produce oil the contention of the midwest company was upheld by judge riner in his decision the government has appealed to the supreme court where the case will come up for final hearing in january coal production decreases coal production shows a decrease of tons in 1913 as compared with the preceding year the decrease was in large part due to competition in n the western states with coal from the new utah fields the use of oil burning locomotives on the northwestern railway has also caused a decrease in the output of some of the mines coal production by counties is given below sweetwater tons lincoln tons sheridan tons carbon tons weston tons hot springs tons fremont tons uinta tons small mines tons total tons |