Show i oil 01 and hydrocarbons hydro carbons ca BY A IT TAYLOR outside of a few minor activities and a belated oil discovery in december there has occurred little worthy of note in the oil industry in utah during 1915 the excitement and activity has been confined mostly to wyoming our sister state is certainly coming into her own the old standby the salt creek field bids fair to have one or two rivals the town of greybull wyoming at present looks like los angeles did some years ago with oil derricks standing like sentinels throughout the town front yard or back yard it made no difference wherever in the mind of the oil operator there appeared to be a likely place to drill up went the derrick the midwest people were in the field early and by december a barrel daily capacity refinery was in full blast but the production keeps ahead of the refining capacity as new wells are constantly being brought in other fields in that state give promise of large producers especially worthy of note are the grass creek and buffalo basin fields A number of wells are being drilled near rock springs several of which have 6 made a good showing some very large gassers were brought in during the year in the big horn basin district in which a number of prominent salt lake people are interested and the gas production exceeds cu cubic bic feet a day it took months to conquer one of the largest wells and many millions of feet of gas was lost before the cap was finally placed the production in wyoming at the end of the year must have been close to barrels per day considering the high quality of the oil this is a splendid showing last year at this time the indications pointed to considerable activity in prospecting for oil in utah but the enthus enthusiasm asin gradually died out either utah has not yet reached her turn or the operators are waiting for a more favorable attitude on the part of the interior department at the present time just as soon as a new field is opened up the special agents get busy and the lands are withdrawn leaving the operators high and dry the interior department officials are indifferent to the fact that the operators have spent much money and time it lets the private citizen spend his good money and his energy and especially his talent in finding and opening a new field and then on some technicality prevents him from reaping the reward his alternative is a costly law suit As it looks to the average westerner it if the interior department was actuated by any spirit of fairness it would either do its own wild at its own expense or let the of taylor richards salt lake city citizens develop a field in peace after have discovered it it certainly indicates a flagrant abuse of power to take it away from them after they have found it the standard oil company has advanced the price for crude several times in the last few months in order to encourage new production especially in gasoline stocks hut but apparently our worthy department officials are trying to conserve it for the next generation at which time probably science will have discovered a cheaper product to take the place of gasoline and the present u user ser will have paid his high prices in vain some of our friends who have visited washington lately and have talked with the various heads of the interior department report that the department officials have become with teddye doctrine of expediency and have adopted their present drastic measures which are completely at variance with the rules and precedents established in the past from years of experience with the idea of forcing through legislation which in their superior wisdom they think the country needs bureaucracy is looming large on the national horizon these days more than one thoughtful citizen is asking himself whither are we drifting it certainly looks like we have fallen upon strange times when the old party of individual and state rights is now become more centralized than the republican party ever dreamed of being drilling that began early in the year in the san juan district in utah did not continue long and the results were meagre in the vernal and other uintah basin districts there has been but little activity notwithstanding the many good reports made by oil experts on that region the well noar near filmore has made practically no progress this year A well is now being drilled north of logan in cache valley it is reported that considerable gas was encountered at a depth of feet by far the most interesting oil news in utah during the year is the report of the strike mentioned in the beginning of this article parties drilling for water at a place in utah which at the present moment must be nameless owing to pledges given encountered a very high grade oil at a depth of about feet according to reports the region seems to be geologically favorable for oil at least one anticline is well defined arrangements are being made to sink wells to depth in different parts of the field in order to completely test the formation if the do oil strike is over a real pool it will cause considerable excitement as the surrounding district is well settled gilsonite the production of gilsonite during the year has kept up fairly well the loss of some foreign customers has not affected affect I 1 ell the la trade as much i as was anticipated supply during 1915 has the come alra alnio ost entirely from the region around watson at terminus of the uinta the railway in uinta uin county utah the principal shippers pers beina bein the gilson asphaltum company and the th is american asphalt company the interest in teres jet ing news of the year for owners of G gilson ite properties in the uinta basin is the as e aurance of a railway into that district the th t gilsonite in the western part of the basin 11 i of a higher grade than the material pro deuced in the eastern part and with the ad I 1 vent of the railway will find a ready market the tonnage during 1915 amounted to be tween and tons the price averaging about 2250 per ton F 0 B ab mack colorado the junction point of the lintal uinta railway and the D R G ry and Tabb practically nothing was done with these materials during 1915 the situation with regard to and tabb re remains M a ins ns th the same as last year still waiting for the railway which as mentioned above is now assured with regard to one company was organized last fall to handle the oil near colton As these are rich in it is probably the intention of the company to produce this material another company the wasatch company of salt lake city began operations in november at soldier summit and expects to commence shipping refined in february the price of has gone sky high as it is now worth around 40 to 60 cents a pound if the utah field is ever to be opened up no time could be more advantageous than the present the only competitor the galician fields will no doubt be closed for some time to come asphalt the failure of the last legislature to act favorably on what was known as the intersection bill caused much bitter disappointment last year in the larger towns of the state plans had been laid for many miles mies of asphalt paving the expectation being that the legislature would pass the bill allowing the abutting owners to pay for the street intersections As it stands now the city or town pays for the most of the intersection expense and as most of them are unable to to t provide but little to this expense owing tax limitations most of the paving petti tinned for goes over from year to year to the vexation of those residents who desire to improve their streets much less paving was laid last year than in 1914 so that the production of rock asphalt fell to a minimum during the year |