Show OIL PROBLEMS OF THE UINTA BASIN 11 II by prof earl douglass in the introduction some of the reasons for writing this series of articles were given I 1 now wish to define the manner in which I 1 propose to deal with the matter under consideration and to outline the plan which I 1 wish to follow though it is the duty of the geologist to keep his feet pretty firmly on the ground yet his spirit like those of some of the fabled heroes of old should d descend into the lower world of darkness and the shadows of death to consult the hoary records of the past and to have communion communion with the b ghost host of all the things 6 that were to reconstruct the histories of the aes a ages 6 es that are gone for the benefit of the new intelligence li 6 ence which is now awakening b and claiming all things as its legitimate province in the eyes of some he no doubt like the witches in macbeth is supposed to conjure with scale of reptile tooth of shark secret relics of the dark toad that in the cold damp stone million years has been alone cat and skull of dog skeleton of ancient fro frog leaf of tree and charad remains prints of bygone winds and rains skull of rhino turned to stone devil fishes cuttlebone snail with many a spiral coil his soft body turned to oil oysters piled in beds pell mell many a tempting blue point shell but the oyster gone to where those distilled snail juices are fly and gnat that filled with fear the great horned sands that with the rivers flow to the lakes and oceans go sulphurous sludge of quiet seas all untouched by light or breeze stinking mud of ancient lake blackened ooze of reedy brake now about the retort go in the seething caldron throw slate and shale from muddy slime changed by magic feats of time double double toil and trouble fire burn and caldron bubble now about the caldron sing oil and shale men in a ring ring pitch comes out like dragons blood and the charm is firm and good abw now by his marvelous love and twitching of the thumb this learned magician is able to tell where you must go to find what you wish it is not just this way that it is proposed to proceed itis it is better to go with thinking intelligent people with open eyes through the marvelous ways of truth than for selfish reasons to lead the unthinking multitude through a fantastic comedy of jugglery to the land of nowhere apply geological methods in problem solution the real puzzle which we wish to solve is not one of the great emig mas like those of the nature of electricity electric it y life or energy the quest of which while it enlarges the borders of the known makes the contact with the vast hazy unknown beyond seem ever larger but we wish to consider an economic geological problem which is capable of a definite solution we wish to begin right proceed carefully and with all the do ors of our intellect open and its wheels and bearings well oiled we wish to see how geologist jensan jenso n utah for several years engaged eniree sadea atri in in i tory work in the uinta basin country explore far geological methods will take us without expensive mechanical ch anical devices for demonstration the exploitation of petroleum began in an unscientific haphazard hap hazard way but gradually geological methods have become of recognized value especially in proven fields but in the light of rapidly accumulating data can we rely on them or will they prove of value in a new unfamiliar and untested field it would seem that in a region where the structure is evident and nearly every horizon is extensively exposed in some portion of th the a area it ought to be given a fair trial if it is of no value here there may be some excuse for going back to primitive methods I 1 wish to have it understood that I 1 do not claim to be the beginner of this work that I 1 do not expect to carry to its limits all the vast amount of investigating and mapping that is to be done or that I 1 wish to give the air of usability plausibility pla to some new theory or hobby following up work of others some splendid work has been done especially by eldridge winchester the vertebrate who have collected for the museums and the men who have 7 studied the oil but it needs more work of a general nature we need to get more data to connect up that which has been done in different lines and to show its significance 6 in relation to the problem of oil I 1 have eagerly searched for facts as they exist in im the field but I 1 have just as eagerly read results of other mens f work and study and have been guided by their experience t and conclusions in the interpretation of facts time after i time I 1 have rejoiced in some discovery which I 1 thought was my own and which has brought me nearer to cheso the sott lution of some difficult problem but later I 1 have found that i some other geologist had confirmed my discoveries before is I 1 had made them this though it took awa away y some of my conceit was the best possible evidence that I 1 was ivas on 09 a the right track at k it was when I 1 first read cunningham grains craigs ou foil finding that I 1 awoke to the fact that the prospects for oil here were unusually inviting the continual study of this book and other works on the subject in connection win 14 the conditions themselves has brought me to where IM I 1 n am I 1 once said to a 9 gentleman eitleman ent leman if there does not off pro to be oil here I 1 will burn cunnin cunninham cunningham 6 ham craigs book he w quickly replied if they dont fin find d oil here they will burn bur you I 1 smiled for I 1 knew that the territory was so ek elj and the work to be done so great that I 1 ifould w ala have time to get away before they could prove that w there 1 is not an oil field here it is however the principles ann enunciated by this gentleman of wide ex experience prience all and d sound so at judgment that I 1 have followed and as they willio vill forin lw boca ka theo ground plan of the present articles I 1 will quote la t here j dat tb it it has become increasingly evident not only to it 13 v scientific but also to the commercial world that thal to the geologist rather than to the engineer that one te att to look in the first instance if successful results are at achieved p 9 fouad i 41 before asking himself if there is oil to be w abider del in in an any y district or locality the geologist must 0 o k why there howit it could co nth should or should not be oil be reh reached such an environment and whether ther it call ca C lied upon to be present if drilled for p 4 the 0 oil o p ta it is not enough for him to know where such je found he must assure himself on many P ints 9 th the lateral and vertical distribution of the petroleum the seri se k geological series the conditions under which y raiv lv has been depo deposited s cited the manner in which and the P aerial to form the oil has been accumulated anu cess by which the oil has been concentrated and brought to its present position when such questions are gone into carefully one possibility after another is disposed of and by a process of elimination an inevitable conclusion is finally reached p 6 outline of plan to be followed the ground plan to be followed as nearly as possible is briefly outlined below A if there are surface indications of oil begin with these and ascertain their condition and significance B if the oil is not in the rock in which it originated trace it to the strata in which it was formed discover the original source C study these and associated strata 1 to find under what conditions they and the oil producing material originated 2 to ascertain what changes these have undergone der gone 3 to find evidences of local migration of the oil bil D find ho how nv the oil got from the original oil bearing strata into the rock in which it is now found E get evidence as to the original quantity and quality of the oil F study the nature of the formations which are the sources of the oil to ascertain if conditions are favorable for lateral and vertical migration and concentration cent ration of the oil G get a tn general beneral outline of the of the whole area involved and the outlines of its geological history deposition folding fissuring etc to find what influence these have had on the production movements and concentration of the oil here is where the work of the geological engineer is required H if all the different lines of investigation point to a sufficient concentration of the oil the areas to be tested should be mapped and prospect holes located this again is the work of the engineer remember this is a plan rather than an outline and cannot be followed rigidly for example gilsonite etc must be separately traced to their sources in the next article we will begin the examination of surface indications |