Show midwest well on big six dome spouting in excess of barrels FLOW ELOW MAY REACH FAR ABOVE ESTIMATES ES GREATEST OIL STRIKE IN STATES HISTORY well flows like geyser oil bursts into flames when comes in fire demolishes derrick but is extinguished after 10 hour ba battle file oil now flowing into sumps bumps and crew working valiantly to bring well under control crude of very high quality sand tapped at 2028 feet A search for oil in the moab district extending on over er a period of sel seven en years ears was as rewarded ith with success tuesday morning hen the midwest utah southern test well on the hix bix six dome located gwehe miles southwest muth west of moab on the colorado river rier blew in as an oil gusher with a production estimated conservatively to be in excess of ur barrels daily the well is the largest in the state of utah and one of the largest in the intermountain west it definitely places moab on the producing oil map and without an any question whatever er will launch one of the most pretentious oil development campaigns in the history of the country countr the oil is of exceptionally exception all high gravity and will hill command choice prices the oil is dark green in color and is of a paraffin base that tests high in gasoline and lubricating qualities the gusher came in at a depth of 2028 feel feet encountered at this shallow depth and with ith r every indication pointing to the fact that the production will greatly increase when A hen the sands are t drilled in the remarkable well makes the moab field one of the most attract attractive ne in the country countr he he acte additional wells can be drilled at comparatively slight cost and undoubtedly within the next six ar 1 I 1 month many other wella will ill have han e been put down to the producing horizon the well blew in at tues of day morning while hile the drilling 0 mhd crew treni were eating break breakfast fas t dents after the completion of under reaming sunday and the lower le T in of 10 inch casing to 1990 feet drilling was resumed and 39 8 feet of hole was drilled na through bough alternating strata of lime sand and that gave off considerable gas and some oil showings As the depth of 2028 feet was for reached the drill encountered 3 a bard hard stratum of lime and there was an immediate increase in the gas flow driller IL F linde who with tool dresser chester leasure was on tower became apprehensive of the live and decided to report the situation to field superintendent clover A smith he the drillers pulled out the tools hut down the engine and went the cook house to report breakfast was ready and it was decided to eat before returning to the ng rig it was wa s decided to let tet the casing at bottom and ement cement it in before drilling an further As smith linde and leasure frere ere eating their breakfast hey they heard a terrific explosion ind looking out saw the gusher in probably due to trie fric aon ion the oil became ignited as it t gushed kushed from the well and he the flames shot three hundred eat feet into the air the derrick mu as immediately ablaze the full ull of the three 11 already mentioned and driller lee arrel and tool dresser charles bod immediately set about the task of confining the flames to the denck derick due to the intense heat they made little headway until the derrick timbers had been consumed by the fire they were successful i ho however mever in keeping the flames from spreading to the engine I 1 house the derrick belt house and all the tools and cordage were completely destroyed within the space of an hour the well flowed by heads at intervals of about thirty minutes gushing to the top of 0 f the surrounding cliffs some feet high during the quiet periods between flows the crew worked frenziedly to control the fire fortunately the wind was mas blowing bl up nver and the flames were carried away from the engine and dynamo houses and this enabled the crew to save these structures and their valuable contents As soon as the gustier came in superintendent smith phoned the news to moab and asked that a boatload of equipment with which to fight f the fire be rushed to the well the moab garage boat with a lot of water hose chemicals and other materials te rials left moab at about eight the boat also earned carried a team of horses and a scraper to be used in throwing up a dike to save the oil which waa aas running wild soon after the annval of the boat at the well mell and by the use of several hoses of water the fire was extinguished the cellar around the top of the casing was full of oil and was blazing which ignited the oil as it came by heads from the well the crew concentrated cent rated its efforts at extinguishing gui shing the fire in the cellar and when this was accomplished the fire was out the work hork of cleaning away anay the debris commenced and after an all night shift this work waa VAS completed yesterday morn ing threw the crew commenced preparations to install a control head due to the loss of the derrick the work was handicapped but the control head was mas in place by last night oil is still pouring from the well however from between the 10 and 12 inch casing as the 10 ine inch h casing has not as yet been set to effect a fon formation nation shutoff shut off after the fire was mra s extinguished the 10 inch column of oil continued to flow flom by heads the stream sometimes reaching as high as and feet the intervals between flows vary ranging from twenty minutes to about forty ife minutes while superintendent smith is reluctant toward making any statement regarding the extent of the oil flow he states that well is a splendid one at depth it has been to measure or even the amount of oil flowing the well mell but it would be bb ex conservative to that the ell 11 is now no making in of barrels daan I 1 he capt 0 k 0 overlain ma ing the oil sand was only touched when tin the well ell blew blem in and it is practically certain that as soon ai a i the drill cn can hr be sent into tho the sand sacral feet tho the production will increase materially no at attempt mp at further drilling will mill bo be made however homeer u until gitil the well I 1 14 completely under con I 1 arol rol A new derrick will be installed d immediately the midwest company immediately put step I 1 in n motion to lia have e their rig on I 1 the carbonero structure north of fruita moved to moab this rig is being torn down domn and rind i ill be brought broil to moab aa fast I 1 aa a fleet of trucks can mn transport 1 it the moab garage boat will be in rea readiness dines to convey coney the and equipment to the camp and it is 1 probable that within a week mer or ten dav the derrick mill 11 be erected A birge crew ere of men vill m ill be ie used in the vork mrk to rush rugh operations operation to the limit 1 hen the th will amp in tuesday mornine mornin ir the oil flowed oPI fl steadily or some tome time pushing gushing feet ft into the tir and ere rr entine atine a spec tular bight that will mill neer be for forir ottin rothn b thoe who ho viewed it after fter tho the initial blow and when hen the cas gas pressure had subsided somewhat ome nm what ebat the flow flom settled 41 down and the oil no now coa bv headd with the nc ne of efficient ras pressure the column of oil is 14 i I 1 shot into the air thi continuing for i verRI the flow then subsides to be followed in about half an hour bv another spurt purt I 1 dike have been thrown throan un on the mall tract of river bottom land below the rig for homine the oil and pre tinZ its overflowing into the river it vi 11 hoped that the ru pusher ruther ther can be brought under control within a R few das and thu 1 ston the waste cf 0 I 1 A temporary triploid derrick will probably be he erected at once to enable the ere crew to lower the 10 inch pipe to a hard formation in order to effect if it po ible a shut off and prevent the oil from cominar around the caina daiy wella wells to be drilled after the well which is officially known ai as the john L shafer well no 1 i under control and drilled in to ascertain the exact extent of the production the next step will undoubtedly be to drill additional wells on adjoining permit permits the midwest exploration company and the utah southern oil company are co ing in testing the field and mind they will put down 11 larre large number of wells to thoroughly prospect the various arlous structures truc tures in addition ift to the big six dome on which well ell no I 1 is lo 10 bated there are three other promis mg in structure situated further down tho the river and known as the shafer lockhart and indian creek domes thew will all be drilled dunn luring the coming year it is expected operations on the no I 1 well have been under way shortly less 1 than a year the first step looking to drilling took place uit a year afro ago about the middle of december 1924 when a party of prominent midwest refining company official officials visited the structure and selected a bite site for the well during the first week in january 1925 11 II A stine arrived in moab a as a representative of the midwest and immediately established a camp the materials were mere taken to the ute site on the ice the river be ing frozen over the moab garage company had been given the trans por tation contract and it get set about constructing a large boat of sufficient size to transport the heavy equip merit to the leation lo 10 atlon on march 6 the first boat load of equipment was taken to the camp and daily tri trips a were made fur for about a month t the ae boat operating very successfully clover alov er A smith arrived a as field eup sup i rin and the work of assembling the rip rig was soon under way on april 11 the well uell vms studded in and operations have been going forward f 0 r w ard with very few delay delays until the big strike tuesday morning mornin A heay producer expected abbat fifteen hundred feet of massive massie limestone were penetrated the brilling progress being beciri slow in this hard formation under airik the lime some four hundred fet of a salt format formation fon wire tre pene kratel tr atel ani then the bit pierced al terna ferna ting layers of shale and lime stone the first real showing ho wint of oil was aas encountered at 1990 feet although several heavy floa of gai gas had been brought in at upper horl hori ions zons ore one of thee pas gas flows had to be mudded in at 1990 fet fe t when the tint first oil was aas encountered amount ing to perhaps two to or three barrel barrels daily dail dr frilling illine was halted and wid the open hole was aas under reamed to per mit the lowering lower mt of the 10 inch pipe to the bottom this work was completed sunday and 36 hour hours later the drill after making 38 feet of hole truck struck the ca prock precipitate in the gusher the forma formation tim being drilled is the this formation wherever it contains oil ii is a prolific producer the walls well yielding 5 itea headily dily over lone long period periods of year years the Blid midwest west nd and utah southern companies had nide made all arrangements to sink ink well no I 1 to a depth of feet if ne ceary to pro prove the structure and with the obtaining of commercial production at 2000 feet the field look looks more inviting than the most sanguine had even hoped for the oil is doubtless doub tlene coming from a sand of considerable thick thickness and vaen opened up b the drill the stratum will dou doubtless doubt bils les gre greatly a ta increase its it initial flow G T git g i who have made a careful study of the structure are of the op opinion intorn that a number of sanda sands will be ebed underneath the limestone formation it iii 11 altogether likely that sands will alo also prove to be heavy producers produce ra and these will be prospected 1 line to be ini fiut d after a sufficient number of well mells have kien drilled dr illel to justify the step continued Conti Contin urd on page eight ROWS IN I 1 ill fit I 1 if 11 f r tit fr tit 11 NI 11 I 1 1 I 1 ii 11 11 i 1 1 it ill 11 1 I f 0 1 1 I t I 1 i I 1 i ir i I 1 if I 1 i ph P h pit pin t I 1 it 1 tir nh I 1 ik fur fim i I 1 h ia III ilir I 1 U ill I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 II 11 I 1 1 t I 1 in A ill i 11 I 1 i 1 I 1 hr hr n I 1 I 1 1 I whiff itself w V ii 11 t ik it I 1 v wn si r I 1 th hf 1 I in it oil it 4 arth UK MHli iii 11 rig niall 11 II 11 II 11 ihl iivo A ul I 1 P to force tin tho ill I 1 tin tip retired t 1 i if 10 t ilig ali I 1 lint lid I 1 it ast from fit it it I 1 fl w liy by tirra vity lo 10 tho 11 A truck and 1 will doubt lm ili li til di front mimi down the tile river to tile fi fill fild ld I 1 preto foro fore nil n ti ij tho well ham aa rn by bit boat but with the vaul vast irn ins in ir iono t hat will re r bult sult from the nil it in its able that IN acx will bo baigio able to handle thi nl neelis it f the he field suh a anit A n orela emt t deal of money tind probably n year A tim timo would he i in n ron con ling it in the meantime the now in apte on ahm river can han HP ile n creat great deal of tonnage 1 aril an if lati can call be ba built tho the Mid vieRt riton ration an i utah southern nr are bosit heavily inte rentA in the river structures and they c A vat n mount of acreage thip th shafer no I 1 ha rout cost alum ui to latu dato in it f hie big six 14 1 pioneer li 1 pioneer oil concern on cpin hickly ri fi A it IP f r the development of air 14 structured in to the ilig six I 1 0 of f moni mont it v wail due tta to I 1 tho the preliminary nary work and in fluency bence if f this thi com company parly that the erful midwest company wn war in terest tatt eaf ml tho WK big six company w wa all organized in 1919 nt at the ha time the first moab gitil all tho W extern allien allies I 1 j f r I 1 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 III I 1 1 I 1 Is if S 11 i i i 11 1 ill till 1 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 liw 1104 1 I in 1 af I 1 it f I 1 I 1 f fi I 1 it it 11 NI I 1 I 1 tr i 1 I 1 1 I 1 ll 11 1 1 I 1 f r 11 I 1 I 1 1 I I 1 1 if I 1 V 1 I if stir 1 I 1 fill f r I 1 1 I v 11 1 1 tin fit HIB 4 11 I 1 v sim I 1 i nv nei tl il wi I 1 II 11 t f und iv 11 r in tha th M 1 ill 1 ac r illi niem v iak i m m mi funda 4 stilli nn vald hilll il ll d in A 4 11 i hi 4 it ap im 6 f ft rh nind ner 4 I 1 the lip I 1 lr 14 mno nili rif ivr r ax int I 1 ph I 1 j h tri th mir aix in thim text t were tin NI rn llie oil it gam a oon f artrim I 1 ointa aril an I 1 the fal nr fir oil 01 r of gait aty ity efiem I 1 ai m orn blotting ill no ne third t f the tile i out ort nf of the tho ihla drilling Drill mi proof 4 1441 n the well fr abut sit ut four farm in the fe f I 1 of f most oh ob m A depth of broo fc frit t WA wall 1 sl everAl mont most prom fixing 11 nh owings of oil brought 1 in flo dup 1 t difficulty from wa ant tor ant 1 it liuk lack of fin sin w rk on the well was a u s andi in 1021 1921 with the intention Is of completing the hole inter liver in the tile meantime menn time the 1 six rom corns pany hed the tile further hwn lown the aher john 1 L and 1 P rank r and their father J II 11 shafer had made a number of fil fill ing ingi 1 i on thene theme structured turea rind the alig hi six company entered into nn an agree with them or the development f the acreage I Locati acate ocate ml in probably the it terrain in the united sant tati jt anti 1 accessible only hv bv water it t was apparent that the drilling of thin hin fidd fild would entail a treat deal of and that it would be tie to interest unlimited rapt trill ordy I at the recommendation of the tho ilig hi SIK gix company se verril illo ible KlitT 4 examined the tho structure is ant an made re report rrth prominent among theo theto k eo Z litts wai wait G I 1 C Im kimmmel mmel a consult inIZ colont of denver who made a d 1 tailed of the field and became mer the oil pro pros twin acts mr prommel and F W broniz pren klent of the big di six company worked in oo 00 operation oe ration to in dener oil men in the ant aril their effort were |