Show 1960 Big Year in Rocky 5 Mountain Oil Exploration DENVER Measured DENVER Measured by the humber number of well we drilled 1960 was the sixth best y year ar In the history of the RO Rocky ky Mountain Region oil oU Industry According to Petroleum Information which this week published Its regular annual I review of the preceding year tear a new record was not expected Activity In the h has been somewhat lower than In past years but the effect was less Iss noticeable In the Rocky Mountain states than In most other areas of the U US U.S. S Petroleum Information Said The year e r ended on an upbeat with considerable optimism the keynote of Industry mood going Into 1961 1001 The report was based I on statistics collect collected tt by the Denver a headquartered report report- reporting ing form tonn which follows regional oil activity an a day to day basis ba be sis als circulates Its Us publications throughout the tin Industry Big nIg factor In the better out look t for r 1961 Is the number of of significant discoveries made during 1960 Pointed out were those thos at Lisbon and Southeast Lisbon in Utah and Colorado at Creek In southern SanJuan San SanJuan SanJuan Juan county Utah at Tile Tule Creek In northeastern Montana in the Green River er Basin of southwestern Wyoming and Inthe in inthe inthe the McCook Nebraska area During the year operators completed wells In Rocky Mountain states In 1959 the total was 48 1 These totals Include in include In In- clude elude all aU types of ot wells Exploratory Exploratory atory drilling alone was closer to the level of f the year before beCore During 1960 operators I drilled 1680 wildcat wells in the Rock Rock- ies les This compares with 1776 in 1959 Thus the decline in all drilling amounted to to- toa a little less than 10 per cent but the drop In exploratory work was not hot quite six per cent From these exploratory wells came discoveries Thus ex- ex drilling was successful in per cent of the cases Not all states of the had less drilling than in 1959 Wyoming led the region In total total to to- tal tel drilling and In wildcat wells had had 41 more completions than thanin thanin thanin in 1959 Montana's drilling Increased by one Well veil over the previous year but there was enough I gain In exploration to offset a drop in development drilling Actually 41 mor more wildcats were completed in Montana in 1960 than in 1959 The western half halt of Colorado I where a drilling record was selin set sel setIn setin in 1959 had another record year in 1960 Utah activity was down downa a little but exploration remained remain remain- ed steady Western Nebraska dropped only 32 wells Production in Rocky Moun Moun- Mountain tarn tain states in 1960 was set up by I more than six million of oil bit amounting to about 21 Percent Per der cent for the entire region The i ito to total w was approximately I million The increase was larger in 19 1959 9 but in 1960 there was a gen generally rally piled situation throughout the country Big DIg production gains came in Wyoming and North Dakota Utah had a substantial decline and northern New MexIco Mexico Mex ico was down a little All other states of the produced more oil all than in 1959 Attention to efficiency ncy and economy will be quite noticeable ble in 1961 in Rocky Mountain operations according to Petro Petro- I elum Information However the review emphasized emphasized- the fact tact that most operators expect to do as much or more work this year as In 1960 |