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Show Oil Drilling in U.S. Continues to Decline JfiOUSTON Drilling for oil and gas in the Uni-: Uni-: ted States continued its . sharp decline with 16 per cent fewer wells drilled in , 1970 than were drilled in 1969, according to Petro. . leum Information, a sub. I sidiary of A.C. Nielsen ' Company. Drilling was off in all 'major producing areas last year. Hardest hit were Texas, Louisana, the Mid-; Mid-; Continent and the Rockies. ' Losses were ltss severe in New Mexico, California, 'the Midwest, Northeast and 'the Southeast, i e Figures compiled by PI, t national petroleum infor-imation infor-imation s-ervice, indicate 23,091 wells drilled in the 5U. S. last year compared ito 33,485 drilled in 1969. l; The industry drilled in 33 :;of the 50 states, making -more than 135 million feet "of new hole in s'earch of oil and gas. Fifty six per cent of the wells drilled last year were successful; including 12,-596 12,-596 new oil wells and 3,360 new gas wells. Exploration or wildcat' drilling in the nation last jyear, 7,876 wells, Resulted in 1,585 new discoveries, 721 which opened new pro. Educing fields and 864 which opened new producing zon. ;, es or extended production in existing fields. T'exas continued to represent rep-resent more than 28 per cent of the country's total to-tal last year. The 7,962 wells drilled in the state were 16 per cent below the numbVr drilled in 1969. Texas operators were 60 per cent successful. Louisiana drilling, 2,792 wells, was 23 per cent. Drilling in Mississippi and the southeastern states, 542 wells last year, was off 30 per c'ent from the previous year. The ' Mid-OonMnent-Hi Plains area, nearly 19 per cent of U. S. activity last year with 5,326 wells drill, ed, was off 18 per cent from the previous year. Exploratory drilling in the1 Midw'est and Northeastern North-eastern U. S. was up nearly near-ly 20 per cent but total drilling in the region, 5,102 wells, was eight per cent below the number drilled in "1969. The Rocky Mountain area, which registered the strongest drilling gain in 1969, followed the national nation-al pattern in 1970 with a 12 per cent decrease in drilling. Operators drilled 3,450 wells in that 11-state 11-state area last year. California figures, compiled com-piled by Munger Oil Information Infor-mation Services, Inc., Los Angeles, indicate 1,915 w'ells were drilled for oil and gas in the state in 1970, five per cent less than the number drilled the year before. California drilling, however, was 84 per cent successful. Drilling in Alaska, accor. ding to Munger, was down 21 per cent witfch only 77 wells drilled. Three quarters quart-ers of the welKs driUed were completed as producers. |