Show TI FAVORABLE OIL CONDITION IN UINTA BASIN SAYS PROF Admitting the of structural structural tural tural conditions tural-conditions conditions favorable to oil accumulation accumulation accumulation ac ac- ac- ac i of eastern Utah Dr Fred JFred Pack made his final lecture on oil geology at the Salt Lake Commercial Com Com- Commercial mercial club this week HO said in part We W 0 have see seen in previous lectures es of this series that the of I petroleum is intimately related to the past history of the country in which it is found We have seen that petroleum has hag its origin largely largey large- large ly y through the distillation of organic or or- ganic anic matter plant and animal We have seen that principally through the prodding action of the superior gravity of water the isolation par- par particles particles of oil are forced to migrate and nd accumulate in favorable structures structures tures ures or in their absence to go on ono onto onto to o the surface and thus be lost It will vill ill be recalled that petroleum occurs oc oc- urs curs chiefly in antic inal and anI related f structures I Let ULet us subject the territory now how comprised within the state of Utah to o these thesa testa tests uN Near ear the close of Cretaceous ti times imes es all of western Utah was lifted from rom beneath the surface of the ocean cean and shortly thereafter the therea area area rea thus effected was intimately fractured matured and faulted into a large series cries of valleys and mountain rang rang- I es Today only the older forma- forma formations I ions are left the younger ones having laving having been carried away by ero ero- sion ion The rhe vast faulting in this country makes petroleum accumulation accumulation tion ion absolutely impossible for like a broken dish badly fractured Structures structures cannot retain petroleum ven even if it had at one time been presen pres- pres en nt ent Within the same general area are arc re the unconsolidated sediments Deposited in the waters of Lake Bonneville For a long time it has been been een known that that these these o. o h formations are are capable of producing small quantities of gas but no structures I are are present in which commercial S 'S petroleum can accumulate Then I again gain th these e formations are very young It is suggestive to note that beds of this age are not productive anywhere in the world I Thus all the Wasatch atch mountains and the vast area larea lying to the westward west- west ward ard sho should be avoided in our our search for petroleum This also applies applies ap- ap Ip plies to the Uintah mountains I ap-I f I l Tho e region situated east of the Wasatch mountains and south of the belong to a different geological geological geo geo- logical province and also to a later one one At the time the Wasatch and Uintah mountains were raised this I Country country was still largely under wat- wat I er cr cr Its uplifting took place in late Tertiary times time and was accompanied by slight folding but very little ft ring Thus from this point of view this country is far more encouraging encouraging en- en I than the one to the west- west j fl ward ard J I This area is chiefly encouragIng Ing ng ig from the presence of a large oth Op of nearly perfect al l. l structures in which petroleum f 7 might be trapped But it is IS very well wellI v that one may have an excellent ex- ex I purse without its containing ny my money s 's Perhaps the chief chief J j in southeastern Utah is the act that all of the formations producing producing pro- pro j oil in other parts of the theU U Mountain Mo re region on have been g f carried away by erosion except only Ih n the Uintah basin where they are J t by the younger tertiary bed bet locks of the cretaceous us are age produce f virtually nil all of Wyoming's s 's oily oil Omit Omi Omit in inc ing the structure at Huntington Jt- Jt t 1 Elsewhere it t will be necessary to drill rill into the older formations ich in the Rock Rocky Mountain fountain m region except in isol isolated ted I V cases ases do not produce oil It is cne cn- cn e ei eW I how however vcr to note that at f j tuff luft and Virgin City these older t Ja A have been slightly a a The liThe general conditions confront confront- it- it ng us are about as as' as follows We rave excellent structures 0 one none better belter in the world But on the other hand evidence is not avail Bable Ba as to whether the underlying lb are arc of such a n a act as t. t t e. e ek 9 pF o o give v r rise to pct petroleum oleum gene genes i if v are ro re not the structures will be bea a 11 of f little value Then again granted t tl hat the oil is present we wt do not noti f i now how deep we will have to drill C cut to obtain It t Li d st It i |