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Show PAGE 19 THE ZEPHYRSEPTEMBER 1991 s i And if you pick up your electric hand-dri- ll and put a hole through a piece of plywood or aheetmetal, you notice that the friction of the drilling heata up the bit. That's nothing compared to the friction of ripping through the earth. So the oil companies have to use something to lubricate and cool the drilling equipment In addition, the tremendous pressures underground would collapse In on any empty hole such as a well, so they have to pump in some sort of material down the hole to equalize the pressure, to give the ground something to push up against The companies use what they call drilling mud, a concoction of chemicals and additives, heavy enough to withstand pressure yet light and liquid enough to cool and lubricate the drilling equipment That also can lead to problems when passing through a salt formation, because salt dissolves very easily, and liquifies. So the drilling mud itself has to be designed to not Interact with the salt, and therefore preserve the integrity of the formation. And this Is particularly important in horizontal drilling, where a change in direction has to be made, and a fulcrum has to be solidly placed against the formation to allow the weight of the drill to turn at an angle. If the Integrity of the salt formation Is weakened at that point, the turn cannot be made, and the drilling falls. And even after the well Is successfully drilled, the problems can convincing the companies to dose down operations. As of now, one horizontal well has successfully been drilled, and that Is the first Columbia well In the Big Flat Area. Columbia and Its partners are currently at work on their second well a few miles south of the first, Meridian is under way on a BUI parcel to the south, and Chevron is ready to go on a site in San Juan County, near Hatch Point So there is a long way to go before the viability of the Paradox Fold as a profitable oil field is proven. And at any time along that way, the entire field could run into all sorts of delays or insurmountable obstacles. Will the shifting salt formations destroy the wells? Some wells In this area have produced for decades, while others have collapsed soon after production began. Right now on the first Columbia well, the natural pressure from under the earth is keeping the oil flowing to the surface. But when pumps are needed, will that change the situation, creating vacuums that lead to underground problems? How long will the fractures continue to function as oil springs? Will depletion of volume from parts of the Paradox Fold lead to major shifts In the formations above it, and result in underground sinks that alter the entire situation? There are a host of unanswered questions, snd a host of questions that haven't even been asked yet And the expense involved is enormous. The first Columbia well cost as much as $5 million to drill. But the rewards are enormous. Columbia has enough lease sites In this area for as msny as 50 wells, though realistically they hope, if things go well, to get 25 producing. Each well, when drilled, is cheaper than the previous one, since the added knowledge of experience allows the company to avoid problems the second, third, and twentieth time aroulnd. So while one well may cost $5 million, the 25th well will cost considerably less. And a well producing at say, 500 barrels of crude per day (below what the first Columbia well can do) will at current market prices generate over $3.5 million each year, and can continue in production for decades. ALL-AMERICA- N AGENCY 505 No. Main 259-649- 3 Meet Our Real Estate Team Doug McElhaney owner Delbert & Glenna Oliver Norma Nunn 259-727Ray Tibbetts 259-636Julie Bierschied 259-567- 259-687259-737- 8 0 5 1 Randy Day 259-628- 0 3 nos there Is as much oil in the ground as geologists hope, and if the technique can be shown over time to be viable, there will be oil wells near Moab, dozens of them. But it will take months, maybe even years, before the Moab oil play becomes thfiJAoab oil field. If indeed N flUJ 15 TEb uhLiM5 WHAT3 ALL IHlS A50UT I HOOPLA 70LTil' TbE?. EAT ROAD KILL PRtyA TOO Men Women Children Shorts Shoes Swimwear Hats Open Film Sunday gsseeb FINEST FAMILY RESTAURANT OPEN 6 am. 259-835- 2 COME IN FOR THE BEST HOME COOKED MEALS 9-- 5 Wrangler 1075 So. Hwy 191 Bwins&ki BSD LEMA INDIAN TRADING CO. wholesaleretail MEMBER Moabs finest selection & quality of authentic Native American Indian Art TWO LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU DOWNTOWN 60 N. MAIN GALLERY STORE 860 S. MAIN 259-505- 5 259-594- 2 NAVAJO, ZCJNI & HOPI JEWELRY jj -KACHINAS ZGN1 FETISHES NAVAJO RUGS ALABASTER CARVINGS SAND PAINTINGS ACOMA & JEMEZ POTTERY PAPAGO BASKETS NAVAJO BASKETS LIMITED EDITION FRAMED PRINTS |