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Show OIL INDICATIONS ARE FAVORABLE WEST OF WASATCH MOUNTAINS SAYS EXPERT Compares Fault in This Section With That in Texas Where Big Production was Found Believes We Will Have Production of High Grade Oil in Great Quantities. The following: article by an eminent emin-ent geologist appeared in last week's issue of the Western Mineral Survey, published in Salt Lake City, and tends to bear out the belief of oil men that oil will be found in this section: Geological opinion on petroleum deposits west of the Wasatch range of mountains is varied, but seldom has a more clarified deduction for a belief in oil in the Salt Lake valley val-ley and adjacent territory, been promulgated than that by A. F. Mercier, geologist, who recently caused the following to be given wide publicity. j The undersigned wishes to take is- ' sue with those who say that there is ' no chance for o.il west of the Was- atch mountains because of certain things that lead me to believe that not only is it possible to get produc- j tion but that by virtue of the great western fault there are certain indications indi-cations which are exeremely favorable, favor-able, which I would like to point out. 1 There are in prolongation to the fault at a distance of a few miles, at least three well-defined folds with the basil permain on the surface which in places have been eroded, showing an even folding of the Pennsylvania, Penn-sylvania, bearing evidence of a continuity con-tinuity of sand in this member. ' 2. The broken condition of the for-. for-. mations from the Baleozoic as shown to the east of these folds leads me to believe that they are the thin edges of the lines of the Ordovician, j Silurian, Devonian and Carbonifer- j ous. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic are j " present in that area, but they bear i no part in what I have to say here. I , contend that the massive Helderbur-: ger limestone which in part makes up tho mentioned folds has been able to withstand all of the assults of the extreme pressure from the east and southwest from time to time. It is agreed that it has lowered a dif- j ferent periods but it is also known j that during the deposition of the i Pennnsylvanian the ossicilation was i slowly upward. The evidence we have today is that the Pennsylvanian formation for-mation is in place at 4,800 feet above sea level, which is 2,000 feet higher : than the mid-continent field. 3. The Balcon fault in the state of Texas is as great if not even greater fault, than the Great Western West-ern fault. The fact that it has produced pro-duced great quantities of oil on its banks is a matter of history. The oil geologist of today, considers con-siders faulting of as great importance as folding-. It is contended generally that faulting causes the oil to migrate mi-grate by virtue of a hydroastic agent to higher levels than where the materials, ma-terials, both vegetable and marine were first accumulated by nature in the shales of the carboniferous system. sys-tem. It must be considered that where there is a fold, properly closed, with the proper faulting, having in the fold certain sands that could give a continuity of sand of good porosity, that, that can be the" point of migration. migra-tion. My experience in doing recon-noisance recon-noisance work in the past 20 years off and on in this state leads me to believe, that not only have we a possible pos-sible chance for production, but that we have a splendid opportunity for production of high grade oil in great quantities and that the production will not be confined to any one locality, locali-ty, but in various places from one end of the state to the other. In conclustion, I wish to state that "oil is where is" and that there are men who regret that they have said that oil could not be found in localities locali-ties that are now .productive; and I feel safe in saying that those contending contend-ing that the state of Utah will never be on the productive list will live to regret any hasty remarks to the contrary. |