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Show UTAH'S PROMISE OF OIL - H, ----- -sx-a.., I ,' " ; v '..y' 1 Hyds No, I Oil Well Hf ' ' 1 Grand County bf Refinery, Mexican Hat, A By G. T. HANSEN President Utah Southern Oil Company IN Utah certain hydrocarbons found nowhere else in the world occur, and the fascinating search for sizeable petroleum pools continues, con-tinues, with fair prospects of success. suc-cess. Gilsonite and ozokerite are the minerals of which this state has a monopoly. It shares with a few other states such rare gases as helium, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. di-oxide. It is liberally endowed with petroleum gas and asphaltum deposits. de-posits. Asphaltum and gilsonite are produced pro-duced in the Uintah basin; asphaltum asphal-tum sefis on the north shre of Great Salt Lake have been worked -and some shipments made from them, as early as 1890. However,, the larger program of exploratian for oil began soon after February, 1929, the date the oil and gas leasing leas-ing act was approved. Drilling for oil incidentally brought to light unsuspected un-suspected gas reservoirs. Helium, a non-inflammable gas commandeered by the U. S. government govern-ment for aeronautical purposes, was discovered at Woodside, Emery county, and helium and nitrogen at State Line, Grand county. Carbon dioxide, or "dry ice", a natural refrigerant, was tapped at East Anticline, (San Juan), and Farnham, (Carbon county). coun-ty). Petroleum gas was discovered at Boundary Butte, (San Juan); Cisco, (Grand); Ashley Valley, (Uintah); Clay Basin, , (Daggett), and Last Chance, (Emery County). Showings of oil occurred at Mexican Mexi-can Hat, (San Juan county); Big Six, Salt Valley, Cane Creek and Crescent, (Grand county); Coalville, Coal-ville, (Summit); Vernal Bench, (Uintah), and Bloomington, (Washington (Wash-ington county). Commercial use is being made of some of these resources. "Dry ice" 13 refined and marketed. Ashley Valley dome supplies Vernal with natural gas. Mexican Hat oil was refined and sold for three years, .when the supply ran out. The first test for oil in Utah probably was that of Bamberger and Millis near the town of Green-river. Green-river. This well was drilled about 1891 to a total depth of 1000 feet and is reported to have developed a small flow of non-inflammable gas in beds of Morrison age. In east central Utah the problem seems to be to locate and drill the beaches of an ancient sea where the sands are thick enough to retain re-tain the oil. Those domes which have been drilled are mostly in the old basin, far from its edges, and have encountered insufficient said. In southern Utah exploraticm to not progressed to the stage where the character of the deep rocki is known, but such lower strata correlate cor-relate as to geological age and position with formations which are productive of oil elsewhere. In the western and northern areas, the preliminary stages of exploration ex-ploration have hardly been reached. Surface study is impeded by huge desert deposits of salt, sand and aluvium. Millions of barrels of oil are contained in the shale deposits de-posits of northeastern Utah, but no processing plants for the production produc-tion of oil from shale on a commercial com-mercial scale are in operation. Unfinished tests, operating or suspended, include wells from 700 to 4S80 feet deep in Box Elder, Summit, Utah, Washington, Daggett, Dag-gett, Emery and Grand counties. The operators are Leonora M. & M. Co., Longwall Petroleum Co., Ltd.; Diamond Oil Co., Arrowhead Petroleum Corp., Mountain Fuel Supply Co., California Co., Ramsey Petroleum Corp., Celumbia Crude Corp., Utah Southern Oil Ce. and Equity Oil Co. Roughly, four and one half to five million dollars have been expended in direct prospecting prospect-ing for oil within the state. Rock asphalt has been developed near Vernal in Uintah county and near Sunnyside in Carbon county and used for sidewalks and road surfacing. Gilsonite occurs principally princi-pally as filling of veins in shale. Operating mines are located near Dragon and Myton in Uintah county. coun-ty. United States Bureau of Mines reports sales of gilsonite by producers in northeastern Utah of 28,029 tons in 1933, valued at $577,-716, $577,-716, and 30,355 tons in 1934, valued at $599,739. Ozokerite, or mineral wax, deposits are found in veins similar to those of gilsonite. A plant for mining and processing has been built near Soldier Summit in Utah county. This is reported to be the only commercialized deposit de-posit of ozokerite in the United States. In the campaign of development important expenditures have ben made within the state for payrolls and supplies. Operative industries indus-tries have been formed for marketing market-ing gas and residues. Expenditures continue in the search for oil. Rentals for leases have been paid to landowners and to the state. Legal and abstract work has been handled by local representatives. Royalties have accrued to land and permit owners. The state owns thousands of acres of land, soma of which are almost certain to participate, parti-cipate, if discovery is made. The lease terms are workable. More than 70 percent of the area of Utah is owned by the United States. Under the terms of the leasing law the state will participate im a royalty payments for jroduettoa from federal lands. |
