bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Value of American Oil-shales
Authors: Baskerville Charles
Published: June 2014

Shales containing "kerogen," or bituminous matter, which ondestructive distillation yield oily and tarry matters resembling petroleum arehere designated as oil-shales. They differ from oil-bearing shales from whichpetroleum may be obtained by so-called mechanical means. The educts obtained bythe destructive distillation resemble some or all the varieties of petroleum, depending on the character of the shale and the mode of treatment. Some shaleoils have a paraffin base, some an asphaltic base, or a combination; some runhigh in sulfur compounds. The methods of refining and cracking, therefore, areessentially the same as are used in refining petroleums.

In 1860, in this country, over fifty companies were successfully distillingvarious natural bituminous materials for the production of "coal oil,"used for illuminating purposes. The discovery of petroleum and the failure ofthese companies to save and utilize the valuable byproduct, ammonia, broughtabout their inevitable doom. Prior to that time, more or less successfulefforts were made to produce from the shales of Scotland oils for illuminatingand heating purposes. Competition of native petroleum from the United Statesearly eliminated some of these companies and with the entrance of oil from theRussian and other fields into the world's markets, the Scottish oil-shaleindustry underwent serious and trying experiences until, in 1916, only four(Scottish) were paying concerns. These survived only through energy and theapplication of skill in saving valuable byproducts.

A few companies have successfully operated in France and New Zealand. TheCanadian Government showed active interest in the New Brunswick shales, whichexist in quantity and are more valuable than the Scottish shales. The retardeddevelopment of that valuable asset of the Province of New Brunswick was mostunfortunate, especially when the product was so much needed in the prosecutionof the war.

AIME 065–24
Industrial Representation in the Standard Oil Co. (N.J.)
Authors: Hicks Clarence J.
Published: June 2014

The labor policy of the Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey) is founded first ofall on paying at least the prevailing scale of wages for similar work in thecommunity; on the eight-hour day at the refinery, with time and one-half forovertime; one day's rest in seven; sanitary and up-to-date working conditions;just treatment assured each employee; opportunity for training and advancement;payment of accident benefits beyond the amount prescribed by the Statecompensation law; health supervision by a competent medical staff; payment ofsickness benefits after one year's service; cooperation with employees inpromoting thrift and better social and housing conditions; and assurance of agenerous annuity at the age of 65, guaranteed for life after 20 years ofservice. Most of these features have been a part of the company's policy formany years, but it is only during the past two years that the cooperation ofemployees in determining these matters has been definitely assured throughindustrial representation.

Industrial representation, in the Standard Oil Co. (N. J.), is a principlerather than a procedure. It is built upon the belief that personal associationof those interested in any problem leads to a mutual understanding and a fairdecision as to what is right. Fully believing in this principle, representatives of employees and representatives of management evolved a simpleplan, the basis of which is that it gives every individual employeerepresentation at joint conferences on problems and fundamental principlesaffecting all those interested in the industry. It is based on cooperation, notantagonism; its operation makes perfectly clear both to management and toemployees that their interests are identical, and not at variance with theinterests of the stockholders, and that mutual understanding and cooperationinsure progress and success for all. Furthermore, experience has definitelyshown that representatives of the employees are not only alert for theemployees' interests but are as keen as the representatives of the managementin determining and insisting upon fairness to the employer.

AIME 065–25
Analysis of Oil-field Water Problems
Authors: Ambrose A.W.
Published: June 2014

The underground losses of oil exceed by hundreds of thousands of barrels allthe oil that has been lost in storage, transportation, or refining. Thequantity lost is, of course, indeterminate; but when it is considered that thecontents of an entire oil field have been excluded from recovery by invadingwaters, some idea of the amount wasted may be gained. Similarly, enormousquantities of gas have been lost underground. Conservation of the oil, therefore, should start before it is brought to the surface rather than afterit is placed in storage tanks.

Water is one of the most important causes for underground losses and theoperator should give as serious consideration to an underground flood of wateras he would to a destructive surface flood. The best insurance, of course, isto have the wells drilled in such a manner that water has no access to theproductive oil and gas horizons, and on abandonment the wells should beproperly plugged.

The encroachment of edge water and the occurrence of water in the base of anoil sand present a very serious problem to an oil company sooner or later thesewaters are bound to cause considerable damage, if they do not entirely destroythe possibilities of further production. Too often, however, a field has beenconsidered to be in a hopeless condition, whereas wells in as bad a conditionin other areas have been repaired and the life of the field appreciablylengthened. The corrections are very often suggested by technical study. Verysuccessful results have been accomplished by detailed underground work in theCalifornia oil fields, in Cushing, Oklahoma, and in other areas.

The purpose of this paper is to outline briefly general methods of analyzingoil-field water problems in a producing or in a producing and developing oilfield, with a view to suggesting repair work on offending wells. Reference iscontinually made to producing oil wells; the same general method of procedure, however, should be adopted in a gas field.

AIME 065–27
Appraisal of Oil Properties
Authors: Oliver Earl
Published: June 2014

The term oil property, in this discussion, includes any type of easement orgrant under which petroleum might be produced; it ranges from the mere right todrill on undeveloped wildcat acreage up to a fully developed oil property. Thevalues of an oil property, as thus defined, vary widely according to the usefor which it is intended, whether it is from the viewpoint of the speculator, the fraudulent stock promoter, the refiner and pipe-line owner, or the oilproducer.

The market value of a property is usually a combination of some two or more ofthese influences, and occasionally a combination of all of them, but we preferto treat each viewpoint as distinct from the others, allowing the reader tomake his own combination in such proportions as his inclination and propertyseem to require. This paper will treat the subject from the viewpoint of theoil producer. However, the other influences have such bearing on the cost ofproperty to the producer and on the price he might obtain by its sale as towarrant brief discussion of them.

Speculation, particularly lease speculation, is a parasitic growth on the oilindustry, healthy enough, but of no economic value. The class of propertyusually dealt in for this purpose is the undeveloped lease. Its speculativevalue may have some relation to its probable productive value, but mostfrequently this value is the product of temporary excitement due to localdevelopment. The lease speculator, seeking out the trend of development orsecuring early information regarding a proposed test or a new discovery, immediately secures leases whose market value will be increased when theexistence of such development becomes more widely known. His profits are purelyunearned increment. Not proposing to spend money in exploration, he can affordto compete in purchase with the operator, who, in addition to bonus paid, mustspend large sums in testing out his own acreage and that of the nearbyspeculator as well. It has a tendency to compel unduly high bonuses.

AIME 065–32
Modified Oil-well Depletion Curves
Authors: Knapp Arthur
Published: June 2014

Oil-well depletion curves, to be of value, should show when a well or leasemay no longer be operated at a profit. The difference, at any time, between thetotal expenditures and the total income of a lease or well may be called thelease status. Plotting this lease status against time will give a curve subjectto more accurate and different interpretations than the barrels-timecurves.

According to the hypothetical barrels-time curves shown in Fig. 1, well A, atthe end of 16 mo., is producing twice as much oil as well B and will continueto produce for another year whereas well B will cease producing in about 6months.

A hypothetical lease status-time, or dollars-time, curve of this lease is shownin Fig. 2. At zero time, the lease is purchased for $3000, which is plottedbelow the zero dollar line. All subsequent entries are plotted below this lineuntil total receipts exceed the total expenditures, when the curve crosses thisline and shows a credit, or profit.

Fig. 1 shows that well A made 600 bbl. during the sixteenth month, or 20 bbl.per day, and it indicates that an average daily production of 18 bbl. per daymay be expected during the seventeenth month. But using this curve to determinethe probable profit leaves out of account the gradual increase in the operatingcost, which occurs as the well becomes older, due to the increased water to behandled, wear on machinery, etc. So that while the well may be profitablyoperated for 100 bbl. per day, it cannot be profitably operated for 5 bbl. perday.

AIME 065–36
Barrel-day Values
Authors: Alvey Glenn H. , Foster Alden W.
Published: June 2014

The measure of value of an oil property is approximated by the length oftime it takes to ?payout;? viz., the time required for it to return theoriginal investment. This time varies in different fields. In the Appalachianand Mid-Continent fields, a good investment pays out in about four years; inCalifornia, it requires a slightly longer time; and in the Gulf field about twoyears.

The two principal methods for establishing these values are based on acreage, as in California, and on production, as in the Appalachian field. The method ofestablishing values based on production was worked out in the Appalachianfields and approximates the value remarkably well in some fields; but it is arule of thumb and should be used intelligently. Briefly, the method is asfollows: An arbitrary number of dollars (called the barrel-day price)multiplied by the number of barrels of settled daily production of the propertygives the value. In its crudest application, the barrel-day price is determinedby the ?$10 to $0.01? rule, which means that the barrel-day price is onethousand times the prevailing price of oil. For instance, with oil at $3.50 perbbl. the barrel-day price would be $3500 per bbl. This rule, however, is notstrictly applied, for the barrel price is varied according to whether or notthe wells ?hold up.? But when a barrel price for a district has been fixed itis quite general to raise or lower the price with the fluctuation in the priceof oil; here the ?$10 to $0.01? rule is used extensively. However, theprospective purchaser takes into account tangible equipment upon the property, the extent to which the drilling program has been carried out, whether or notthe wells are ‘shot’ or natural, depth of wells, spacing of wells, paraffintrouble, etc.

The basis of this method is settled production. As soon as production isconsidered settled, a flat barrel-day price is generally applied to allproperties, no matter what their age.

AIME 065–37
Isostatic Adjustments on a Minor Scale, in their Relation to Oil Domes
Authors: Albertson M.
Published: June 2014

At Cobalt, Ontario, Canada, a lake was drained to facilitate mining, by theMining Corpn. of Canada, during the spring and early summer of 1915. Previousto pumping out the water, great quantities of sands and slimes fromconcentrating plants had been discharged into the lake and during and after thelake's drainage, its basin was a receptacle for tailing products. As the writerwas at work along the shore line as the lake was being drained, he had a goodopportunity to observe the changes that took place as the water was withdrawn.Some adjustments between the incoming sands and the mud in the lake had takenplace before pumping was commenced. One of the most interesting results was theappearance of a small dome in a path the writer traversed twice a day forseveral months; he remembers distinctly the difficulty of crossing this.

Cobalt Lake owed its existence to the gouging out of a rock basin byglaciation. The long axis of the basin closely follows the strike of a thrustfault of about 500 ft. (160 m.) vertical displacement. The lake was originallyshaped somewhat as shown. The length was about 3000 ft. (914.4 m.), the widthat the lower lobe was about 1000 ft., and the width at the narrows probably 400to 500 ft. The original depth of water varied from 20 to 30 ft. (6.1 to 9.1m.), near where the island later was formed, to 60 to 70 ft. (23.6 to 27.6 m.)in the widest part of the lower lobe. At the narrows, the depth was 30 to 40ft. Above the bed rock was sand, with boulders near the bottom, and mud.

During the building of the railroad in 1903, considerable filling was donealong the right of way. With the commencement of mining operations, about 1905, waste rock and mill tailings were dumped into the lake. One of the miningcompanies operated a hydraulic giant to remove the glacial debris from severalhundred acres of rock surface; much of the sand and clay from this operationwas deposited in the lake. About 1,500,000 tons of mill tailings, composed ofsands and slimes, were discharged into the lake's waters previous to 1915.

AIME 065–38
Investigations Concerning Oil-water Emulsion
Authors: McCoy Alex W. , Shidel H.R. , Trager E.A.
Published: June 2014

Sampling of the fluid from oil wells for percentages of oil, emulsified oil, and water during the last two years has brought out some interesting factsconcerning oil-water emulsion. This result led to a laboratory investigation ofemulsion, which substantiated the conclusions made from the field observations.The purpose of this paper is to present the information collected, thelaboratory experiments, and our interpretation of the same. In order to defineemulsified oil exactly, give its synthesis and origin, and to show how and whenit is formed in the wells, the work was necessarily divided into two separatelines - laboratory work and field observations. It is hoped that this study maylead to a discussion of such points so that the petroleum engineer, geologist, or technologist may be benefited by its practical bearing on oil-fieldmanagement. Special credit is due Mr. Everett Carpenter, chief geologist of theEmpire Gas &Fuel Co., for his assistance and cooperation in thiswork.

Laboratory Investigations on Emulsified Oil

Laboratory investigations were conducted in an attempt to learn thecomposition and some of the properties of emulsified oil, or B. S., as it ismore commonly called, also to demonstrate, by laboratory methods, how B. S. maybe formed under conditions similar to those existing at the time a well isbeing pumped, and how it may be broken down. Literature bearing on this subjectis widely scattered and very limited in scope. Bacon and Hamor define B. S., orbottom settlings, as ?earthy matter, inert organic matter, or, in the case ofPennsylvanian petroleum, an emulsion of paraffin wax and water, whichaccompanies crude oil.? In this discussion we will limit the term B. S. to thatheavy, dark-brown emulsion, composed of a physical mixture of water, oil, andair with some included inert matter, either organic or inorganic.

AIME 065–41
General Notes on the Production, Marine Transportation and Taxation of Mexican Petroleums
Authors: Gates Valentin R.
Published: June 2014

Production and Marine Transportation

Although the work on which this paper is based was carried on by the writeras Special Commissioner of the Petroleum Department of the Mexican Government, the opinions expressed are only his personal views for which the MexicanGovernment can in no way be held responsible. Notwithstanding that theappointment covers all phases of the so-called petroleum question, as the onequestion of immediate importance was that relating to taxation, it was decidedto devote all the time to this phase of the work.

The present report has been divided into two closely related parts, the firstdealing with the production and marine transportation of Mexican petroleum, andthe second, with the Mexican taxation on petroleum and its products.

The writer wishes to acknowledge the loyal cooperation rendered by Mr. M. C.Ehlen, who had charge of the statistical work, and by Miss S. Stern and Messrs.E. P. Heiles and J. E. Morrissey.

The aim throughout the work has been to pave the way for a thoroughunderstanding between the Mexican Government and the oil operators and topresent a true and clear statement of facts relating to the questions atissue.

Mexican Oil Fields Development

The salient features in the development of the Mexican oil fields may besummarized as follows:

1901. First commercially productive well in Ebano field.

1902. Tehuantepec field came in; Diaz Government granted concession to Pearson & Son on practically all Federal lands along the Gulf of Mexico.

1907. First producing well in the Furbero field.

1908. Dos Bocas well caught fire, advertising tremendous productivity ofSouthern oil fields of Mexico.

AIME 065–047
Petroleum Reserves of Central America
Authors: Redfield Arthur H.
Published: June 2014

In estimating the unmined petroleum reserves of Central America, it is notfeasible to employ the methods that have been worked out in the oil fields ofthe United States. No producing wells have been brought in and no drillingsections have been made public. It is accordingly necessary to fall back on acrude "barrels per square mile" estimate. The method chosen is acomparison of the structure of the foreign field of unknown reserves with thatof some supposedly analogous North American field of which the reserves havebeen estimated. This method makes no pretense at scientific accuracy, butfurnishes a working basis for an estimate.

The areal geology of Central America is illustrated in the map prepared bySapper and more recently in the geologic map of North America accompanying U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 71, "Index to the stratigraphyof North America." Disregarding for the present the narrow Quaternarycoastal plains and alluvial deposits of the river valleys, three chief zonesmay be distinguished. These are: A zone of late eruptive and effusive rocks; azone of highly folded preCambrian(?) or early Paleozoic crystalline schists andslates, considerably intruded by pre-Tertiary plutonic rocks; and a zone ofmore or less folded sediments, chiefly of Cretaceous or Tertiary age.

The zone of late eruptive and effusive rocks of Central America begins insoutheastern Chiapas, Mexico, and extends, with increasing breadth, acrosssouthern Guatemala, across practically the whole of El Salvador, and acrosssouthern Honduras to the valley of Rio Goascoran, where the igneous zoneattains a width of about 100 mi. (160 km.) East of the Goascoran Valley lateeruptives and effusives play a subordinate part, being confined largely to theDepartments of Valle and Choluteca. Dikes and sills of igneous rocks intrudethe sedimentary formations of central and northern Honduras.

AIME 068–69
Oil Possibilities of Colombia
Authors: Washburne Chester W. , White K.D.
Published: June 2014

Colombia has an almost ideal situation with respect to the world's markets, being only a short distance from the Panama Canal and the West Indies. Thesailing distance from its Caribbean ports to New York is less than that fromTampico.

Geographically, Colombia consists of three systems of broad mountain rangesseparated by two long narrow valleys. The Cauca River valley separates theWestern or Coastal range from the Central range. On the west side of theCoastal range are the Atrato and San Juan Rivers. The Central and Easternranges are separated by the Magdalena River valley. In the department ofSantander the Eastern range divides, one branch continuing northward as theCordillera of Perija, the other turning eastward across Venezuela as theCordillera of Merida. Between these ranges is the great basin occupied by LakeMaracaibo.

These valleys consist mainly of long narrow reentrants or tongues ofTertiary sediments between the older rocks of the mountain ranges. The lateMiocene and younger sediments seem to have been deposited in separated basins, but the Cretaceous and possibly some earlier Tertiary strata were laid downmore or less continuously over a great part of Colombia and Venezuela. Thesestrata were subsequently folded into the present ranges. The deposition of theCretaceous and of some of the Tertiary was in a great sea, the main land massbeing in Brazil, with land probably along some of the cores of the presentmountain systems. The sediments, except the Lower Cretaceous, vary markedly incharacter and thickness. An illustration is seen in the massive series ofnon-marine conglomerates and sandstones of the upper Magdalena River valley, near Honda, which are almost wholly wanting in the coastal sections wheremarine sediments prevail.

The oldest rocks bearing on the search for oil are the black carbonaceousand bituminous shales, limestones, and cherts of the upper part of the LowerCretaceous. These probably are the main source of oil in both Colombia andVenezuela. They include thick bodies of true "oil shale." Above thecarbonaceous and bituminous beds, lies a series of many thousand feet ofclastic sediments. The most noticeable and easily recognizable formation amongthese clastic sediments is the" coalbearing series," which may beeither upper Cretaceous or Eocene.

AIME 068–71
Petroleum Resources of China and Siberia
Authors: Blackwelder Eliot
Published: June 2014

For the purposes of this paper, the boundaries of China and Siberia will betaken as they stood about 1907.

Except in the Caspian region, it is doubtful if all the oil ever produced inthese countries would equal one day's flow of a good Texas well. Consideringthe vastness of the regions and the variety of strata, it seems strange thatthese two countries should have made so small a showing in the petroleumindustry. No doubt the condition is caused partly by lack of prospecting and ofmodern methods of development; in larger measure, however, it is evidentlybecause of unfavorable geological conditions over nearly all of east-centraland northern Asia.

China

The known oil occurrences in China are very few. For many years, perhaps abarrel a day has been obtained by primitive methods from wells near the city ofYenchang in the northwestern province of Shensi. A like amount was obtainedfrom wells bored for salt water in the vicinity of Kiating in southwesternSzechwan. The little oil was separated from salt water by allowing it to standin jars. The salt wells yield also considerable natural gas, which is used toevaporate the salt and also for domestic purposes. There is evidence that wellswere bored in this part of China before the third century. It is said that morethan 1200 wells have been sunk in that district to depths of 1600 to 2000 ft.(485 to 610 m.) in connection with the salt industry.

The scarcity of petroleum in China may be ascribed to three general geologicconditions: First, China contains practically no marine sediments of Mesozoicor Cenozoic age; second, the Paleozoic sediments are not for the most part ofthe types that generally contribute petroleum; third, the rocks of nearly allages have been strongly folded, faulted, and more or less intruded by igneousrocks in all parts of China except certain areas in the west and northwest.

AIME 068–80
Time to Pay Out as a Basis for Valuation of Oil Properties
Authors: Moyer W. Irwin
Published: June 2014

Two methods for the rapid valuation of oil properties are in common use. Theone best known and most widely used is the "per barrel" value, based onthe present daily production of the well, without regard to its pastperformance or the history of the sand or pool from which it produces. Thesecond method is the "time to pay out," or the length of time requiredfor a well to place itself upon the credit side of the ledger, from which timethe returns from its production (less the operating expenses) will be clearprofit.

The time basis for valuation is also commonly used in the appraisal of anundeveloped lease. In most oil fields, it is not thought good business toinvest in production that will not pay out in at least 4 to 5 years. Nearly allbuyers (except in certain regions of very persistent production like thedeep-sand territory of the Appalachian field) expect wells to pay out inconsiderably less time than this.

Like the barrel-per-day price, the time necessary for a well to pay out hasbeen determined for each field, so that one frequently hears a field ordistrict referred to as having a certain time to pay out. This is consideredthe norm for that field or district and the buyer and seller base their value, to greater or less extent, on their belief in the accuracy of this time.

The writer long ago became convinced of the inaccuracy of the barrel-per-daymethod, except when greatly modified for local conditions, such as the age ofthe wells, their economic limit, operating conditions in the field, the futureprice of oil, and the persistence of the sand as a producer. When so modified, this method becomes more of an analytic or predicted probable-yield valuation.While the appraiser may not go through each step in a valuation based on futurereturnable revenue, his knowledge of the field and the local conditionssurrounding his leases make it possible for him to estimate a fair sales valuethat, in many cases, will be a close approximation to the truth.

AIME 068–82
Future Demands on Oil Industry of United States
Authors: Pogue Joseph E.
Published: June 2014

In 1920, 531 million barrels of crude petroleum were consumed in the UnitedStates. As imposing as this figure is, the fact that the domestic consumptionof crude petroleum has increased at an average rate of 10 per cent. a year forthe past decade is more striking. Will this rate of increase in demandcontinue? If so, the year 1930 will call for 1260 million barrels of petroleum- a staggering volume. On the other hand, may we expect the demand forpetroleum to grow as rapidly as it did when the automotive industry was havingits most phenomenal expansion? If not, to what extent will the growth of oilrequirements decrease? When and to what degree will the petroleum industrybecome affected by the economic law of diminishing returns? Obviously, thismatter requires careful analysis, especially as both national and industrialplanning must be predicated upon present estimates of the requirements of thefuture. The purpose of this paper, accordingly, is to project, as closely aspresent limitations of knowledge permit, the course of the demand for petroleumin the United States over the next ten years.

At first, the problem of estimating the future of a demand as complex asthat for petroleum might appear insoluble. Fortunately, however, there areseveral scientific methods of approaching the problem, centering around a studyof rates of industrial growth, which lend considerable hope that therequirements of the immediate future in this field may be approximated withsufficient closeness to have practical value as a basis of action.

Growth of Petroleum Demand

The demand for crude petroleum is the resultant of the demands for theproducts made jointly from this substance - gasoline, kerosene, gas and fueloil, and lubricating oils.

AIME 068–66
Canadian Oil Reserves
Authors: Arnold Ralph , English Walter A.
Published: June 2014

Though production began in Canada only a short time after the discovery ofoil in the United States, it has never attained large proportions, and if wewere to judge entirely by the past the reserves of Canada would be put at avery low figure. There are only two areas from which oil is marketed at thepresent time; one, the old district around Petrolia in southern Ontario, andthe other is the small Sheep Creek field near Calgary in Alberta. The formerdistrict has produced between 200,000 and 800,000 bb1. annually for the past 40years, recent figures being near the minimum amount. Sheep Creek has producedabout 12,000 bb1. annually for the past five years. The known reserves inproved territory in each of these fields are exceedingly small, when consideredin terms of world reserves.

The chief hope of Canada for reserves of considerable magnitude lies in thewestern provinces. Sedimentary rocks similar to those in the productive fieldsof the United States occupy thousands of square miles in the western provinces, so that it seems likely that somewhere within this great area the peculiarconditions necessary for the presence of oil pools will be found. Prospectingis being carried on energetically by several large companies, as well as bymany independents. The Dominion Government, which controls most of the publiclands, is pursuing a fairly liberal policy toward the prospector, which shouldstimulate wildcatting, although the province of British Columbia, whichcontrols public lands within that province, is at present unwilling to giveadequate encouragement to make wildcatting attractive.

As there is really no assurance that any productive pools will be found inwestern Canada, the estimates of reserves are subject to a wide possibility oferror. In making estimates, the various areas within which geologic conditionsare more or less uniform are discussed separately; the estimates given for eacharea are not given with the idea that there is a reasonable probability oftheir eventually proving to be correct.

AIME 068–67
Centrifugal Removal of Wax from Petroleum Lubricating Oils
Authors: Jones Leo D.
Published: June 2014

The use of the centrifuge for dewaxing lubricating oils grew out of theeffort to secure better results than had been attained by the common ?coldsettling? process. This process was the only known method for dewaxing steamrefined cylinder stock (600? F. fire test), the product known as ?bright stock?being commonly used for building up ?pressed,? i.e., dewaxed neutrals of, say,200-sec. viscosity to a higher value. The process consisted of mixing thecylinder stock with approximately one and one-half times its volume of naphtha, heating to dissolve completely all the oil and wax and then slowly chilling toabout 15? F. in large insulated tanks. This caused the wax to precipitate. Itwas allowed to settle out by gravity. The supernatant liquid was then drawn offand the naphtha distilled off, leaving a still residue of bright stock. Thesediment from the settling, of a slushy nature, was withdrawn. After removingthe naphtha by distillation the residue was petrolatum. At some point in theprocess, preferably after the dilution but before chilling, the mixture wasdecolored by percolation through fuller's earth.

The finished bright stock produced by this process had a cold test of about50? F. Efforts to improve this by chilling to a lower temperature resulted in aconsiderable reduction in yield, and increased uncertainty of settling. Evenwhen chilling to 15? F. it was not uncommon to find that after a week's waitinga tank had not settled. It was then necessary to heat and rechill. Thisuncertainty was a serious problem; in one case a refinery superintendent hadmen riveters hold pneumatic hammers against the tank for hours, hoping thus tocause agglomeration and settling of the wax. Yields of bright stock above 70per cent. were uncommon.

History of Centrifugal Application

It is not surprising, therefore, that many attempts were made to improveupon the results obtained by cold settling.

AIME 070–60
Oil Structure Investigation by Diamond Core Drills
Authors: Longyear R.D. , Donovan P.V.
Published: June 2014

The use of the diamond drill as a means of securing information onstructural geology in connection with oil exploration was advocated for severalyears prior to actual field trial. As far as we know George E. Burton, a memberof the Institute, and at present geologist for the Humble Oil &RefiningCo., was the first one to recommend it in a published article. Early in 1917Mr. Burton, then assistant director of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, prepareda brief bulletin on this subject for the survey and it was issued as one of thesurvey publications in July, 1917. Data secured from diamond drill holes boredfor coal had been used in the study and investigation of possible oilstructures in the State of Illinois and among the earliest trials of diamonddrilling as a guide to oil exploration was certain work carried out under thedirection of the Illinois State Survey about 1920, F. W. DeWolfe then beingState geologist.

The Mid-Continent field soon recognized the value of this agency and inNovember, 1920, the first work of the kind in the Mid-Continent districts wasstarted in Kay County, Oklahoma. This form of investigation has become ofincreasing importance until now approximately 50 diamond drills are inoperation in various parts of North America working solely on the problem offurnishing structural data where surface exposures are absent or inconclusive.The greater part of these drills are at present in Northern Oklahoma andSouthern Kansas, although Texas and the Rocky Mountain region have seen a fairshare of diamond core drilling.

Drilling is usually carried out in a regular pattern, holes being located atevery section corner or every other section corner. Shorter intervals aresometimes necessary for close work. Frequently several drills will be placed onone block of leases in order to secure quickly the desired information.Drilling is carried to whatever depth is required to form a basis forreasonably accurate correlation. In most districts this means holes less than600 ft. deep.
Increasing the Extraction of Oil by Water Flooding
Authors: Umpleby Joseph B.
Published: June 2014

Interest attaches to water flooding as a means of increasing the extractionof oil because of its remarkable success in the Bradford field in the northwestpart of Pennsylvania, and the possibility of application in otherlocalities.

The constantly increasing demand for petroleum products and the increasingdifficulty of finding new oil fields is directing serious attention to the oilleft in the ground at the time when wells producing by normal methods haveapproached their economic limit. In Germany mining operations have proved thatproduction by wells over a period of 50 to 75 years has only recovered from 13to 15 per cent of the oil in the sand. In the Bradford field of Pennsylvania itis fairly well established that normal production over a period of 50 yearsrecovered only about 3000 bbl. an acre out of a total oil content of at least30,000 bbl. Similarly for many other fields it is estimated that recovery byusual methods runs from 10 to 40 per cent of the oil content of the sand. Inexceptional cases recovery may be higher, as in areas where edge waterencroaches rapidly or in open sands where gas pressure is unusually high andconserved by slow development. This unrecovered oil constitutes a tremendousreserve of petroleum in areas where conditions of drilling, sand, and water arewell known, and where the facilities for gathering and marketing the productionare already established.

The means of recovering a portion of the oil remaining in old fields fallsinto three principal groups - mining, air flooding and water flooding. Miningis being successfully carried on in two fields in Germany, air flooding hasbeen found profitable in about 15 localities in the United States, and waterflooding is a proven success in the Bradford field of Pennsylvania and theBolivar field of New York. Only water flooding will be considered in this paperwhich is devoted primarily to what is actually being done in the Bradford fieldand the technique that surrounds it.
Influence of Submergence on the Efficiency of the Oil-well Plunger Pump
Authors: Uren L.C. , Collins V.J. , Sargent S.B.
Published: June 2014

Among the several variables which determine the efficiency of the type ofplunger pump commonly used in oil-well service, the submergence of the pumpbelow the fluid surface in the well plays an important part. Wheninsufficiently submerged, the pump will deliver less than half of itstheoretical plunger displacement. In many instances, it seems probable thatwells yield only half of what they are capable of producing, because theoperator fails to maintain a suitable submergence on the pump.

This paper describes the conditions, within and surrounding the pump whilein operation in the well, which influence the effect of submergence on pumping efficiency; it presents the results of an experimental study designed todisclose the quantitative effect of submergence on pump efficiency; and offers conclusions which indicate the approximate submergence desirable and emphasizethe necessity for a knowledge of operating fluid levels within pumpingwells.

Theoretical Conceptions of Effects of Factors Causing Variation of PumpEfficiency With Submergence

Unless immersed in the well fluid, the plunger pump is dependent for itssupply of oil upon the suction effect of the ascending plunger, which isinadequate to draw a supply of oil sufficient to fill the working barrel, through the restricted orifices at the standing valve and lower plunger nut.The static head developed within the oil at the level of the standing valve, byample submergence, is needed.
Water Shut-off Methods in the Salt Creek Field
Authors: Armstrong Ray O. , Rader C.M.
Published: June 2014

To date the important water shut-off problem in the Salt Creek field hasconsisted of the protection of the Second Wall Creek sand from water occurringin the overlying First Wall Creek sand. This shut-off is the only oneconsidered in detail in this paper.

Since a shale and sandy shale interval, averaging 260 ft. in thickness, liesbetween the First and Second Wall Creek sands, the water shut-off has neverbeen mechanically difficult. The larger portion of the engineering effort onthe part of Department of the Interior engineers and those of operatingcompanies in connection with this water problem has been towards thedevelopment of adequate protection to the oil horizons with a minimum cost intime, labor and material.

From August, 1917, when the first Second Wall Creek well was completed, until March, 1921, when Circular No. 2 of the Petroleum Division of the U.S.Bureau of Mines outlining the approved method of drilling Second Wall Creekwells in the Salt Creek field, went into effect, no standardized method ofshutting off First Wall Creek water was in use. During this period 98 SecondWall Creek wells were completed. Records on these earlier wells are, in manycases, incomplete, but on inspection of 42 logs, selected because of theirapparent accuracy and because they represent all characteristic conditionsoutside the First Wall Creek oil area, we find the following conditions:

Twenty-four jobs were formation shut-offs. Of these nine, or 37 1/2 percent, have required repairs since completion. Eighteen were cemented, only oneof which, or 5 1/2 per cent has required repairs since completion. Of the 18which were cemented four, or 22 per cent required second jobs, as a shut-offwas not effected in the first instance. This percentage of first cementfailures has decreased materially with an increasing understanding of cementingmethods.
The Ranney Process of Mining Oil
Authors: Ranney Leo
Published: June 2014

The Ranney process contemplates the sinking of a shaft, a manway and ahoisting compartment, all to the region of the oil sand. This shaft stops ontop of the cap rock above the sand, or it passes through the upper cap rock, through the sand and through the lower cap rock, below the sand. From thebottom of the shaft manway tunnels are driven on top of the upper cap rock orjust below the lower cap rock-never in the oil sand. Eventually a plat of thesecriss-crossing tunnels may resemble streets in a city. Each tunnel contains apipe line.

At intervals of say 10 ft. in each tunnel, a 3-in. hole is drilled in thecap rock almost to the oil sand. A 2-in. nipple is sealed in each hole by anair-tight seal. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) A cross is screwed on the outer end of thenipple, and the pipe line is screwed horizontally into the cross on two sides.In this way each oil-receiving nipple becomes a collecting branch of the pipeline. Then a rock drill is inserted through the cross into the sealed-in oilnipple, with which drill a hole is made into the oil sand. When production issecured the drill is withdrawn, an iron plug is screwed into the fourth hole ofthe cross and the simplest form of "mine well" is complete. (See Fig.3.) If artificial forces of expulsion are employed, they may be applied to andthrough the pipe line to all nipples and all holes in the sand.
Some Analytical Principles Covering Oil Recovery by Forced Drive
Authors: Herold Stanley C.
Published: June 2014

This paper covers "an ideal situation with a formation horizontal, uniform thickness of sand, perfectly homogeneous texture and containing oilwith gas in solution with no water, throughout a definite, although undefined, lateral extent," and outlines fully an analytical method covering each ofthe following problems: Ideal drainage area, application of forced drive toexhausted wells, recovery of oil from an elliptical area, the systems offlooding in common use as applied to such area, and the method of determiningthe area of the elliptical non-drained space, and the application of this tothe determination of whether it is less costly to space wells closely or applygreater pressure.

J. B. Umpleby, Oklahoma City, Okla. (written discussion).Mr. Herold? sanalysis of principles concerning oil recovery by forced drive is timely andthe conclusions follow logically from the premises taken. I doubt, however, ifthe method of elliptical areas can be applied in fields that have alreadyyielded a large amount of oil. The method seems to imply a saturated reservoirrock, the result of pressure being to develop stress in the fluid withoutbodily movement except as localized by producing wells. Under these conditionsthere will be undrained areas as indicated in his Fig. 4. Will the same area beundrained if saturation is incomplete? It is at this point where pressures fromopposite directions first meet, causing a pressure gradient outward toward anoil well in staggered position. The amount of oil leaving this area will dependon the steepness of the pressure gradient, the porosity, and the time elapsingbefore fluid saturation is reached in the triangle between wells. When thereservoir rock between first and second-line wells becomes saturated, movementwill doubtless he in elliptical areas but observations at Bradford lead me tobelieve that more than half the total migration of oil in any particular areatakes place before it becomes fully saturated.
Core Studies of the Second Sand of the Venango Group, from Oil City, Pa.
Authors: Fettke Charles R.
Published: June 2014

The oil fields of Western Pennsylvania have reached that stage in theirdevelopment history in which the rejuvenation of depleted properties, by suchmethods as compressed air, water flooding, etc., offers a much more attractiveproposition to capital than the search for new pools in undeveloped territory.In order to apply such methods intelligently, a more detailed knowledge of thecharacter of the oil sands, than has heretofore been deemed necessary, ishighly essential. Such information can be obtained to best advantage with thecore drill. Cores yield data that cannot possibly be obtained otherwise, evenby the most careful study of cuttings taken by the ordinary cable-toolmethod.

The Brundred Oil Corp., of Oil City, Pa., the pioneer in the introduction ofcompressed air for the restoration of production on depleted properties inPennsylvania, recently completed a diamond-drill test of the Second Sand of theVenango Group, on one of its properties in Cornplanter township, about a milenorthwest of Oil City. Through the courtesy of H. D. Brown and W. J. Brundred, officials of the company, the cores were made available to the writer for studyin connection with an investigation of the oil and gas sands of the State forthe Pennsylvania Geological Survey.

Drilling Equipment

A Sullivan-type diamond drill, with double-tube core barrel, and capable oftaking a core 2 1/4 in. in diameter, was used. The wells were first drilledwith cable tools to within 5 or 10 ft. of the top of the sand, as calculatedfrom the logs of nearby wells, using a single string of 5 5/8-in. casing toshut off the water from upper horizons. A string of 4 1/4-in. casing was thenset on the bottom of the hole and the diamond drilling was done through it inorder to prevent excessive vibration of the drill rods. The 5 or 10 ft. ofshale above the sand permitted the starting of a straight hole with the coredrill before the sand was penetrated. Core losses in the sand were practicallynegligible.
Improved Drilling and Production Methods in the Gulf Coast Field
Authors: Russell J.H.
Published: June 2014

The great number of wells being drilled in the Gulf Coast creates a greatdemand for and an opportunity to improve the methods of drilling wells and ofproducing oil from them. Some improvements have been made, but in the presentstrenuous drilling campaign at Spindle top, the quickest methods of drillingand completing wells are much too slow. Therefore, not a great deal of thoughthas been given to new methods.

However, one can not help but compare the method and equipment used in thepresent-day drilling campaign at Spindletop with those of 1901. The differencesin equipment and methods are staggering and the present-day operators canhardly imagine how the old operators ever were able to drill a well. The"old timers" explain the reason as being that "Men were men inthose days and not much machinery was necessary." Yet the development in 25years of thought and study has brought about a great improvement in equipmentand in methods.

I believe there has been a great deal more thought given to the developmentand improvement of drilling equipment and methods and to the completion ofwells than has been given to the actual production operations.

Drilling Methods and Equipment

The greatest improvement that has been made in the methods of drilling andcompleting wells in the Gulf Coast is in the rotary equipment machinery used indrilling. Equipment more suitable and applicable to the duty imposed indrilling wells has been and is being steadily developed. The operators are nowstudying and are beginning to find out just what work, what duty the machinerywill have to perform before a well can be drilled to the various depths in thequickest time and in the best possible manner.

I think more than ever before the oil operator is making "carefuldiagnosis of drilling conditions," such as the character of formations tobe drilled, the depth of the hole, the size of the hole, the manner and sizesof pipe to be set and the time required to drill to certain depths.