bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development and Operations in the Panhandle Field
Authors: Bennett E.O. 
Published: June 2014

In the Texas Panhandle one of the greatest difficulties of operation is theparaffin situation. Oil in that, field ranges from 83? up to about 90?, as itexists in the sand. It is from 2900 to 3000 ft. deep, and should be up around120 to 150?, as compared to other oils in the United States. Furthermore, theoil in the Panhandle congeals to a solid ball of wax at from 55 to 60?, whichgives a margin on an average of about 20?, to get oil from the sand into thepipe lines or points of use.

Gas Pressure
The gas pressure in the Panhandle field is about 420 lb., which is abouthalf the hydrostatic head. It is not sufficient to flow the wells that we termthe flow wells in the Panhandle. They are not what I would call flow wells, because if you shut in one of them and open it up again the well is dead, andit is necessary to swab or agitate the gas with the oil to make it come back.The oil in most of the so-called flow wells is produced in a spray form. Thegas factor is extremely high and there is an enormous amount of gas in thefield which has been wasted.
It is estimated that the original supply of gas was about 120 quadrillionfeet. In other words, there was enough gas in the Panhandle originally to runthe State of Texas for 166 years, if the gas were consumed every day of theyear at the rate of the peak load in Texas during the closing month of theyear. The gas is in a lime above the main pay. It varies from nothing up to 500ft. thick at different points in the field. Between the big gas and the pay itvaries from nothing up to 150 ft., which in one part of the field is in a limeand in another part of the field in a granite wash. There is a shale breakwhich varies from nothing up to 100 ft. or thereabout. It is different indifferent parts of the field.
It is impossible to drill in this gas with the hole loaded. Unhydrated limeis put into the hole and then water. The water slackens down the unhydratedlime and sticks the tools in the hole. For that reason they are unable to use arotary.
We at present, and others I believe, are working on a method of trying todoctor this solution, so to speak, to enable us to drill with a hole loadedwith fluid and to save the gas. At the present time I estimate that 100 millioncubic feet of gas is wasted in the Panhandle daily.
Production Engineering in 1927
Authors: Umpleby J.B. 
Published: June 2014

Production engineering in 1927 may be characterized by a great clarificationof fundamental conceptions, and many improvements in technique. During the yearthe profession has received marked recognition by the industry and to an extentnever before attained has become an integral part of it.

History
Petroleum production engineering is a new profession. Prior to 1925, whenthis Institute undertook the work, no forum existed for the open discussion ofits technical problems. There was no attempt at a handbook of the subject priorto "Petroleum Production Methods" by J. R. Suman, in 1921, and notextbook prior to "Petroleum Production Engineering" by L. C. Uren, in1924. As late as 1926, only six schools and universities offered specialcourses in petroleum production engineering. Prior to about 1923, engineersengaged by oil companies were used almost exclusively for construction andlocation work. Two of the leading production engineers in the Mid-Continentfield, although with their respective companies more than twelve years, werenot definitely assigned to production work until 1924. Both men now head largedepartments giving almost their entire time to production problems.
Because of the newness of the profession, the leading production engineersof today have had their fundamental training in mining, civil, mechanical andelectrical courses. Not unlikely this diversified, training is in considerablepart responsible for the amazing growth of the profession. I believe, however, that recognition is due principally to economic pressure within the industrywhich has directed attention more and more sharply on costs and efficiency.After all, the justification for the growth and continued development of theprofession is to recover more oil from a given unit of sand at less cost perbarrel.
Mechanical Installations of the Gas-lift in Texas Outside the Gulf Coast Region
Authors: Foran E.V. 
Published: June 2014

There are many factors which control the ultimate production of oil and gasfrom a producing formation and the rate at which this production is obtainedfrom any of the producing wells in the formation. The most important of these, and the one over which the greatest control can be exercised, is thedifferential pressure existing between the formation and the well bore. Inproducing any well by means of the gas-lift, it may be possible to change theflow tubing in a number of ways or vary the volume of circulating gas or airused for flowing the well, but if these operations, regardless of theirmagnitude, do not change the differential pressure between the producing sandand the well bore, they will in no way change the production of the well. Ifthis statement is accepted as a fact, then all gas-lift or air-liftinstallations should be designed with but one object in view; namely, a meansby which we can economically control very wide ranges of differential pressuresbetween the formation and the well bore.
Factors of Production
In gas-lift production from any given formation, there are four majorfactors which govern the magnitude of the differential:the depth of thewell;type and size of flow tubing;volume of the circulating air orgas, andphysical properties of the oil-gas mixture after it has reachedthe well.
The first of these factors is uncontrollable and does not vary. Theother three are controllable within certain limits.
The degree to which the last three factors can be controlled will entirelygovern the length of life of the well while on the lift, the lifting cost, andthe daily production. It will also govern to some extent the ultimateproduction from the wells or leases producing by this method. These fourfactors will be discussed in detail in another part of this paper.
Before proceeding further, a review of the present general practice inTexas, elsewhere than in the Gulf Coast region, will be given.
Air-gas Lift Practice in the Seminole Field
Authors: Shaw S.F. 
Published: June 2014

The Seminole field was first drilled in 1913. During the next 10 years otherattempts were made to discover oil in this field, but without encouragementuntil March, 1926, when the Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co. completedNo.1 Dyer in the Hunton lime for 1100 bbl. On July 16, 1926, theIndependent-Garland interests discovered oil in the Wilcox formation when No.1T. Fixico came in at 4055 ft. and on Sept. 9, 1926, production reached a peakof 8040 bbl. On Aug. 1, 1927, the daily production of the pools making up theSeminole district amounted to slightly over 500,000 bbl., practically all ofwhich was coming from the Wilcox formation.
The Hunton formation has not been very productive of oil, but has maintaineda fairly high gas pressure; this formation has been encountered at from 3800 to4200 ft., below which there is about 100 ft. of Sylvan shale. The shale isunderlain by 75 ft. of Viola limestone in a few places in which formation oilhas been encountered. Below the Viola lies the Upper Simpson formation in whichis found the Wilcox sand. The depth of the Wilcox in the Seminole field variesfrom 3900 to 4500 ft., and initial production has reached as much as 12,000bbl. The gravity of the oil is about 410 Be.
The general practice is to set 6 5/8-in. casing above the Wilcox and drillin, though in several cases 5 3/16-in. casing has been set for the oil string, and in a few instances, casing as small as 4 3/4 in. has been employed.
General Discussion on the Air-gas Lift
Authors: Porter H.P. 
Published: June 2014

The papers presented at this meeting contain a great amount of valuableinformation. Wonderful progress has been shown in the development of air andgas-lifts. There has been nearly everything brought out that touches upon thesubject. The real point that is lacking is exact knowledge of the velocitywithin the flow column which will produce the best effect - that is the thingwe must know more about.

Velocity in Gas-Lift Flow
In other lines of industry the matter of velocity of fluids in pipe lineshas been well analyzed and there are known laws by which to calculate velocityof flow; for instance, in irrigation work large pumps are designed with intakepipes to employ an intake velocity of 4 ft. per sec. By reduced cross-sectionthe velocity is increased rapidly as it enters the pump and the discharge rateis at 12 ft. per sec., which in turn is reduced in the discharge column to 4ft. per sec. Crushed coal, grain and granular material is found to be bestconveyed by air when a pneumatic conveyor is employed at 100 ft. per sec. As inthe design of a pumping plant or a pneumatic conveyor, the velocity at thelower end of the column in the flowing well must be controlled within certainlimits for best results.
Mr. Griswold, I believe, stated that they had velocity as low as 15 ft. persec. and from that up to 75 ft. per sec.
Mr. Pierce and Mr. Lewis showed an ideal flow column showing how thevelocity increased as the fluid was carried up the column, but did not give anyfigures as to the velocity. It would be well to take that sort of a diagram toestablish an ideal velocity at the lower or intake end, and then calculate thevelocity from expansion of the gas as it goes up. It may be that the idealintake velocity would vary, depending on the depth of the well, the quantity ofliquid to be handled or the pressure which it may be desired to hold. Thesubject, is one that might be worth much research.
Use of Electricity in the Mid-Continent Field
Authors: Johnson D.L. 
Published: June 2014

Only general treatment of a subject of such scope can be given in a shortpaper, therefore, except in a few instances, statistics and descriptions ofspecific installations are omitted.
The earlier applications of electricity to the production of petroleum inthe Mid-Continent field were widely separated chronologically, each holding aspecial interest, and each contributing greatly to the present development.

Electric Pumping
One of the first installations of electric pumping was on a lease nearJenks, Okla., in the Arkansas River bed, where a difficult problem was solvedby the use of motors. The Arkansas River had frequent flood periods whichinterfered seriously with the use of jacks and pull rods. Small piers werebuilt with old casing used as piling, and upon these were set small jacksdriven by 3-hp. squirrel-cage motors. The starting switches were located on abank and the power was furnished by a small generator, which was driven by anoil country gas engine. This installation was made in 1913 and is, I believe, still in satisfactory operation.
In 1914, the Cushing field came in and the Hill Oil &Gas Co.electrified its Shamrock property, using eight-pole Star Delta motors, rated at10 to 30 hp. and belted through countershafts to the band wheel. Power wasfurnished by a small generating plant consisting of two 135-kw. machines, gas-engine driven. Considerable difficulty was experienced in the earlyoperation of this station because of low voltage. It is characteristic of smallalternating-current generators that voltage regulation will be poor with widelyfluctuating loads. This field had three producing sands, and a number of wellswere redrilled with the motors, and this, together with a great deal ofswabbing, was responsible for the bad load conditions.
Problems Encountered in Handling Panhandle Crude
Authors: Vietti William Victor , Oberlin William A. 
Published: June 2014

Crude petroleum produced in the Texas Panhandle oil field is both an asphaltand a paraffin-base oil and is further characterized by being a high-gravitycrude with an extremely high cold test. An eight-well composite of Panhandlecrude showed the following characteristics:
Gravity, 36.6? A.P.I.
Viscosity: 61 sec. Saybolt at 100?F., 170 sec. Saybolt. at 75?F., 1560 sec.Saybolt at 50?F. (stirring)
Cold Test, 60? F.

Subsurface Conditions
The original pressure in the formation in the Panhandle field closelyapproximated 420 lb. gage or 435 lb. absolute pressure. Temperatures takenindicate that the formation temperatures do not exceed 90? F. The temperaturesin Table 1 are typical measurements taken on one lease.
(Table 1 - Temperatures in Panhandle Wells)
Summary of Repressuring Experiments in California Fields
Authors: Bell A.H. 
Published: June 2014

The results of repressuring (or gas-drive) have been very encouraging to theseveral companies doing experimental work along these lines in California. Themost notable examples are the Shell and the Union Oil companies at Dominguez, the Marland Oil Co. at Seal Beach, and the California Petroleum Corpn. at SouthMountain.
The results of the Marland test at Seal Beach are interesting in thatrepressuring was started while several wells were still flowing; also, onaccount of the high pressures required to overcome the hydrostatic pressureexerted by high-head edge water.
The well first chosen for repressuring is about halfway up the flank of thestructure and had been on the beam making about 250 bbl. of fluid daily, cutting about 60 per cent. emulsion. The fluid level was 230 ft. from thesurface and the top of the sand was 4393 ft. Tubing was run to 4000 ft. with apacker and the space above the packer was filled with water to balance the highpressures.
Gas was started in slowly to allow the fluid to be pushed back into thesand, and required three days at a pressure of 1500 lb. per sq. in. beforestarting into formation. The pressure was once built up to 1800 lb. and thecompressor was shut down for a few hours. When again started, the well took gasat 1500 lb., and after about three weeks the pressure was dropped to 1450 lb.The present pressures required range between 1400 and 1450 lb. Volumes as highas 1,500,000 cu. ft. per 24 hr. were put into the well.
Increases as high as 50 per cent. in production were obtained in wells up-structure with very little increase in wells down-structure. Also, the watercut on one edge well materially decreased. After about 40 days the repressuringwas moved to two wells farther down-structure and the well originallyrepressured was put on production. The result of this was a great increase inthe production of wells one location farther down-structure, a rapid increasein one well one location up-structure, and a decrease in production of thewells farthest up-structure. Later the gas started to short-cut to the nearestwell down-structure, nullifying to a certain extent the effects of therepressuring work.
Ten Years Application of Compressed Air at Hamilton Corners, Pa., with Core Studies of the Producing Sand
Authors: Fettke Charles R. 
Published: June 2014

In 1914, the officials of the Brundred Oil Corpn., faced with the problem ofintroducing new methods to increase production in the old and nearly depletedpools of Venango County, became interested in the Smith-Dunn (Marietta) processwhich was at that time being tried out in southeastern Ohio and which wasalready yielding very encouraging results. A license to use the process inPennsylvania was secured from the owners of the patents. These patents werelater declared invalid.
The method was first used in Pennsylvania on a property consisting of about434 acres, of which 300 are productive, at Hamilton Corners, 15 miles northwestof Oil City, in Cherry Tree and Oakland Townships, Venango County. Theproducing horizon is the First Sand of the Venango Group. A small oil pool wasopened up in this vicinity in 1904. By July, 1916, when the compressed air wasfirst introduced to restore pressure, the production had dropped to a pointwhere it was no longer possible to continue profitable operation. From thattime until March, 1927, over 100,000 bbl. of oil have been recovered from thetract. The property is being operated at present by the Brundred Oil Corpn. andLux. The 1926 production, amounting to 10,650 bbl., was only 400 bbl. short ofthe maximum reached during any year of the 10-year period that the process hasbeen in operation.
Inasmuch as the Hamilton Corners pool is the first one in Pennsylvania inwhich the Marietta process was tried out, and the one in which it has beenlongest in continuous operation, considerable interest attaches to the resultsobtained.
Through the courtesy of H.D. Brown and W.J. Brundred, officials of theBrundred Oil Corpn., all their data on this operation were made available tothe writer in connection with an investigation of rejuvenation methods in theState for the Pennsylvania Geological Survey.
Factors Influencing the Recovery of Petroleum from Unconsolidated Sands by Waterflooding
Authors: Uren L.C. , Fahmy E.H. 
Published: June 2014

During recent years, oil producers have observed with interest the practicalsuccess which has attended the application of water as a medium fordisplacement of oil from its reservoir sands in the Bradford field of northernPennsylvania and southern New York. Here, according to various authorities, additional recoveries of from 2,000 to 12,000 bbl of oil per acre have beensecured by this method, after ordinary flowing and pumping methods ofproduction had practically reached the lower limit of economic operation.
Notwithstanding the success which has attended the practical use of theflooding process in the Bradford field, oil producers in other regions areskeptical of its value when applied under physical conditions differingmarkedly from those which characterize the Bradford field. Its use wouldprobably be construed as illegal in most of the oil-producing states. Thisgeneral reluctance on the part of oil producers in other regions to accept theflooding process is due in large part to lack of information regarding thefactors that influence its operation and efficiency.
With the purpose of clarifying to some extent the issues involved, and ofdetermining when the flooding process may or may not be effectively employed, the writers have conducted as series of laboratory experiments under carefullycontrolled conditions, designed to indicate the influence of various physical, chemical and lithologic factors.
Deep-Well Drilling Technique
Authors: Dievendorff H.H. , Hertel F.W. 
Published: June 2014

The method of drilling deep wells into the earth for the recovery of oil andgas is beset with many hazards. This is especially true in the Ventura Avenuefield, which has the distinction of being the hardest field in California inwhich to complete a deep well. The hard, shifting and squeezing formations mustbe penetrated to great depths in the face of tremendous gas pressures. Thisfield presents problems that keep the operators abreast with all of the latestdevelopments in oil-field tools and machinery and in oil-well drillingpractices. Equipment must be strong, and adapted to deep-well drilling and thehandling of long heavy strings of casing. High-pressure sands require theutmost care and attention of the operators and no chances can be taken, since aserious blowout may cause the loss of a well that has cost months of labor andexpense. Equipment must meet these requirements or be discarded.
Although the deepest wells in the world are not in this field, nor have thelongest strings of casing been set, nevertheless, the consistency with whichdeep wells are drilled and long strings of casing are set places the VenturaAvenue field foremost, in this respect, among the oil fields of the world. TheVentura Avenue field does claim the deepest commercial oil-producing well inthe world, in the Shell Co. of California's "Edison" No. 18. This wellwas drilled 7015 ft. and came in flowing 3280 bbl. of oil per day. This fieldalso claims the deepest average depth of producing wells in that its 111producing wells average 5676 ft. in depth. Of these 111 producing wells, 50 are6000 ft. or deeper, and 16 are 6,100 ft. or deeper. Also, of the 111 producingwells 100 are flowing, and 11 are pumping wells.
This paper is intended to set forth the methods used in the drilling of deepwells with rotary tools and the handling of long heavy strings of casing in theVentura Avenue field.
Rotary Drilling Problems
Authors: Cartwright R.S. 
Published: June 2014

Rotary Drilling Controls
Two types of automatic drilling controls, the Halliburton and the Hild, arenow available and are coming into more or less general use in deep drilling.The primary function of both is to maintain a safe limit of torque on the drillpipe, this being accomplished by automatically controlling the weight orpressure on the cutting tool. Neither type will necessarily increase drillingspeed, but by permitting advantage to be taken of "breaks" in the holehigher average cutting speed may be maintained. The control is essentially asafety device, and should be considered as such.
It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the merits of drillingcontrols, although the advantages over manual feed at the brake drum areobvious, but rather to point out some of the limitations.

The Halliburton Control
The Halliburton control is designed to operate during drilling through theagency of the draw works. Automatic and constant control of the torque on thebit is governed by clutches on the control itself, and the line shaft to drumshaft drives on the draw works. In operations other than drilling the controlis simply a jackshaft between prime mover and draw works. It is, of course, adaptable to any type of power.
Because control of the torque on the bit is dependent on the various ratiosor clutch combinations available on the Halliburton control and the draw works, it follows that there are certain limitations in points of control. Table 1shows the possible ratios which can be obtained with the control and a populartype of three-speed draw works, it being assumed that the highest possible gearcombination - the combination which when engaged will suspend the least amountof weight - has a value of 1.00.
According to the table there are "blind spots" in the series. Thisis true particularly among the lowest ratios, which are most used to suspendthe major part of the weight when great depths are reached.