Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-10-04
OIL REGION oFwEsT VIRGINIA

IHteTeSIt1g tEItcot9SolSdfice q tAs Wct b1'
ginia oil RegiOH-Its PreseRt aHd Future
Fro.psets-GsOIogieal HTeV Of the Terri
tory-7Rs Wealth Of EAs Hughes Riptr
Distriet-Z2s Hertieal Coal Seam Pie
nomsnon-7Hs Nte We'll on Horse Meek.
Special COrrespppdsneO of PittIbnrgh Commercial.
P9Ta0LHuN, W! Vas Sept. "a, 1864.
HA4isg tast reached this7Hoiut from an
e1tensiSe tour inlthe on REGION of West
Virginia, have eoncludad 10 drop you Q
hurried sketch pGesnming it may be adAp-
ted to your readers MANI. of whom have
met 10 course Of ~ explorAtions.
haEaeIplsred and eatefully examined
the entire region from the mouth of Bull
Greek 70 ths Tieinity of BuFqipg Springs, q
distanee Of nearly forty miles. confning my
route to the line of uphesgal, which is so
rsuarksb4y defined throughout the entire
extent. This is, indeed, A-remarkable re-
Riou, md mnst become the great centre Of
Petroleum interests in The United States.
To the geologist it presents the most in
terestiug aud remarkable features. The
Thelt," as 1t is called, is q well marked
zone Of fssure and disloeation, stretch
| ing throughout the entire distance indics.
ted. II can be traced on the summit Of the
highest hills, and in the depth OF the low
est valleys. Through long aud fatiguing
miles l have traced the anti-clival axis and
wondered, 1t the power which elevated
thess~loWer- -stEsta aud Get them edgewise
aud with varied ipdentations through this
vide extensive region. The "brook" has
an irregular width of from one mile to three
and stretches in @ general course from
north to south. In some places the diSlo-
1 cation has been 80 violent as TO place the
T. Al F1 nNb he
localities it inclines at an angle from Eve
to forty-fve degrees.
It is within this "knob," or on the line
of this upheayaI, lhat oil men prefer to
bore. With rare exceptions, wells along
this geological line, bored at che junction
Of deep, sharp rsYines, and to the proper
depth, have been productive. Wells are
now bored with almost as much certainty
of procuring oil as wells are sunk for wa.
ter IN other localities. Two very nice
questions here arise: First, is the oil con
fined 70 the line Of direction or fexure'
Second, where are the limits of the 'breaki
AS 70 oil, have no doubt It will bt
found in paying quantities almost at any
point throughout this remarkable geolog
icaI line, and in close contiguity to it. That
it will be found 10 large quantities in ma.
ny places, feel quite confident Energy
to bore deep enough, are all that the search
er for oleaginous wealth requires. Th'
great difficulty has been, that with scarce
" an exception, the wells already bored
! have been TOO shallow. have examined
almost every good we'll bored in the Vir
lgiuia oil district, and End all stopping
short Of the third sand rock, and most o
them ct the second. The source OF the OF
is higher here than 10 the Penusylvaniare
Rion; it is furnished here by the Oarbonif
erous rock, there by the Upper DeVoniRn
4 but still Il 10 sufficiently low TO requirr
deep boring 70 reach. The source of sup
ply in this (the VirRinia) district, accord
ing TO my. thsory, as well as that of th'
. best biologists and most experienced OF
operators, is more abundant than in th'
Penpsylyania region. The probabilities
are that wells here, will flow longer AM
better than in the great oil district of tn
Allegheny The wells Of q company op
: Grating near this point (nesrly twenty il
number) have been successfully worked 70
about four years, without any mstelia
diminution in the supply from o majorit
of them. sa. r.t77.. s4af ,
The oil is generally OF q heavier quslit
than from the Pennsylvania region, AM
commands, / believe, q higher price. L
connection with these parts, oil lauds ar
not one.tHentieth as high as in the Allie
ghenyI region. With these inducementI
Pittsburgh capitalists cannot find bette
opportunity 70 invest, 1 fully agree wit
q writer in the Commercial, in which b
states, that oii'stock fs tho safest and bes
investment that men can now make.
further agree with him that petrolenm can
not materially decline 10 price, eJen shoul
i q Thousand new wells be bored, and eac
yield thousand barrels per dsy. The for
eign demand is constantly increasing, and
the home consumption is immenss.nl5lr
A great number Of new wells are goinl
down, Or preparing TO be bored, New der
ricks meet you thfoughous tho entire rout
from Boil Creek and Horse Neck % tn
Hughes run, and thence 70 the Burnin
Springs Engines are scattered along th
whole distance, Of alnoBt every variety Q
L.L...n "a n..A L. AIat....