Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-12
WHAT PETROLEUM Is.

Inc casual visitor to the Pennsylvania
oil region, as he views the greasy fluid
gushing from its rich reservoirs, 2, 900 feet
below the surface, finds himself involun.
.arily asking the primal question, Where
aoes IL come from, and how and where was
formed A puzzling question, surely,
aho II propounded to any competent and
thorough geologist, would only elicit q
snake OF the head, and the brief reply that
ne dldn know. But however careful the
scientific man may be about advancing a
| theory that the discoveries Of tomorrow
may Knock higher than a kite, the average
iSnhee never allows a conundrum of this
hinu TO be propounded to him without
1naAihg several attempts at guessing it.
me oifhcult question of the origin of
petroleum has not seemed to his prolific
ihlno TOO big to be grappled with, and at
present two popular theories exist in regard
70 TINS interesting subject, each of which
has its strenuous advocates.
Inc hrst of these theories holds that the
rock IN which the oil is now found is the
parent rock in which it originated. The
Hennsylvania oil rocks are a series of sand
rocks OF varying thicknesses, scattered
somewhat lrregulariy over the northwest
ern part OF the State, and prolific in oil at
depths below the surface, VARYING from 500
20 2,OOO feet. Originally they were depos-
lied by the action of water. either az long
stretches OF sea beach or immense sand
oars formed by eddying and whirling enr-
rents. The advocates of the parent.rock
theory MAINTAIN that along with this sand
was deposited organic vegetable or animal
matter, which, by the chemical action of
the succeeding ages, has been transformed
into OIL and gas, and kept stored ia these
hermetlcally sealed reservoirs until the
searching drill of the enterprising oil
operator should penetrate its hidden cham.
oers ana bring 1t forth to light an inquir-
ing and busy world.
Ia continuation OF this theory its advo-
Gates point to the coal deposits. which are
now generally conceded to have originated
from vast deposit of vegetable matter.
which grew and decomposed for ages. and
then, by the combined action of heat and
enormous pressure, were packed away in
solid masses to provide for the future fuel
OF the world. A chemical ANALYSIS of the
two articles, coal and petroleum, discloses
the fact that they contain nearly the same
elemental ingredients, in slightly different
proportions perhaps, but practically the
same, the only real difference consisting in
the TACT that one Is now solid and the
other finid. As the oil is found at dis
tance OF from 900 to 1000 feet below
the pro!lnc coal measures, and If deposited
along with the sand rock in which it is
now found, must be many ages older than
the coal deposits, 1t ID argued that the i'm
mensely longer period since its original de-
post ana the higher temperature to which
&c Is subjected by its greater depth below
the surface may easily account for the
chemical action necessary to make il fluid
instead OF solid, as in the case of coal,
Inc second and more generally accepted
theory Is that the petroleum is formed by
the constant distillation of gas from the I'm.
DERIVING carbonaceous shales of the Silnrian
period, which, in the Pennsylvania oil re-
gion are supposed to lie at a sufficient depth
to be subjected to high temperature and
to be constantly generating gas. II this
theory ID accepted, the conditions necessary
for the formation of petroleum deposits are
three. fold: First, a geological horizon deem
enough below the surface to generate gases
by the operations of internal heat second.
q horizon of proper temperature for
the purposes of condensation and
third, a reservoir for storing he
condensed petroleum. The sGyocates
OF this theory claim that tbsse loyer
shaies lie at the proper depth to I'm
the first OF these conditions. and that
the gas thus generated, being very LIGHT
and OF peculiarly penetrating nature.
rises through the crevices and assures of
the everything rocks until it reaches
tne horizon of condensation, which
they CLAIM, according to development s
made by the drill, varies in distances frtm
90o to 900 feet below the surface. The
third condition is fulfilled according to this
theory by these sand rocks, which. LIVING
within the horizon OF condensation, and
being OF porous nature, holds the con.
densed petroleum as sponge holds water.
Ihese rocks are Theoretically sealed at sle
top by an impervious shell, which prevents
the lighter portions OF the oil and gas from
escaping to the surface until this she'll is
penetrated by the oil operators drill. when
it gushes forth with astonishing force-IIf
thus theory is correct, then in all probab;I.
ity the process of formation is constantly in
operation, though proceeding at a very
slow rate, the immense deposits lately dis.
covered being the slow secretion of untold
ages.
The advocates of this theory fortifv
themselves by the statement that the
series Of Devenian rocks in which the oil
deposits are now found extend over great
deal OF territory in which the drill fails Ia
find oil, and that if the theory of original
deposit OF the petroleum producing matter
along with these same deposits were true.
then the oil should be found wherever the
rock is found. On the contrary, they claim
the rock may exist where there are no un-
DERIVING shales to produce the petroleum
gases, or the everything strata may be up.
heaTed to such ali extent that the gases
may escape to the surface through verti-
cal assures, and thus mingle with the ct
mosphere and be lost. In proof of
this they cite the fact that no oil has
been discovered eastward of the line
which marks the beginning of
the Allegheny upheaval, and that the
vertical assures caused by this upheavaI
have rendered the formation of petro-
leum deposits impossible in that locality.
Tney also cite in support OF this theory
the further fact that no oil has been dis
covered at depth exceeding 500 feet
below sea level, although the drill has
penetrated far greater depths in many in.
stances and succeeded in tapping the
petroleum gases. They argue from this
that if the gases are found at great depths.
but no oil, then it follows that oil is the
product of condensation, which can onIy
take place where sufficiently low tenn.
perature exists, and that this is to be
found only within The limits above de-
scribed. The inquiry is full of interest to
the inqusitive mind, and we simply pre-
sent to the readers of the Times these two
popular theories for what they are worth,
without comment or expressed opinion