Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-19
OIL WELLS SHUT DOWN
Water Lines Broken at Mcdonald by
the Extremely Cold Weather.
SEVEN WELLS ABOUT FINISHED.
The Moorhead Well Mile in Advance in
the Important Point.


stage with more surprising suddenness than
hoary old winter settled down over
the producing fields of the great
hint of his coming, no signs Of
frost on the window pane heralded his ap.
proach, but with all of despot's un.
reasoning power he swooped down upon the
unsuspecting operators. He struck them
in a vital spot by breaking their water lines.
THE DISPATCH scout tramped over the
field yetterday, and from every hill and
hollow came the wall s'Our water
pipes are busted" Wells were
shut down in every direction and
several which the owners confidently
expected to drill into the fifth sand pay
were in condition that would delight the
sons of rest. There were few operators,
however, who had the good sense to bury
their water lines early in the fall, and these
were correspondingly happy, and singing
that sweet but threadbare refrain, 81 told
you So There was falling off
in the general production of the
field yesterday not for the same reason
that keeps the ground hog in his hole, but
because no new wells were completed and
because the old wells could not be agitated
for want of water to run the boilers.
Production Falling OF.
The estimated production yesterday was
65, 800 barrels, a decrease of over 5000 bar
rels from the day before. The stocks in
the field were on the jump. They
went from 204, 700 on Tuesday to 212, 100
barrels Yesterday, or more than 1000 bar
rels. Although nearly every tank in the
field is filed to the decking, there was only
q small amount of oil getting away yester-
day, and it came from the Elliott hollow.
Some of the heavy producers are taking
means to secure and hold as much
of their product as they possibly can
In the Matthews hollow, back of Mobiles
town, Guffey, Jennings & Co. have COM
pleted two tanks, each of $4,000 barrels
capacity. These are both full, and they
have commenced the erection of third,
with capacity of $4,000 barrels, and are
grading for fourth of the same size. Over
the hill in the Elliott hollow, between
Noblestown and Mcdonald, Guffey
Murphy & Galley have two tanks,
each of $4,000 barrels capacity
completed, and they are building two others
of like size. Down at Gregg station the
National Transit Company is putting up a
series of eight iron tanks, and with the 800
and 1,2O0-b barrel wooden tanks which are
going up at different points in the field the
production can be easily handled
unless it jumps to much
higher plane than it is now.
The trouble with the water lines will be
over in few days and the operators who
were spoken to yesterday said they hoped
H.
it makes hauling easy, and will give an
ritory.
That Slaughterhouse Venture.
The we'll which has been attracting so
much attention recently, that of McNall &
Co., on the slaughterhouse property at No
blestown, has been pretty we'll defined in
the Gordon sand. This was the formation
in which so MANY expected that it would
prove wonder. Without being anything
1t is showing for from 81 to
40 barrels day in the Gordon saud
by actual guage. If not in exactly the
right spot itself there must be some good
Gordon oil rock in the immediate neigh
borhood. The well is located just at the
mouth of the Mathews hollow. R. G. Giles
pie & Co. are spudding OH the Nicholson lot
at Noblestown. McNall & Co. s we'll on the
next week. On the school house lot
Hawley s. Co. are down 1000 feet and
the well of the Wheeling Gas Company on
the Moorhead farm, nearly mile west of
south from Mcdonald, has reached an in
teresting point. It is without doubt the
important well of the field at the present
Yesterday morning it was on top
of the Gordon sand, and was to be
drilled into the rock in the afternoon.
There seems to be little doubt but
that it will be well, but none are so rash
as to venture on its callbre. 1t is nearer
than any we'll between McDon-
aid and Venice and therefore is looked to as
likely to determine the nature of the sand
feet west of it McManus & Co. are
drilling at 1000 feet OH the j. R.
GLADDEN. farm and on the Richard
to the east Forst & Greenlee
are down about 1,40O feet. The Pittsburg
Oil Company's we'll on the Reed farm to
the southeast should be in the Gordon be-
fore many days. The Royal Gas Company's
we'll on the Moore farm at Venice will not
get the fifth sand before Saturday, on ac-
count Of some broken machinery.
Seven Wells About Finished.
There are seven wells in the Mcdonald
field which are on top of the sand
md should be in some time to-day. -Four
If these belong to w. L. Mellon & Co., and
ire located in southwest McCurdy. They
Ire his Nos. 4 and B on the j. NJ.
Neeley farm and his Nos. 8 and 4
IN the Mertz. The No. OIL the
Neeley is making 60 barrels a
lay from the fourth sand. The oil is a
FRIGHT yellow and is the only fourth sand
,il vet found in the southwest His No. 3.
L. =.
making about ten barrels an hour. These
lay on account of broken water
ines. The Forest Oil Company's No.
!. on the Wright, has increased
rom 35 to so barrels an hour. Thev were
moving the boiler back at their No. 8 on
he Shaffer farm yesterday, and did not get
drilled in. The Oakdale Oil (;ompanv
vas drilling in the she'll above the fifth |
afternoon at their No 2 on the |
Wallace farm, and expected to reach the |
,ay late last night. Their No. 8 on the |
anne farm is in the stray above |
he Gordon, and their No. Wallace NAV |
.et the third sand the last of this week. |
1he Devonian Oil Company's No. 4, on the |
Faye farm in the western limits of the |
ow er part of the field was one bit in the |
fifth sand yesterday morning, but had to |
hut down on account of shortage in the |
rater supply. They expected to be ready to
rill it in last evening.
Another Light Mevey Well,
Greenlee & Forst will have another small
7ell to put down against the Mevey farm
Mess there is a wonderful change in their
70. from that exhibited yesterday after
oon. At that time it was nearly Is feet in
be sand, which was hard and close and
ad not made flow. 1t is located about
90 feet southwest of their big No. 1 Meyev
his makes the third light we'll
Inch they have drilled on this
arm. Davis & Browns well on
he bricky ward lot is about five feet in AZ.