Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-17
AN OPERATORS TALK.
He Believes the Standard Has Kept
Up the Price of Petroleum. =
TERRITORY TO THE SOUTHWEST
II Is Being Watched With More Interest
Than Any Other Just Now.
no NEW WELLS REPORTED YESTERDAY


the Mcdonald excitement, even when the
production of that field alone has been
over $4,000 barrels a dav, has been a
source of wonder and surprise to all
in the business All of the opera
tors IL the southwest feel that
il was through no fault of theirs that it did
not 90 lower, while the owners of small
wells in the other fields have been cursing
their fate because it was kept as low as 1t is.
They cannot comprehend that if it should
go to IS or so cents, as the situation
seems to Justify, that many of them
would be nearly, if not entirely, ruined.
The situation has reached such point
that the striking Of three or four big gush-
ers. such as were never known in former
davs. has no effect whatever on the market.
il scarcely weakens it. Ten years ago,
however, one of these same wells would
have knocked the market down from 10 to
% cents Within the last few weeks an I'M
preston seems to have become general
that the credit for keeping up the price OF
oil is due to the Standard Oil Company.
This NAV or may not be the case but the
operators appear to be realizing it, and are
One OF the operators who is outspoken in the
matter is Colonel W. p. Rend, the coal oper-
ator and producer. Three months ago he had
never been engaged in the oil business and
to-day he owns and is interested In ten
wells.
An OH Operators Ideas.
Speaking of the situation. at the Monon-
rahela House last evening, he said: 81 can
see nothing to keep this market from going
to so cents a barrel, unless it is the Stand
ard Oil Company. 1t is a most remarkable
thing for the price to stay up as it has in
the face of such production as we have
been getting in the McDonald-McCurdy
field. With almost any other branch of
business under the same circumstances there
would have been heavy decline. If the
market had gone down | believe there
are plenty OF producers In the
other fields and some even in this, who
would be financially ruined, but as it is
they may be able to pull through. BE-
lieve that the Standard wants to avert
panic in the business and for this very
reason has been keeping up the price. This
company may be a monopoly, but if you or
I or any set of men were in
their position we would no doubt be no
more exacting than they. During the short
time have been in the oil business have
seen MANY things which were utterly at va
rance with the stories had heard regard
ing this great company and its actions
toward the producers. Its greatest act
is in holding up the price of
petroleum, but then what body or
set of men could have so well taken care of
so great a production and allowed compare
tivelv so little of it go to waste. 1 have
not the slightest doubt but that if the re-
sponsibility of piping or storing it had
been divided up among three or four inde-
pendent companies three times as much
oil would have been lost. So far
as / have been able to see the Standard has
maintained a friendly, if not liberal,
policy toward the producers.
There are few producers in the field who
dispute Mr.. Rend's statements, so far as
the Southwest is concerned, and there
are few who will deny that
the Standard is keeping the market
in the neighborhood of 60 cents a
barrel Grades have been made for seven
nex iron tanks at the Gregg pump station
They will range in capacity from $4,000 to
81, 600 barrels each. A new six-inch line
will be built from Gregg to Nadsky, and
this will give greater facilities for pumping
to other locations and main line tanks
Anon Day in the Field.
1t was an off day yesterday in the field.
No new gushers were reported up to a late
hour last evening. There were several big
wells expected but they failed to come to
the front with any OIL w. L. Mellon &
Co. were looking for two on the Neeley
farm in southwest McCurdy to get the
nav in the fifth late last night. The same
parties have one well on the Mertz farm,
which ought TO be near the tender spot in
the rock. Bartlett & Sons well on the
Walker farm, back of Oakdale is drilling
in the Gordon sand and will reach the fifth
this week with good luck. Two
light wells have been finished up at
Mcdonald They are Liggett & Haymak-
er's well on the Bess lot and the same par
ties venture on the Hoffman lot. Both of
these are Gordon sanders The Bess lot
well is good for $50 or 800 barrels from this
formation and the other for 80 or as barrels.
Thompson & Co. are still fishing on the
Tourney property. 1t was reported last
night on good authority that the oil well of
Hill * Co., on the Oakrldge Coal Com
pany's property at Oakdale, was through all
sands and dry. This well has been closely
watched, and it is claimed the owners tried
TO make a little mystery of it. 1t is one of
the tarthest wells to the east at that point
An Important Well.
One of the most important wells in the
field at present is that of McNall & Co. on
the slaughterhouse lot at Noblestown. 1t is
also 10 Ine east, anu Ou aCcOunU is
doubly interesting. 1t would not be sur
prising if they got good Gordon sand well
Late last evening it was reported to be
two bits in the Gordon sand, and
filled ND 500 feet with oil. Some vet
ersn operators believe there is second fifth
sand belt running through east of the
Matthews and Mevey wells, and the Nc
Nall well was located with view to
striking this second streak There are
some verv light wells between the
McNall and the Matthews well, which is
located about mile north of west from
Noblestown. The Oakdale Oil Compapy's
No. or the Wallace farm is due to break
into the fifth sand in day or two. 1t is
located about 900 feet southwest of No. 1
Wallace, and is confidently looked forward
TO as big well.
Greenlee & Forst expected to drill their
No. / on the Gamble farm deeper yesterday
afternoon, and also to shoot their No 8 on
the same farm. There has been compare
lively little shooting done in this so far as
the results in the past have been anything
but satisfactory. The sand is so loose
that if there is any oil in it, it
comes out with the first grand rush
ireland K Hughes have commenced spud-
ding at their No. on the Cedet lot at Nc
Donald.
Expect Another Gamble.
The Woodland Oil Company expects to
complete its Nc. on the Gamble farm this
week The Royal Gas Company's No.
s on the Sauters farm is being
spudded in. Their No. . on the
AIaryRobb farm is on top of the sand,
and their Nos. 3 and on the same farm are
drilling at 900 feet each. Wolfel 81 Co. IS
well on the Wilson lot in Mcdonald was