St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-13
CRAZE IN OIL FIELDS.
PRODUCERS EXCITED OVER THE
SUDDEN RISE.
NEW WELLS OPENING UP.
The Activity Exceeds Anything
known for Years-Prices Adj
vance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

RA0kaEOEG, oFa.s q IasE iaySEE@ER
producers or this region, which is the
most active part of the Ohio petroleum
field, are in an excited state of mind
over the rapil rise in prices. They pre-
dict that the Standard will soon be pay
lbS 81 Tor the StuE they condemned as
worth only 10 cents a barrel a few
years ago. The announcement was
made at the office of the Buckeye Pine
me this morning that the prices of the
day w)Il he s1.07 and S1.05 for the two
grades of Lima oil. From all that can
De learned, the producers in the Lima
lieid have an abur dance of oil III their
tanks, but are declining to sell, eyi-
IDENTIFY on the belief that the top notch
has not been reached in prices. While
some of the oil producers regard the
jump in prices with suspicion, of which
possible schemes of the Standard com
pany are the basis, others believe there
is an actual oil famine in sight. The
general belief is that while Ohio crude
oil may not "cnain as high as 81, it
Will command a price sufficient to
greatly enhance the value of the field.
winch is the second largest in the
world. New wells will be sunk in all
directions in Northwestern Ohio unless
the present prices prove to be caused
artificially
BOOM IN WELLS.
LIMA, O., April 12.-The advance
ment of prices by the Standard OIL COM
pany away beyond the expectations of
the most sanguine producers has
caused great excitement here in the
center of the Ohio oil fields. The
prices for Lima crude were announced
as follows:
North Lima, SLOT; South Lima, s1.O5,
and Indiana 81 cents per barrel The
producers are jubilant, as it will make
the five and six-barrel wells profitable.
and will open up miles of territory
good only for small wells. New oil
leases are being eagerly sought, and
the boiler and tool factories are work
ing day and night.
BUCYRUS, o., April 12.-On men
are leasing large tracts of land in the
northern part of this county for the
purpose of prospecting, good indica-
lions for which exist All leases are
on the guarantee that drilling will COM
mence within sixty days.
WHOLE OIL REGION EXCITED.
PITTSBURG, Pa, April 12.-Tbe
extraordinary movement in the oil
market this week from 81 IT last Sat
urday to $3.50 yesterday, with a net
advance of 80 cents, has revived the
Oil fever to the intensest degree.
There was never time in the his
tory of the business when the wild
cater was more alert than now.
Men are in the field night and day
looking for possible DEVELOPMENTS.
Some idea of the activity in field
operations may be had when it is
stated that on April the number
or new wells drilling and rigs in
course of construction was 1,4O1. The
monthly average of new operation
last year was only 232, and the only
number of wells completed was only
1924 for the entire year. Whether
the present search is successful or
not, there will be an enormous
amount of money spent in prospect
ing. The cost of drilling a well
ranges from $1,000 to $4,000. The
amount of iron casting required for
each well varies from 1900 to 5000
feet. Estimating the present mum
Der Of new operations at 1900 and
the cost of each well at $4,000, it is
seen that not less than $4,000, 900 is
now being expended in new work in
all the fields. The extent of the in
duStry is shown by a few compare
tive figures. The total production of
gold in the United States last year
was $42,0OO,0O0. The production of
oil for the same period was As, SOC, 900
barrels, which at todays cash price
represents value of $72, $500, 900. This
quantity fell short $500, 600 bar
rels in supplying the demand,
which was drawn from old stock.
reducing &he latter to less than
100000 barrels on April l. Within
the past few weeks the Standard Oil
company is estimated to have pur-
chased$3, 100000 worth of territory
from individual producers. The
most important of these purchases
are the Kanawha Oil company's
property in the Sisterville field for
$650,000 and the lightweight wells
of the Wheeling Gas company in the
Mcdonald field for $550,OOO A dis
patch from Wheeling says: The i'm
provement i'm the price of oil has in
creased the number of new wells in
prospect largely, and as a result the
pipe mills are working full, with good
business flowing in rather faster
than for a couple of years.
CLEVELAND, O., April I'm
keeping with the sharp advance in
crude oil, the Cleveland refineries to-
day marked up the price of refined
oil. Ohio state test was advanced
Il cents per gallon, or 37k
cents a barrel of fifty gallons.
The advance in other grades was still
more marked, a full cent being added
to the selling price of water white,
Ohio state test. headlight oil and
eocene. This means so cents a bar
rel on these oils.