The herald., 1896-05-14
BEAR ON THE OIL MARKET
Reported Sale Of 5000 Barrels Of Pe!ro.
leum at q Low Rate
Fsn1ous Well Now Pumps-Doheney
Gets Wster But No Oil

No news has yet been received at the
vi exchange OF the arrival of the Enoch
Talbot at San Francisco. although sine is
now overdue. Mr.. Botsford, her princi-
pal owner. has departed for that city to
superlntend the delivery of her cargo.
1t was yesterday reported that an eff
fort had been made by a prominent oil
operator. +. l.. Doheney, to bear the mar
ket by offering 5000 barrels of oil for sale
at 20 cents at the tanks, which is 10 cents
less than exchange prices.
He put the matter in the hands of
brokers, but when they found him a Gus.
toner We're greeted with the reply that
he had sold the lot of oil to H. l.. Williams
at the agreed price of IS cents Here is
where the point of the deal lies. Will
Jams is practically partner of Dohe-
neys and has contract to supply the
santa Re for five years with oil at 81 05
per barrel. If oil goes much higher there
will be little profit in his contract. and it
is believed that Doheney's offer was
bold bluff and made with the intention of
forcing prices down.
All offer of SO cents delivered. for a lot
of 5000 barrels was yesterday refused by
the exchange. who hold fast and stand
pat for 81 straight. A canvass of the
field is to be made this week, with the
idea of ascertaining the total supply on
hand. upon which the directors will base
their action As to prices next Monday.
mere are now ABOUT 3uO wells prOQuc-
Ing in the field and the average flow will
go a little above eight barrels per day
In all the daily output is not above 2500
barrels. Some fifteen drills are working
Oh new holes and deepening old ones, but
as fast as new wells come in old ones are
failing, so that the average is about the
same. Of course there are many wells
pumping from 90 barrels upward per day
but there are also many more giving
little or nothing.
Treasurer Turner of the Oil exchange
yesterday said that he had ten wells
that were pumping one and half bar
rels per day each on an average. Secre
tary Strasburg has fourteen holes, five
of which will average twenty barrels and
from that down to 20 barrels per diem
One of these last mentioned wells is the
once famous Nelson we'll No. l. at one
time the biggest producer in the field
When first struck it was guSher, and
for a time pumped $50 barrels per day
It's total output has been over $1,000 bar
relS. but it now takes constant work to
get two barrels ii day.
Doheney a. Common have lately been
boring a new we'll near the corner of
West state and Douglas streets and went
down TO the second sand. ON Tuesday
right the drill stopped al 100 feet and
the pump started hut not drop of oil
has been raised. The pipe Is full of wa
ter but TO oil. This seems remarkable
as the Well is directly in the midst of
some of the best in the field. but somehow
The oil DOM come So far the pumps have
been unable to lower the water in the
casing.
In the Cole we'll on Belmont near
RockwOOd street the drillers are still
fishing for a string of tools which are
stuck in the hole. The casing is now be
ing pulled. in the hope of releasing the
fastened drill.