The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-01-30
THE INDIANA OIL FIELD
NEW YEAR STARTS WITH ACTIVE
OPERATIONS IN THE STATE.
Late NitrOglyccrin Accident Recalls
M~ysterioCs Cases That Happened
in FOrme Years.
to the indianapolis Journal.

1ttNh0A - NDN RAA1 04AAAa
MONTPELIER. Ind. Jan. g. -Opsrltions
in the Indiana oil and gas fields make a
good showing for the month Of January,
regardless OF the fact that it is the first
month of the year, and a very bad one for
operations. During January there We're
eighty-five wells finished in the various
fields of the State. OF this number there
were twenty-one that were worthless for
oil. but a majority of them are valuable
for gas, as a great many are located in the
gas area n were drilled for that purpose
alone The producing wells have a daily
output of 1,4l5 barrels, or a daily average
per well of % barrels. This shows a de-
crease from the December report of only
u barrels and 145 barrels production. One
good feature of the report is that % less
worthless wells were completed. which
alone is a big item to the trade. Many are
Of the opinion that the decrease in the price
of the product will stagnate the future op-
erations. but this is hardly possible. There
are % new wells under way and A. rigs up
in readiness for the drill. This is a decrease
in new work of only Is from the December
report. The present cold snap will decrease
the daily runs considerable, as many of
the lines will freeze up.
The Cudahy line so far has done but
little service in this field, and what il will
do toward the welfare of the field still re-
mains to be seen. So far the line has been
a detriment to the operators, as many are
of the opinion that the present price of the
crude is mostly due to the building of this
line instead of the overconsumption of the
crude product. The big concern is after
something. without a doubt. In the Ohio
field at one time an oil line was built by
q refining company. and the price of the
product dropped off gradually, as at the
present time. Oil for fuel went way down,
and the new concern closed contracts for
fuel oil at a low figure. AS soon as this &C.
CURED the price of the crude product ad-
vanced to such a figure that the smaller
concern lost heavily on its contracts. This
is, in all probability, the cause of the pres
ent decline in prices. The Standard Oil
Company is i'm power and controls the oil
markets, and will, as long as oil is found
in paying quantities., unless all the pro-
ducers would combine in one body and erect
their W lines and refineries, but it would
take a great many years to accomplish
this. This was attempted in the Eastern
fields, but proved a failure, as but very few
of the operators would combine against
the Standard.
There seems to be a regular epidemic of
glycerin accidents this winter in different
fields, and Indiana comes in for her share.
what came near being the most disastrous
one of them all occurred a few days ago
in shooting the Success Oil Company's No.
3 well, on the w. A. Dawley farm, in Not
tngham township. Wells county. The
hiring head shell exploded when about l25
feet below the surface. The casing from
that depth was blown out and mashed up
things generally. No one of a large crowd
standing about was hurt. A piece of the
casing fell near the shooters wagon, con-
tanning ten quarts of the dreadful nitro
glycerin. Had the flying debris struck the
wagon no one would have remained to tell
the story. +. i. Garthwaite, of the En-
pire Glycerin Company, was doing the
shooting No one can tell what caused the
premature explosion. But one instance of
the kind is recorded in the Trenton rock
nelds, and that occurred during the year
of 1891, a couple of miles north from the
hamlet of Prairie Depot. Wood county
ONO. The well was being shot with a
hundred quarts of the explosive. There
were sixty quarts of the explosive sitting
on the floor, and the shooter was lowering
a shell in the well, which acted badly.
mewh close to half a hundred people
were at the well TO see it shot. Mr.. George
"A: Whitney, jr, the then oil scout, was
the action of the line upon which the shell
was hooked, hallooed to the crowd to get
out, as the well acted as If il would flow
People flew in all directions. scared out OF
their wits. The well did flow and threw
the shell near the top of the derrick, break
ing into three pieces. One of the pieces Of
shell fell on to the floor close to the cans
which contained the eighty quarts and the
other two pieces fell outside the derrick,
There was no explosion and the reason car
never be explained.
The report for January shows hat the
decrease in work is due to the fact that
there are less gas wells being completed
in the miscellaneous counties. The six oil
producing counties of the State hold their
own pretty well. considering the season OF
the year. Some prominent test wells are
under way in Huntington county. and II
they prove productive it will increase the
operations in that end of the field. Jay
county will be more thoroughly drilled the
present season than it has for any season
since oil was first struck there, or since
the great boom of the Harris pool and the
great Camden field. Activity will be re-
newed i'm the spring in the Twin Hills dis
trict, as well as the drilling of a great num-
Der of test wells near the town of Berne
Randolph county will also be tested by q
new organization of farmers. Some of the
operators in the field are contemplating the
inauguration of the eight-hour tour on drill
ing wells. but the outlook is not very bright
for a change. There is some talk of the or
ganization of an oil mems association here
but the Western Oil Mems Association GOV
ers the ground. An attempt will be made
by the association to have the tax on oil
we'll appliances cut down on a basis with
the tax paid in other oil-producing States
The GLOWING figures show the runs. ship
ments and stocks in barrels of Indiana anC
Ohio oil monthly for the year 1896: