The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-01-13
IS :|:||!I !! /. REVIEW! III:
West Virginia has Been the Scene
OF Most Activity
DURING TIE YEAR JUsT8ENDED


DERMcK's YEARLY REVIEW OF.
L-ALARGE INCREASE IN AG!
pGRbGATB OUTPUT OVER 1896!
SEPTEMBER WAS THE BANNER
MONTH OF THE YEAR-REvIEwi
oF!THE YEARS WORK, K. vi
Z s The oil City Derrick. the organ OF oil,
IN lie review OF the year Just closed,
made public yesterday, says: lttel. 4
whlleno field OF extraordinary masni;
tude was discovered during the year,
Just closed, and while. prices continued
steadily downward, yet the aggregate,
output OF Pennsylvania oil was greater
4 by over million and q quarter barrels.
;than the year preceding. This increase
in production was accomplished With
ggthcf drilling OF !,7Sl fewer wells than.3n
4 1885, and under circumstances that iex.
ercised n depressing influence unon field
4. activity. a Slnglc pool. that OF Elk
Fork, In. Tyler county. West Virginia.,
Inonopotized the attention OF the trade,
= and proved by far the most remarkable
Il likewise d considerable increase In the
/: 1few production from various other Sec
lions OF West Virginia. The Gordon
{, sand territory furnished mos. OF tho
gusher strikes, but there was also a
large yield from the shallow sand wells
of the same state. BY ~ ~ Il ~
y West Virginia seems destined to con-
tirre the scene OF greatest activity and
furnish the only territory that Is at
sstractiye TO operators on u low market.
Z IT Is in that state that the wl!dcatter
finds the greatest number OF attractions
4 and the prospects OF big strike are
great enough to Danish all thoughts in
regard to the expensive nature OF the
drilling. Kentucky and Tennessee, have
dropped entirely out Of sight the past
3 year. and prospectors seem content to
elet the future possibilities; OF those Sec
y tions as productive oil territory rest for
. q while
The production OF Pennsylvania oil
for 1897 was only a little over 5000 bar
rels day in excess of the consumption,
as represented by the difference between
the pipe line runs and the shipments.
The increase in stocks was seventy per
cent. less than In the preceding year.
md prices declined from ninety cents a
barrel at the beginning OF the year to
s.xty-fve cents ut the close. The aver
age FOR the year was over thirty cents
below the average of 1896. The average
( for 1896 was eighteen cents 4 barrel he
{ low that Of 1895. During 1894 and 1895,
I. an entirely different condition OF affairs
was witnessed in the oil! regions. The
5 consumption was In excess OF the pro-
ductlon,f and the pipe line stocks were
Z reduced 1.174,S72 barrels in 1895 and 81
4 1T4,411 barrels In 1894. The export de-
riaHd the past year has been larger
a thar the year preceding, but the price
{. Of tie refined article has ruled lower.
The total runs for 1897 were 1874, 6Si
barrels, which Is within $4,000 barrels
Of the run for 1891, when the great Nc.
{ Donald field exercised such a tremen
sdous influence upon values. Mcdonald
came in toward the close of 1891, and its
effect was to shut down active opera
tons in nearly every other part OF the
region. 1t made the year 1891 remark.
! able for the biggest yield on record. For.
Il 1892, 1893 and 1894, the production waG
maintained at nearly constant figures.
I For 1895, there was 4 decline as COM
pared with the previous years, but in
1896 production again began to pick up.
and made startling and unexpected
advance, which was continued with ac-
y CELEBRATED pace during the year just
4 closed. - s..
.At the close OF 1894 the production of
Pennsylvania was over $4,000 barrels
day, and the average for 1895 was q few
X thousand barrels above that figure. To
maintain production, ,13S new wells
were drilled during the, year. OF which
1857, or a little over twenty per. cent
were Funproductivc. The net stocks In
he custody of the various pipe lines At
the close OF 1891 were 6.336,7II7 barrels.
At.the close OF December, 1896 these
had declined to 5,i6l,905 barrels. The
excess OF consumption over production
during 1895 was 1.l1I,S12 barrels.
For 1896 the average daily production
Of Pennsylvania oil, asfneasured by the
pipe line runs, was 9l.409 barrels day.
The average runs for 1885 were SS,5QG
/ barrels day, so that theircrease dur
q Ing 1896 was .l0i barrels day. For the
year just closed the runs averaged 95,13S
y barrels a day, an increase over 1896 OF
1927 barrels day. Added to the yield
OF ,13S barrels day OF Pennsylvania
is a production OF 50. Ss2 barrels day OF
Lima oil from the buckeye regions OF
X jnorthweStern Ohio and Indiana. The
demand. for Pennsylvania oil, as shown
+ by the shipments. was 9l,9i5 and for
Buckeye 55,oiS barrels a day in 1897
5s33Ss The greatest production for the past
year was In September, when the runs
averaged Il little over a hundred thou
sand barrels q day. The smallest was
l'inf January, when the average was SS,l5l
barrels. There were $3.50 wells drilled
! In the Pennsylvania oil feds In 1897,
and over twenty-five per cent. of them
were destitute Of oil IN paying quaint
tiles. The dry holes recorded numbered
2 1872 ard i;volve an outlay that has to
Z he charged up TO the cost OF production
Over 500 wells were drilled per month in
3 1887, as compared with 651 per month In
1885. The greatest production for the
preceding year was IN June, when the
srun.t averaged 56.057 barrels day. The
smallest was in February, when they
were s., 2S6 barrels Gay. There were
ia ISL wells drilled In the Pennsylvania
Y Oil fields In 1896, or an average OF 651 per
month. OF the total drilled, 1901 were
unproductiYe OF oil. a tota; Of Z, lSS
wells was drilled In 1895, and the great
est production, IS. i63 barrels day, was
attained In October, and the smallest,
1851 barrels, in February OF that year.
There were 1876 wells compieteys In the
n Pennsylvania oil fields liz 1924, 1856 in
1893, and 1854 IN 1882.
NJ IN WEST VIRGINIA..
The Mountain state moved to the front
4, rank with operations ana rev prosuc-
tlon during the year. Active Develop
mentS were confined to no one locality,
but were very general in no fewer than