The Holly chieftain., 1900-08-24
OIL UNDER THE SEA
New and Radical Departure in q
Great Industry.
Development of Submarine Wells
Was Brought About by Peculiar
CiFeusastances-stra
Ocean Field.

,
most picturesque. feature OF the great !
crude oil industry. This new and rad |
ical departure, a most difficult and e1-
pensive under .aking, to say the least,
has been successfully carried out at
Summerland, Cal, the only place
where it has ever been attempted, and
there the precious brown fluid is now
pumped from beneath the Pacific
ocean at the Fate of about 100 car
loads per month. from scores of holes.
while many more wells are being
bored, says the ST. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat.
The Development of this remarkable
field was brought about by peculiar
circumstances. and commenced but a
few years ago, when The oil industry
had begun TO boom in theeast. The
first wells were drilled OF the bluff.
where oil had been discovered. 20 years
previously in sinking for water and
where there are still many good pro-
ducers. But Summeriand was q beau
tiful place, quiet little colony of spir-
itualists, and they opposed the advent
of greasy and undghtly derricks on
wells were better the nearer they
were sunk to the ocean, and conse-
quently the operators began to crowd
each other toward the water line.
Finally. S. W. Knapp, of Santa Bar
bara. conceived the plan OF getting
ahead of all his competitors by build
ing wharf.-the structure along the
beach and drilling out where the Pa
cific's breakers roll. The expense was
heavy, but the well proved 10 be a
"gusher." Others followed Knapp's
example, going farther and farther
out until to-day there are dozens of
wharves extending a thousand feet
into the sea, connected by structures
running parallel with the beach. And
on these wharves. often SO near each
other as to be almost crowded. are the
derricks-large ones for drilling and
smaller ones for pumping-and al in
use.
Operations are greatly facilitated
by the fact that the oil strata, of
which there are two, lie only from l25
10 250 feet below the surface. Drilling
Is carried on in practically the same
encountered, after the extensive pre-
liminary work of building wharves
and getting machinery out upon
them is done. being the water. Until
the hole is well begun that obstacle is |
great, but it is overcome by means of
casing, and operations are carried on
readily in 20 feet. The cost of drilling
at the present time is about 81 per
foot. though some is done as low as SIS
cents. When the shallowness is con-
sidered, it will be seen that on the
whole the total cost of these wells will
compare very favorably with those
elsewhere and on land. But in the i'm
probable event of violent storm.
such as sometimes travels along the
Atlantic coast. all traces of this novel
oh fe!d-wharves, derricks and ma
chinery-would be swept away in
minute, and the loss would be enor-
nous.
AS to the extent and productive
ness of this strange ocean oil field, an
idea may be CLEANED from the follow
ing figures: There are nearly 900
wells, and the average output per day
is said 10 be about rs barrels. or total
of 1900 barrels. The product is of
high grade and sells for an average
price of % cents barrel, which |
means a total of over 80, 600 per day, or |
about sIs0,000 a month. Much of the |
oil goes under long contracts to the
immense ONnard beet sugar factory,
while thousands of barrels are
shipped to San Francisco at short in |
tervals.
The cost of pumping well is only
about 30 cents per day. To illustrate
how closely the derricks stand, it nay
be stated that the Sea Cli1 Oil COM
pany, producing 1000 barrels month,
has wharf 500 feet Long and 10 wells. |
The Treadwell company has the long
est wharf. extending 1900 fee. from
the shore. with pumping well at the
extreme end and IS others at inter
walls. And there are dozen other con-
Germs with numerous wharves. Much
oil is necessarily wasted under the Pc
culiar conditions which prevail. and
this, dripping upon the water. has the
effect of making a considerable patch
OF old ocean as calm and, smooth as
land-locked bay, adding much to the
striking oddify of the scene. Often
when new wells are opened the gas
pressure is so strong that streams of
oil spurt out upon the water until the
surface is black. in strange contrast
with the distant blue.
A Timely sugEestIss.
Instead OF laying wager for the