Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-10
Special Correspondence.

Special espondence.
Beaumont, Texas, Aug 5.--Veteran
operators who have been drlllinb
"gushers" fairly good wells and dust
ers" since the days Of Colonel Drake
the first Of their class. say that In SONS
respects the new field, or pool OF OIL
near here Is the most remarkable In the
history Of the crude petroleum busl-
ness. Very recently there were Is pro-
ducng wells, all located on a tract Of
land not exceeding $50 acres in extent
About 20 dry holes had been drilled
lust over the edges Of this small tract
TO the west northwest, north, north
east and east, demonstrating that the.
field or pool did not extend in those
directions, and in the territory to the
south alone remained the hope that the
field would be still further enlarged by
the opening Of future wells In that di
rection. At that time il had thus been
shown that If the territory 10 the south
proved to be as dry as the territory Oh
the O her three sides OF the 100 acres
tract the field would be a mere pool of
limited area, and yet, desnite the facl
that 10000 barrels OF oil had already
been taken from the $50 acre tract the
Haywood No. 3, the thirteenth well
drilled seemed TO be as great gusher,
seemed TO be capable of producing as
much oil as the first gusher, the Lucas
well, which conservative men say was
good for $4,000 barrels Of crude petro-
leum per day when 1t was first struck.
Pools ordinarily open up for business
in sensational way by producing vast
quantities Of oil at the start and then
speedily dwnde TO insigniflcance. They
20 up like the rocket and come down
like the rockets stick. Yet here is ap'
parenty a pool Of a very few acres
whose IS curbed volcanoes II oil have
already produced 100000 barrels, and
the last well comes in as str ng as tho
first Old oil men cannot y 1erstand
this, and there are many otner things
about the Beaumont field that puzZlt
them, There seems 10 be practically
no gas worth mentioning. and yet the
wells all flow with wonderful strength
and do not need the usual JOLT given by
the explosion Of several hundred quarts
of nitroglycerine In the oil bearing sand
or rock. When the stream Of oil In the
Haywood No. broke loose, II shot up
2l3 fet in the air. forming a fountain
II oil that was very beautiful but eX'
pensiye luxury, and yet when this well
was shut of Il only had a pressure Of
so pounds to the square inch at the
casing head The OIL is unlike any 9th
er ever discovered In this country; the
wells are drilled In a new way because
quicksands prevent the use Of the old
apparatus The new method mixes up
the rock and sand so that no one can
tell exactly how and when and where
different formations are encountered,
and the conditions and indications are
so differet that the veterans are all
unable TO tell what the outcome will be.
The consequence Is that no one knows
anything as yet concerning the true
raliber Of Beaumont. There has been a
great deal written In the newspapers |
about gushers that produce 10000 or |
30, 900 or even 100000 barrels Of oil per |
day through $4,000 Is said to be the |
true figure for the Lucas well. but no |
man can tell how long the gushers viii !
gash-whether they will continus to !
pour forth seas OF oil week after week |
and month after month or practically |
run dry In few days or a fortnight. |
II must be born in mind that owing 10 |
he lack OF tankage not one Of these |
thirteen producing wells has yet been
lnbridled and permitted 10 show what
il can do. II Is one thing 20 have
4, 600 barrel well in good working order
md another TO care for such an enor-
nous production.
The oil must be stored somewhere,
md the favorite receptacle for this
iron tanks, each with a
Of $4,000 barrels are very ex-
lensiye structures and cannot be bull!
n a week or month IN a new oil coun-
ry Some OF the tanks even hold 50.-
700 barrels. and supposing that Guney
Galley, the owners Of the Lucas well.
we're able 20 perform the impossible
md create n new tank each day this
asst constantly growing tankage
cheme would only be capable Of caring
or one well provided II continued 10
produce $4,000 barrels per day for a
lumber Of days or weeks. When tn.