The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-10-31
POOLS ARE NOT EVERLASTING
supply Practically Limited to the
contents of the Field as Found.
When This Has Been Withdrawn,
NO More Is obtainable-An Inter.
esting Paper.

OF the Gulf of Mexico, and extending
inland for from SO to 100 miles. is
the Gulf coastal plain. The existence
OF petroleum in this part of the coun-
try has been known as far back as
1860. Since the beginning of the
present oil development, the coastal
plain has been examined, and its
general underground condition to
depth of about 1000 feet has been
brought to view, although many
questions as to underground construc-
ton remain unanswerable until fur
Their drilling.
The geology of the oil pools, which.
SO far as they are now known, occu-
Ply an extremely small fraction of the
region described, is discussed. The
districts discussed are: In Texas,
Beaumont district, Sour Lake dis
trict, Saratoga district, Sabine Pass
district, Dayton district, High Island
district, Columbia district, minor
Texas districts; in Louisiana, Jen-
nings district Ansa la Butte district,
Sulphur district, Vinton district,
blackberry Island district, minor
Louisiana districts.
With regard to the Spindletop oil
rock, the report states that it's ex-
ceptional character explains in a
measure the remarkable features of
the Spindletop pool. It's extreme por-
osity favors the storage of very
large volume of oil, and also favors
the yielding of this oil with very
great rapidity when the reservoir is
tapped. 1t also favors the early ex
haustion of the oil in the pool and
lying salt water. Beds of sulphur
bearing sand are reported from some
of the wells on Spindletop, and beds
of gypsum and salt from others.
A list is given of $50 wells in the
| Spindletop pool which have shown a
yield of oil sufficient to be consid-
cred of commercial Importance. The
| list was completed as far as possible
up to June IS, 1902. The structure
of the Spindletop pool appears to be
rather fiat summit. Judging from
the normal thickness of the gulf
coastal plain formations, and from
the structure of the Spindletop pool,
| it seems evident that we'll in this
region less than 5000 feet in depth
does not reach the oil bearing hori-
zon anywhere except upon the Spin
dletop dome. The shallow dry wells
already drilled outside of Spindletop
prove but little. One cooperative
test we'll put down at some carefully
selected locality to a depth of 5000
or $500 feet would probably be OF
much greater value than a large num-
Der of shallow wells put down in
various localities.
With regard to the origin of oil in
the gulf coastal plain, the report dis
cusses briefly the obscure geological
problem of the origin of petroleum in
general: Cd According to one theo-
ry which explains the origin of oil by
inorganic agencies, water percolating
downward through assures in the
earth's crust comes in contact under
conditions of high temperature and
great pressure with metal carbides,
and the resulting chemical reaction
produces metallic oxides and satur-
ated hydrocarbons, the latter ascend
ing and impregnaIlng porous beds OF
sedimentary rocks, in which they are
now found. No geological evidence
is at hand that these reactions actu,
ally take place in the earth's crust
The inorganic theory is attractive
but not proven. (2) According to the
theories of organic origin, first, pc
troleum is Indigenous to the rocks in
which found and results from the
primary decomposition of organic
matter, and was formed when the
rocks were formed; and, second, pc
troleum is derived from the organic
matter disseminated through great
masses of carbonaceous shales by the
process of slow natural distillatior
at low temperatures, and that it has
subsequently migrated through the
strata to the reservoirs in which i
is now found. The majority of geolo
gists have held to this second theory
but the possibility of natural distilla
ton at temperature sufficiently Low
to leave the enclosing rocks entirel!
unchanged has not been proven no
have the residues of carbon which
would result from such distillatioI
been found in the rocks. (3) Accord
ing to theories involving both inor
ganic and organic agencies, petrole
UNI is produced by the action of vol
canic gases containing sulphuroul
acid and hydrogen sulphide upoI
limestone, containing vegetable o
animal matter, on the one hand, o
upon gypsum, on the other. Thi
great diversity of views regardini
the origin of petroleum is eoualed b,