Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-08
COMPANY CONTROLS FORTY
SQUARE MILES OF OIL LAND
Interstate Name of consoldation--Los
Angeles Capital Back of Project.
Three States Touched
by Holdings

A consolidation of many holdings in the
Utah and northern Arizona has been con-
summated by the Interstate Oil company,
under whose management forty square
miles will be developed.
Los Angeles capital is largely interested
in the project, those among the backers
not from this city being interested in the
development of Washington county, Utah.
The city of st. George, county seat of
Washington county will be the head
quarters from which operations will be
carried on. The company at the present
time controls. by assignment, location and
otherwise, over forty square miles of pros
pective oil bearing lands and Is acquiring
more. One block of this land consists of
over thirty square miles, and is probably
the largest continuous acreage of prop
erty of this character owned by any oil
company on the Pacific slope.
In the center of this large block of
land is situated one of the largest oil
seepages and deposits of oil residuum
known in the western states. This deposit
has been known for many years by Isaac
Duffin, pioneer for the Virgin River dis
trict, and developments show that this
seepage has been for many years forced
to the surface by gas pressure from bodies
Of oil beneath.
The formation in this district is very
similar to that of the Pennsylvania oil
fields and differs entirely from the Cali
fornia fields, in that in the Virgin River
district it consists of hard, red shale and
lies in long stretches of unbroken terri
tory, the underlying stratum being fossil
limestone, while nearly all of the Cali
fornia oil fields are composed of sedimen-
rary deposits.
&t.n+ tI.ax 1st.,-
ton in the extensive Pennsylvania oil
fields, where petroleum was originally
discovered, is falling off very rapidly,
while the great Russian fields to which
the European countries have looked for
their supply are rapidly being depleted,
and the production is rapidly falling in all
OF the older worked fields.
Supply In West
1t is quite evident that the larger pro-
portion of the enormous quantity of oil
required for domestic and foreign use
must come from the Pacific slope. The
price of crude oil on this coast has prac-
tically doubled within two years, while
the demand has increased five-fold Re-
cent statistics show that Oil Is in great
and growing demand at high prices on all
parts of the globe, while the new uses
to which petroleum is being put are null
tiplying daily.
The British navy has just adopted oil
for fuel for it's entire fleet, while Japan
is using it extensively for the same pur-
pose, they purchasing the same from Cali
ifornia producers, and it is very evident
that the United States navy, which has
for a long, time been experimenting with
this fuel, will soon adopt its use instead
of coal.
Nearly all western and southern rail-
roads are now using or preparing to use
it for fuel in their locomotives, the Salt
Lake and Union Pacific railroads being
the latest to adopt it's use. and contract
for large supplies.
Oil in the commercial and manufactur-
Ing industries, especially on the Pacific
coast, is superseding all other fuels. The
enormous and increasing demand for gas
oline used in automobiles, railway motor
cars, stationary gas engines and the gem
GRAFTON of gas for domestic purposes
must naturally keep the price of the
crude product at the top notch.
In close proximity to the great Virgin
river district are the great mineral dis
tricts of Utah, Nevada and Arizona
where there is market for an enormous
quantity of liquid fuel, Statistics could
be quoted at length showing that oil is
in active demand at prices higher than
ever before heard of.
Two railroad companies have already
signifed their intention of extending
their lines into the Virgin river district,
while a company has recently been or
ganized for the purpose of building and
operating a public pipe line for trans
porting crude oil to present railway con-
nections.