The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1908-08-01
KEROSENE WELLS
IN NORTH DAKOTA
EXPERT oil AND GAS MAN HAS
BEEN MAKING QUIET lNvEsTl-
CATION AND TELLS or REAs-
oNs FOR BELIEF THAT THERE
is OIL IN STATE.

"Yes think there is oil or gas and
possibly both in some sections or
North Dakota" said Geo. ". Cava-
naugh, prominent oil and gas expert
from the fields Of the southwest, who
stopped in Fargo for few moments
! this morning en- route east from the
northwestern part of the state.
Mr.. Cavanaugh lis an old timer in
the oil and gas business, having been
one of the pioneers in the Beaumont
/ Tex, fields. He later went to Kansas,
when those fields commenced to be OF
| prominence and then did considerable
prospecting and drilling in the Okla
! homa fields. He was inspecting the
Canadian fields when he heard Of
small finds in this state and went
| to Minot and investigated the propo-
sition when a gas flow was struck at
! Westhope.
Il said" continued Mr.. Cavanaugh,
that thought there was oil or gas
in some sections Of this state, but I
believe that either or both OF these
products underlies nearly the entire
L
valley and can be struck at some
depth. Some Of these deposits be-
lieve lie too deep to be OF practical
value. That is why say that there IA
oil and gas in some sections Of North
Dakota.
Il was looking over the Canadian
fields when / heard through the papers
of the strike near Minot and after
completing my work in Canada, made
an extended visit through Ward coun-
ty, looking into the matter. / did not
let anyone know who / was or what
my business was, because / find lit
practicable to keep those matters quiet
and avoid much trouble from people
wishing to start stock companies. Now
that I am leaving the state do not
care IL my identity is made known, al
though expect to return and inves-
tigate the matter more fully.
"As said, ! went over the Ward
county territory thoroughly and in
vestigated the most likely. spots. I.
found several oil seeps which, when
tested, showed a very good quality of
crude oil, which refined would yield a.
fair quality of illuminating oil The
next thing to find ont is whether this
oil is in paying quantities. This can
positively be learned only by actual
drilling, but judging from the topo-
graphy of the land and its geological.
formation, / think that either oil or
gas can be struck near Minot In a
paying quantity.
1T is generally known that both oil
and gas are found in connection-that
is, where there is gas there is usually
oil at a greater depth. inspected
the flow OF gas that was found near
Minot and discovered a remarkable
flow for the depth of the well and I
would wager a good deal that should
wells be sunk from 500 to 1000 feet.
a flow would be struck that would
supply fuel and light to the town Of
Minot and maybe several other towns :
When asked what he thought of
Fargo being able to secure natural gas,
Mr.. Cavanaugh said, "Well all know
Of the lay Of the land is what have
seen from the car windows az / pull
ed into the city. and can hardly answer
the question without having some data
on which to base guess Both gas
and oil are struck in river valleys. us
ually some distance from the stream,
although there are cases in the south
western fields where wells have BEEN
sunk in the, river beds. As / before
remarked, believe the products un-
derlie all this country and it is just
a matter of whether they are near
enough to the surface to be of value.
Drilling is limited in depth which is
the only limitation in the business. OIL
and gas are produced from decayedl
animal and vegetable matter and the 4
Ignite beds Of this state give evidence
that both flora and fauna were -four
ishing in this land at soma time in
in the form Of oil and gas can still
be struck In large quantities.
THE Ignite beds lead me to be-
lieve that the products may be struck |
at less depth than in the southwest
ern fields. Ignite is the remains of
a large forests which covered this en-
tire country from away north into |
Canada to the Gulf of Mexico In past
ages. The Ignite is the same deposits
that Is found in the bituminous coal /
south Of here, the only difference is
that is was not subjected to as great
a pressure during formation as was
given 1t further south That is the
eartn deposits over 1t were not so 1
thick Oil and gas are found below the
coal deposits and as the lignit is still |
near the surface. ] am lead to con
clude that they may be struck All q
lesser depth than in the southwestern
fields'
Mr. Cavanaugh will return to the
fields of the southwest. but said that
ne intended to visit this countrv again
and make more thorough and more
extensive investigation and he may |;
visit Fargo.
SOME FIELDS ARE RUINED.