Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-21
VFNTIJRA COUNTY AWAkENS TO RICHES OF
UNDERLYING SANDS IN SANTA CLARA HILLS
OLD OIL DISTRICT ATTRACTS
CAPITAL
MANY NEW WELLS TO PROVE
TERRITORY
Bard OIL Company Finishes Big Stor-
ace Tank and Will Build Pipe Line
to Santa PauIa-Pyramld
Rig Finished

The big oil belt extending from New
hall, in Los Angeles county, west
through Ventura county to Santa
Paula, has reawakened, and just now
is the most active of any time IN lts
history. The shallow wells of the early
period have been cleaned out ana are
producing and a number of strongly
financed companies are erecting stand
ard rigs and preparing to drill INTO the
second stratum Of known Oil SANDS
All along the Santa Clara valley rigs
are going up IN the foothills and al
ready the production has been greatly
increased.
The oil of that field, with one or two
exceptions, is light OIL commanding a
high price IN the market and having
the added advantage Of being easily
moved through pipe lines, two or
three-inch line being large enough 10
transport q large amount of the fluid
At present the bulk Of the product Is
carried by the Union Oil company,
which has a main line from Santa
Paula to tidewater at Ventura, with
branch lines to different parts of the
field. The company made It's start IN
this field and there Is much interest
ing data TO be had concerning Its first
big gusher, the Wild Bill well on the
south slope of Sulphur mountain. Ac-
cording to well authenticated tradition,
the Wild Bill flowed over 100000 bar
rels before ii was put on the pump, and
was afterward pumped for eighteen
years before 1t exhausted the great lake
of oil which It had penetrated. The
company is now engaged on another
we'll in that locality. which will be
drilled to a depth Of 1000 feet. The
Capital Crude, which is across the
Santa Paula canyon TO the north from
Sulphur mountain. also has its own
pipe line to Santa Paula, where it con-
ducts a refinery.
Along Sisar creek, on both sides Of
the Santa Paula valley, which narroWs
into a mountain canyon at the west
end are heavy oil seepages and many
old wells which have been producing
for twenty-odd years. At the head of
the canyon on the south side, and on
the west slope of Sulphur mountain,
are the wells Of the Bard OIL company
and the Ojai. These wells are on the
south side of the anti-cline, and with
the exception of one deep well of the
Bard, produce a heavy oil. The Bard
has twenty-six producing wells, with
three new rigs up and the material on
the ground for others. The company IS
tust roofing n $1,000 barrel storage
tank which is shown in an accompany
ing illustration, and Will build an in
dependent pipe line to the railroad at
SANTA Gduldt SlA IlllltS ulSldllls 4 III
light oil which the lower sands are
producing will assist materially in
carrying the heavy oil through the
pipe.
The Bard OIL company is a Los An
geles concern in which +. w. Braun of
the f. w. Braun company is heavily
interested. The corporation takes its
name from Senator Bard, who sold n
large tract of oil lands in the canyon
for $35O,OOO, retaining an interest in the
company.
The Ojai oil company, which adjoins
the Bard, has two producing wells and
is drilling Across the canyon to the
north and on the north side of the anti
cline the Pyramid Oil company has
finished it's standard rig and will spud
in it's first we'll tomorrow, This COM
pany, which is a San Francisco con-
cern, is to establish offices in Los An
geles December l. At present it has
six of the old wells on the pump and
is producing 1000 barrels a month of
% gravity oil. The company sells oil
for fuel to it's nelghbors and the bulk
of it's product to the Union, which has
a pipe line to the property.
The Pyramid. whose old and neH
wells are shown in an accompanying
illustration, has seventy acres of land
and expects to keep two strings of
tools running constantly. No. 6 we'll