El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-05-05
AND NEWS
EVERY GEOLOGICAL CONDITION
FAVORS CAMP CITY OIL FIELD
MINING AND OIL NEWS

TRANSIT ecos Texas, Is stated that the
presence of petroleum in commercial
qualities in parts Of Trans-Pecos, Tex
as-in PecoS Reeves and eastern I'll
Paso counties-has been suspected for
several years. Indications are numer-
Gus. Bituminous limestones,/ sand
stones and shales that give a strong
odor on being struck with hammer,
outcrop in many places.
The occurrence of globules Of oil
in the water from various wells. and
especially OF small quantities Of petro-
leUm in oil prospects, tend TO confirm
the suspicion that oil in paying Quanti-
ties actually exists there.
Conditions in Toyah Field.
In the wells sunk in the Toyah
basin, such as the Casey, the Ross
and Tinnens well, northwest and north
east of Toyah and other places, oil was
struck in varying quantities. In the
Leatherman well Is miles northwest Of
Toyah, oil was struck at ITO feet,
which rose to within 80 feet Of the sur
face Considerable gas accompanies
this oil. Recently extensive explora-
ton drill holes have been made by
the Texas Oil company. and oil found
in every case. In the Hammond we'll
been struck. In addition to the oil. SUI
ficient gas is yielded to operate pump
ing plants.
The report of geological surveys in
the basins of the Concho and Rio
Grande, on the Mexican side where
the Hearst-Keene syndicate drilled,
show that the cretacous formation gen
orally overlies the country, and is I'M
derlain by the carboniferous forma-
tion," Mr.. Troxel also said, which is
the formation that produced nearly all
the oil in Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
Kansas and Oklahoma. The limestone
structure of the cretaceous formation Is
markedly coutrasted by the thick beds
of shales and sandstones Of the car
boniferous.
Authority Views on Conditions.
+'Dr J. A. Udden says that this car
boniferous formation consists of 1000
feet of black shales overlaid by 1900
feet of yellow sandstone
These formations Indicate: First,
that the 1000 feet of these carbonifer-
Gus shales perhaps supply the material
from which the oil was produced.
Second, that the 1900 feet of sand
stones is the Observation-Disclosures store
house-in which immense quantities of
oil have been sealed up by the imper
vious covering of cretaceous elays and
shales. which have a thickness of from
700 to 1900 feet.
and dried oils scattered over this very
large area are but the leakings from
this great oil reservoir in the carbon
ferrous sandstone The tremendous gas
pressure has forced it upward through
the hundreds of feet OF everything lime
stone and clays to the surface
Fourth, il is my opinion that when
drilled to proper depth large areas OF
this doubted belt will produce great
quantities of high grade Illuminating
oil.
Fifth. that the many seepages in
this territory are due to the strong
pressure of gas forcing itself with
small particles Of oil through minute
fractures in several hundred feet of
limestones and shaleS, and therefore,
when drilled in suitable places to prop
er depth, will be productive of large
quantities of natural gas-thus aiding
in the solution of the fuel problem of
the country.
The character of the oil in the ter
ritory in eastern Chihuahua resem-
bles in a marked degree the higher
grades of Pennsylvania oils. The same
oils are encountered in the Toyah bal
sim
In conclusion Mr.. Troxell states that
a few dry holes with a small amount of
oil only, do not condemn by any means
a given territory
1t was II years after the first well