The San Francisco call., 1910-07-20
BEARD ENTHUSES T
over OIL FIELDS
Fasteners Predict Era OF I'M
rivaled Activity in Midway
and Kern County

DcdAO, % O-f ~AAC
Baltimore stock exchange, has come to
San Francisco after making an inspec-f
tion of the oil fields of the state. He
and a number of associates in Balti-
more are interested in properties in
the Midway. Beard will carry home
with him message of encouragement
TO those who have invested in petro-
Ieum. He is one of the directors of the
Consolidated Midway. which recently
brought in a very fine we'll With
Beard is Nathan W. Hale, former
congressman and a republican national
committeeman from Tennessee. Hale
is president of the Hale-McLeod oil
company. In discussing his trip Beard
said:
Il was amazed at the development that
has taken place in the Midway and
Kern river fields since my last visit
here last March. 1 was one of the first
to see the Lakeview gusher at the time
it was brought in, and it seems mar
veIous to me that this we'll should still
be producing. 1t seems to be the opin-
ion of experienced oilmen that its life
will soon terminate, or at least that it
win eventuate into an orderly. well
regulated well of about 1000 barrels
a day instead of a turbulent outlaw. as
it is now looked upon.
FOUR PRODUCING WELLS
THE Consolidated Midway now has
four producing wells on it's Kern river
property, consisting of 80 acres One
well No. 2 is far and away the best well
that has been brought in in that sec
tion for many a day Two other wells
are being drilled and it will be only a
matter of a few months till the COM
pany will have at least 20 wells pro-
ducing on this so acres.
1T is interesting to the uninitiated
to see how quickly well can be
drilled and production secured in this
territory. The last two wells of the
Consolidated Midway in the Kern river
field have each been drilled in a little
more TIM so days
I'm the Midway territory owned by
this company on section 80, which is
within three-auarters of a mile of the
Lakeview gusher, a tremendous well
has recently been brought in. which
saw f1owing. at the rate of 1 900 barrels
an hour. AS Congressman Hale has
aptly said, i prefer this well to the big
one of the Lakeview. as 1T is absolutely
under control and should be a steady
producer for years to come This well
holds the record in the Midway field for
having been drilled in 20 days with a
10 inch casing it's whole depth of 2,1S5
feet, and it's production is remarkable
when it is considered that the oil was
struck after the drillers had entered the
oil sand but two feet, whereas in the
case of the Lakeview I understand they
entered the oil sand Is feet before the
big production came about.
DRILLING MORE WELLS
"Just south of section 80 the COM
pany is drilling two wells on the 40
and so acres it owns on section g.
One of the wells is down more than
1900 feet and will reach oil sand at
about 900 feet.
"In section Is, higher up in the field,
on which the company owns 40 acres.
well is down more than 1.500 feet and
will reach the oil sand within a few
weeks. This will give the company five
producing wells with FIVE more under
way and two or three of them will
probably be in the gusher class These
so days"
When asked about the talk OF over
production Beard said:
"Of this bugaboo of oVerproduction
that is being so industriously circulated
by those who may be honestly of the
conviction that such a condition exists.
can only say that from my limited
that there is anything OF a serious ma
ture to fear in this connection. NV
opinion is, from talking with a good
many men who are in a position to
speak Understandings on the subject.
that we are passing through merely q
period of readjustment. and that there
is no real overproduction. believe
it is really a blessing in disguise. be-
cause it will enable the selling agency
to convince, beyond peradventure OF a
doubt. the large consumers that there
is no fear of shortage of oil from the
California fields. When the prospective
consumers really appreciate this situa-
ton. oil will sell higher than ever
before.
"Of course, there is this to say, there
have been a number of companies hur-
riedly organized that are probably not
on firm foundation. and that sooner
or later will be absorbed by their
stronger brothers. When this is ac-
comp1ished it will clarity the situation
greatly and will enable concerns that
are founded on business principles to
put the entire California oil situation
on higher and more permanent plane.
That there is market for oil Is evil
denced by the fact that the present and
prospective production OF the Consoli-
dated Midway has already been Sold