The San Francisco call., 1910-02-20

- a lal ~ AeAA AtA lA ttlf SAelNN - RAA PAt
duction, and the companies of Robert
Hayes SmitR are producing an 'enor-
nous quantity of oil and rapidly ad-
vancing into new sections. The Enos
oil company. with 10 wells down in its
Kern river field. two drilling and six
I'm preparation for work owns terri
tory that has been producing well for
I'VE years. and in the eompany's new
Santa Maria section it has property
that is unexcelIed.
miner who has extensive oil hold
fnss is George WingdeId Of Reno and
Goldheld the well known head OF the
Goldheld consolidated. Wingf1eId holds
promise of becoming as great figure
in the field of his new activity as in the
realm of gold mining His mining cor
poration constitutes some of the rich
est mines in Nevada. and in California
TOO his interests in gold mining are
many
The length of this article precludes
that the progress Of production in all
minerals be followed. California is ex-
plotting some so mineral substances.
and for the last % years the total min
ersl production may be safely stated at
$3.50. 600 000.
An idea of the extent of the oil in
dustry in California that may not be
gained. perhaps. from d consideration
only of the production and its value.
bur may be appreciated from glancing
a one famous field-that- OF the Santa
Maria valley. Here there are more
than $50 producing wells. and some 20
dim n
ating in the field and the production,
more than the entire state of Pennsyl-
vania produces, has been noted.
one OF the most remarka BILE features
of the Santa Maria district is the eX-
traordinary thickness Of the oil sands
and their high saturation with petro-
leum, for in most sections of the field
the sands are from 800 to 1000 feet
thick, while in the extreme eastern
section of the developed portion. the
drill has passed through even more, as
in the Palmer wells. For this reason
the wells in the Santa Maria field are
believed by experts TO be almost in
eXhaustibIe and will undoubtedly be
big producers for many years
The Santa Maria wells are nearly all
very deep. the average ranging from
$500 10 $500 feet, while several are
more than 1900 feet deep. The deepest
producing well in the world IS in the
Santa Maria field and is down $500
feet. Although this condition renders
drilling a slow and expensive process,
operators ara amply rewarded for their
time and money consumed in bringing
in a well. for the wells when they do
come in are unusually large producers
anything less than q 200 barrel well
being considered as small while many
of the wells average from 500 TO 5000
barrels a day.
The tremendous gas pressure is an
important aid, as many of the wells
come in as gushers and for long time
flow from the top of the casing without
pumping and only after the gas pres
sure weakens is pumping resorted to,
when the wells generally continue with
a production of several hundred bar
rels a day for years TO come. The Hart
nell well No. j. which was brought in
by the Union oil company in December.
I 904 hurled a continuous stream of oil
eight inches in diameter clear over the
derrick and was only brought under
control after many hours of hard work.
More than 100000 barrels of high
grade oil was obtained from that one
well in % months. and although its
production is much less today, il is
still a good well. Near it is located
another famous gusher, which Is yield
ing hundreds OF barrels a day and has
never been under the pump. On the
Brookshire property is another almost
equally good well, which has been flow
ing from 1.500 to 1000 barrels a day
for months with no signs of a decrease.
The Palmer wen in the eastern end of
the field came in 500 barrel well and
today viii produce more than $500
barrels a day.
The Santa Maria oil field enjoys sew
eral exceptional advantages, one of
which is her proximity to tidewater
and a good shipping port Another is
the high gravity of her oil, which va
ries in different portions of the field
from IS to 80 degrees Baume- Pipe
lines have been constructed, which con-
meet with the wells of all the produc
ing companies and extend to Port Har-
ford, Oilport or Alcatraz landing, at
Gaviota-