Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1911-02-26


mctcor-like existence, revert before
the close Of the present century, to
those nations that conserve and prlze
at their proper yaluo this priceless
treasure OF carbon."
All of which would seem a. point
to the necessity of a strict admlnistra-
tion Of the law now in force IN this
State to cover this very contingency.
the people of the State desire TO
guard these natural resources. and Il
would seem to be Ia the nature OF an
arralgnment Of the state mining bu-
reau that pr Gould, in u public docu-
mcnt, should feel compelled 10 say
that In many sections OF the oil and
gas regions Of oklahoma the law on
this subject rs yet more hunored In
the breach than in the observance"
II may be added that public opinion
would undoubtedly hail the advent Of
such a system of enforcement OF these
natural gas conservation laws, as
would accomplish the purpose for
which they we're formulated. Had
not tho experience Of the older states
been behind US. there might be the
eSrpsa of ignorance to plead, but we
fua rs-n fully warned and shown
the result OF this kind of waste.
We have hoeded these admonltlons
and placed laws on our books. and
now II would seem to be the part Of
wisdom to Insist. within all reasonable
and practicable bounds, on forceful
execution of them. 10 the end that a
magnificent inheritance be not fool
ishly cast aside.
After a strong contest, It was de-
cIdcd In 1903 that natural gas could
be legally pipcd out of this state.
Two years ago Prof l.. l.. Hutchl-
son, or the state geological SURVEY.
used these words
"lt IL. however. the opinion OF the
survey stan that not one-tcnth Of the
probable oil field OF tho state has
been touched aud that not one-tenth
OF what has been proven productive
Is yet developed According 10 this
estimate. not more than 1 per cent Of
the states oil ana gas has been de-
ycloped,"
This estimate has just been en-
dorsed by the survey after having
had the experience and the data re-
sultlng from their work in the field
during the intervening two years.
TO use the words Of Or Gould, d.
rector OF the survey Ia his recently
published bulletin:
Ia.
that. as I have already stated. only u
relatively small part OF the oil and
gas region of Oklahoma has ever been
prospectcd, and "A stlll smaller part
developed There Is enough prospect
i've territory untouched In oklahoma
to keep the drIllcrs busy the next nf-
ty years. Counting nfty years more
for the last wells brought IN, and as
suming that the greater part Of the
gas viii be utilized and not permitted
to go TO waste, we may approximate
one hundred years as the life OF the
oil and gas field OF oklahoma.
This estimate is probably under,
rather than over tho actual time
limit"
According TO the best OF authority
| Oklahoma has at the present time
about $4,000 square miles of prob
able" and possible" oil and gas ter
ritory By reference to the cut ac-
companyiug this article a very good
idea OF the extent OF the territory re
tcrrcd 10 may be had by the render
Thirty years ago pcsslmlsts predict
ed the early exhaustion OF the Penn
'sylyania Oil fields As matter Of
fact. the production OF NeuanBo coun.
g., the oldest producing section, IS to-
day as large as at any time IN the
co.'s. when OIL Greek was the scene
OK tremendous excitement
state of OIL Industry at Present,
According TO a recent issue OF a
well known OH trade publication the
oil Industry IN oklahoma Is again
picking up, new territory Is showing
good new mon comhi, IN ana optlm-
| ism Is prevailing IL goes on 10 point
out. there IL more decided feeling
OF encouragemcnt iu oklahoma at
this time than has been apparent for
several years induced by the recent
good wells that have been completed
and the prospect OF better prices Tor
crude. II does not take long for oil
producers, operators and leasers to
forget reyerses and dlscouraging con
dltlous. ana the present feeling VIII
doubtless continue until either an IN.
creased production from now pools
checks the rush, or poor marketing
conditions change the line Of march
II must be admitted that the outlook