The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1915-07-26
The Romance Of Oil Finding


Some future historian, whose
+ grandfather Is set unborn must "Il'
the history Of the rUluaucc N Okla
oll. It b. ms get too early 10 write
the story. We OkluhUmuns who ARE
now living the history " the develop.
mcut of the wonderful resources ~
the state are tU busy tD Ice interrupt
cd with writing ubout these things.
Each of u.s.. iu hi, own way, 0ld uIter
his own light. b. vpr-nlpius his own
particular little tin gods, and 80 II
must be- left lO future generations to
set forth the fact. aud property cor
relate them
Obviously none Of u- now living,
can write the STORY We who are IN,
aud q pnrt u, the History now being
made, Hre so mixed mp with the whirl
NJ events, that our scu-r ~ pro,pec.
tive is blurred. sud vr cannot proper.
" appreciate yalncs. All that wr can
DO Is 10 attempt TO set down q few
NJ the facts as we understand them,
and record certain ~ our Impress.
ions, mud trust 10 the future hl-tor
Ian 10 set them M their proper or
der.
No more interesting chapter u this
or any other state will ever lee writ.
ten. than the chapter dealing with The
search FOR oil In Oklahoma. 40 pen
can adequately depict the joys aud
sUrrows the anticipations and hopes
and the ]realizutions for the few, aud
the iisuppOintments for the many.
connected with the search for oil la
this stntc. For the oil business IA
peculiar unto Itself. The lure ~ oil
Is equally potent with the lure Of
gold. Many seek, but Few ina
Ninety five percent Of all the money
spent In drilling for oil In uuproyeh
territory has been lost, aud for TINS
ninety five percent more than half hns
been absolutely wasted, for the req
son that at least hail the wells were
drilled In places where investigation
would have shown that no drilling
should have been done.
Ever since OH was first discovered
In the earth. men have tried all sorts
" methods 10 determine In advance
II drilling where IT, q, tu be found.
OWNING rods. mineral rods, forked
sticks. aud c]outrlvauces, implements
and apparatus OF various kinds, and
ulmus, without number. have been
used IN the vain hope II locating oil
beneath the ground Seers. prophets.
and men supposed to be- gifted with
second sight have been abroad In the
land attempting tO locate oh. Some
consult the star. white others claim
10 have some unusual aud slpcrna'
wrul power couchsafed unto them.
There Is scarcely a week that some.
one iu my office does not call my at.
tentiuu Ia some new method VI smell
Ing out OH Mnny men, some Of
them men Of real Intelligence still be
llcye IN some sort Of a mechanical
device for the location Of oh and gus.
and are willing to spend good money
Ia drilling In places located by a di.
yiniug rod
II Is needless 30 say that neither
scientific Investigation nor the eN.
pcricuce ~ those who have tested the
matter thoroughly, times without
number. gives any credsuce to these
methods. None Of the government au.
thoritles. either IN the United States
or In Europe. and lone of the larger
oil companies, with years N expert
ence IN the business, use any method
u this kind for the l0catiou n wells
In the early history ~ the oil game
wells were located largely by guess
Many men worked on a "hunch" II
they got the idea that oil might be
found under a certain tract 0f ground.
they simply secured leases and drill
cd. One Old operator recently told
men that his method of locating an
on we'll had always been 10 tie Il tin
can TO u dogs tail and start the dog
on across the prairie. Wherever the
can came on. there he would drilI
other drillcrs had methods equally
scientific and equally effective In
about onc case out o. twenty. or per,
haps u ont u thirty, these wildcat
wells located by guess were success
full
The average cost " a wildcat wei
certainly i not less than $1,000. aud IN
many cases Il runs ~ high as $4,000
or even S2O OO Counting the low
est price, 5000, for the cUst " tn
we'll, and estimating one wildcat vel.
uut u twenty 10 he successful, II vii
he seen that on an average. at leasI
100000 must be- spent In wildcat
prospecting, before a paying we'll ha'
been found.
In point Of fact many experienced
Oh met believe that my. rather thar
twenty or thirty, would he \ fal
average Tor the number o. wildcaI
wells that must be- drilled before u
has been found II Is also a vel
known fact that many widest we'll
cost aa much as ns S2O.OOO or $40 ON
So one would DO safe IN doubling TN
estimate of SlOO.OOO; that ~ 10 say
an average u At least S2OO,OO mus
be speut IN prospects before q new
OH field has been brought In.
Some thirty years ago biologists he
gan studying the structure OF the var
lOus oil fields with the idea VI find
Ing out whether or not II might b,
possible TO determine IN advance O
drilling where Oh was most likely &
occur. During the past twenty year
many scientists, both IN Europe AM
America. have studied the prObleu
until At the present time petroleum
geology II a recognised branch Of IN
sciencr and the subject IL regularl.
taught In many 81 the larger univel
stiles and technical schools.
There II nothing supernatural OF o.
cult about OIL geology. The ~geolOuist
claims Co he neither n seer nor
prophet lie carries neither a crool
oil stick nor a dlvining rod Hts m,