The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-06-27
ROBSON TALKS ON l PRESENT WORK FOR MORE O|L AND GAS Greatly Encouraged by Re- cent Developments at
 Hamilton and Atwood WANTS FACTS KNOWN
 TO ALLAY RUMORS Both Oil and Gas Have Been Struck
 But Quantities Available Have Not as Yet Been Ascertained

In response to direct questions on the subject, S. A. Hobson. president, gen. eral manager and geologist of the Ala bama Mississippi Oil. Gas and Pine Line company, yesterday made statement regarding the drilling operations o1 his company in northwest Alabama q am in town" said he, ito get the benefit of the advice of Messrs. McDon- ough Brothers, who are large stock holders In the company, on the proper method to protect a splice in our wire line at Atwood. These gentlemen have great mechanical talent and relieved the difficulty so quickly as to fairly take my breath away.
 we have scrupulously refrained heretofore, from making any public statement regarding what we hay, struck. for fear either of exciting un. due expectations among the stockhold CTS, or interfering with the smootf running of our land matters. How ever as there has been a great dea of talk on the subject lately some ot 1t altogether irresponsible, and as W. have put our vast acreage in gooo shape, it seems but proper to give the following brief statement of facts:
 BOTH OIL AND GAS
 'We have actually struck both gas and oil at both Atwood and Hamilton but, unfortunately, we are still kept on the tiptoe of expectancy by not knowing in what quantity they exist We have been drilling with the dia- mond drill. and on account of the smallness of the bore and the enormous water and pump pressure necessarily incident to that method of drilling, we will be unable to know for some weeks yet what we actually have in the Ham ilton well. and possibly several months in the Atwood well. We have had gas though not in paying quantities. unless shooting should develop pay, at At wood for nearly year, using it con- stantly for lighting, heating and cook ing purposes. We also have gas al several horizons in the Hamilton well though we have no definite idea of the quantity. We struck our main oil ir the Atwood well in the Knox dolomite at a depth of about 2590 and took out 20 feet of the most beautiful core imaginable. it being delicate cream or buff color. bleaching rapidly, how ever, into white, as the very volatile oil and gas evaporated. There were some very interesting phenomena attached to the diluted samples of oil we took
 
 haps being the amazing volatility oi the product. The Atwood oil is beau tifully clear. except for slight vel low tinge. and, judging from it's ex- treme volatility and odor. seems tt be composed almost wholly of gasoline and kerosene.
 "We have struck quite number oi interesting shows of oil in the Hamil- ton well and haven't yet gone through A;l ( black in bulk. and browns on timing and seems to be of very fine quality though it is so badly emulcified by the churning from the pump pressure that we haven't yet succeeded in getting g fair sample, although quite show flows into the hole in spite of tht enormous water pressure upon 1t.
 "The gas from both wells appears tc be high in gasoline and would probably compress easily into a merchantabit article of that product under the i'm proved processes now getting into gen. eral use.
 MUST OPEN PORES
 'In order to get a test we will have to ream both holes and make then large enough to open up the multitud' inous pores through which the oil ant gas get vent and also clean out tho detritus from the drilling with which the pores nave been pluSSeu unuef tHs enormous pump and water pressur, that have been necessary. If this ream ing does not of itself develop tn, product in paying quantity, we vii then shoot the holes with heavy charge of nitroglycerin-a process which yer, often indeed converts a nonproducer in to a large producer.
 ITO summarize briefly. while w don't know what quantity the oil an, gas exists in. it certainly does lool very good indeed: and we can yer. conservatively say that we have estab lished two interesting basic facts. First the Knox dolomite shows in great forn in that part of northwest Alabama second. the lower carboniferous in Ma rion county is fairly scanned with oi and gas bearing strata-the prospect ol tho whole being extraordinarily allur ing.
 We are pushing the work very wig orouSly, in fact, as rapidly as it can D done consistently with the delicacy o l the operation. and so soon as we strik anything definite we will take pleas ure in duly announcing 1t to the pub | lic."
 ------ .e.--------- Weekly Debate
 | The weekly debate of the debating SC | ciety of the Young Mems Christian asss citation will be held tonight at S:15 cloc