The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-23
BIG OIL FUTURE.
Ernest G.. Winters Tells of Kan
SaS "Black Gold" Wealth.
With Oklahoma State Has
Worlds Biggest Fields Now.
INDEPENDENT COMPANIES Big
Standard No Longer Has a Cor
ner on the Output.
Getting Crude Product to Rein
cry a Big Problem.

That the Kansas wheat king, the
Kansas corn king and most of the
other monarchs of industry that the
state boasts are rapidly giving way to
a new Industrial ruler, the oil king,
was shown in an address delivered be-
fore the Jayhawker club recently at
the Throop hotel by Ernest c. Win
tiers, manager of the Topeka Oil COM
pany.
dominating resource of the state, but
the big fields that are being brought
in and the immense wealth that 1t is
producing is giving Kansas very i'm
portant place in world activities To
show this Mr.. Winters cited figures
showing that today the United States
is producing two-thirds of the worlds
oil production and Kansas and Okla
homa fields are producing two-thirds
of the output of the whole United
States
Mr.. Winters's speech before the
Jayha ~3Ier club is reproduced in full
as follows:
The First Oil Well.
I'm the year 1859, Colonel Drake
of Titusvtlle, Pa, drilled the first we'll
that produced petroleum in CONNER
cial quantities. In that year the total
production of the United States was
1000 barrels.
In 1915, Pennsylvania produced
500 million barrels in 81 years, while
California has produced in 40 years
S2S million barrels. but very inferior
quality. The Pennsylvania crude is
worth about five times as much as
California. The production in these
two states is now on the toboggan at
the rate of about 2 million barrels
each per year. l speak of these two
states because they have produced
more crude than any other two. They
will soon fall below Kansas and Okla
homa. There were produced in the
United States last year 500 million
barrels of crude oil, of which amount
1872 million barrels was produced in
the mid-continent field, and over Is
million barrels was in storage in the
mid-continent field January 1, 1917.
January l, 1916, there were 92 million
in storage. I give you this to show
you the actual shortage of crude oil
and the rate we are calling on our
storage reserve. Yet 1916 was one of
the most remarkable years we have
ever had. During the year, 11,241
wells were drilling, beating the record
of any previous year. save 1918. In
that year II ,494 wells were drilled.
There was a total of 81,154 wells
drilled in the mid-continent field up
to January l, 1917. OF this number,
49,417 are still producing, 37,737 are
gas holes, dry holes or have since be-
come exhausted.
when it is considered that this
field has been producing for fifteen
years or more, this is a remarkable
record.
Few Non-Producers.
"Of the number of wells drilled
5313 per cent still pump, and only
46h per cent are gas wells, dry holes
or exhausted. In 1916, with the vast
amount of wildcat drilling in all parts
of Kansas and Oklahoma, S61h per
cent of all wells drilled were success
full oil or gas PRODUCERS.
You heard me speak of the over
production of 1918. In that year they
produced in the mid-continent field
about Sc million barrels. In 1916
with the shortage of crude oil and a
cry of under production, they pro-
duced about 123 million barrels, or a
gain over 1913 of about 81 million
barrels. and the premium today in the
field is ranging from &c to soc a bar
rel. in order to get enough crude to
keep the refinery going. They are
laying pipe lines from Oklahoma to
the Eldorado and Augusta fields in
order to get enough crude to run the
Oklahoma refinerieS.
Can you appreciate what this is GO
ing to mean to the development of
Kansas If the state will only leave
the oil business alone for awhile?
And, as comparison as to what it
means, the world produced in 1915
about 42S million barrels. The United
states produced in the same year
about 2S2 million barrels. OF that
amount Kansas and Oklahoma pro
duoed 1913 million barrels This will
show you that the United States pro
duced about two-thirds of the world
production, with Kansas and Okla
homa now producing about tIUO-tbirds