Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-03-26
Deepest wen In tie worsd.
WELL DRILLING NEAR oLABKsBURa, ".
VA, BREAKS RECORD.

The deepest we'll In tho world, already
1883 feet, IL now being drilled on the
Coz farm, 8 miles northeast OF Clarke
burg 10 northern West Virginia. Until
January "a the record for depth had
been held By Q boring ct Czuchow, In
Silesia, which had reached Q depth Of
I, $40 feet, but on that day DR.. I. G.
White. the state geologist Of West Viz:
ginia, announced that the Hope Natural
Gas Co. had driven the bit to depth OF
I, $50 feet, one good American foot In OK.
cess OF the German record. Moreover.
the drilling 10 still In progress and -
sufficient length of cable and adequate
power and tools are Ut hand, the pros
poets are good for driving still farther
down into the crust Of the earth and
winning the pennant by . considerable
margin.
Seven thousand three hundred and
sixty three feet IL Q very little less than
one and third miles. The depth of
this we'll exceeds the height Of Mount
Washington (8.293 feet) and Of Mount
Mitchell (6,711 feet), the highest noun
tain In the eastern United States, and 10
greater than the distance to which many
OF the Rocky Mountains loom above the
level of the foothills or plateaus on
which they stand. It Is over half mile
deeper than the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado In Arizona. In fact, the bot.
tom of the Grand Canyon ct the foot OF
the Bright Angel Trail, which 10 approx
mately 2,400 feet above sea level, II
about 1900 feet higher above the sea
than the surface of the ground at the
Golf we'll. The we'll goes nearly half q
mile farther down into the earth than
the deepest mine In Michigan, Brazil, or
Europe. Several oil wells In California,
in the Southwest, In West Virginia and
in Pennsylvania have exceeded 1000 feet
In depth, and one near Mcdonald, Pa,
| about IA miles west Of Pittsburgh, reach
ed depth of 7,24S feet.
The thickness and character Of the
beds of rock passed through in boring
the we'll are being studied under the
direction Of the State geologist. All
the beds are composed Of materials that
were once sediments, and most Of them
were settings Ia sea water which has at
various times covered this part of West
Virginia. Interesting and important OBJ.
servations of the temperature OF the
rocks at different depths In the we'll have
been made by the United States Geclog-
ical Survey, Department OF the Interior,
| In cooperation with the State Geological
Survey, with the object of determining
the rate at which the temperature In
creases downward IN the outer crust of
this part of the earth. @. e. Van Or.
strand, of the Survey, found that at q
depth of 1000 feet In the we'll the tenn.
perature IL 1922 Fahrenheit and that the
rate of increase ct this depth Is about /
degree In 81 feet of depth. This shows
that the outer crust In this region ia
relatively cool, for In many other regions
the temperature increases much more
rapidly with increase In depth. Even
at some places in the United States,
according to unconfrmed observations,
the temperature increases ct the rate of
10 in vertical distance az little 'as %
feet, and that within q few hundred feet
of the surface. Nevertheless. Mr.. Van
Orstrapd estimates that the temperature
of the rocks beneath the Golf we'll will
be found at the boiling point (212o r. at
Q depth somewhere around 10000 feet.
The Golf we'll Is near the center of the
great Appalachian coal field basin, or
trough, and is being drilled in search of
deeper oil sands than have yet been
reached In this part of the basin. The
sand upon which most hope 10 based Is
the "Clinton" sand, formation OF Silu.
rian age, which Is prolific of gas and
oil across central Ohio from Cleve land
nearly to the Ohio River. From it's out
crop this formation dips gently to the
southeast beneath successfully younger
formations nearly If not all the way to
Clarksburg. II the drill can reach the
Clinton sand beneath the Golf farm,
which is on an anticline or email
upward fold In the shallower strata, 1t
may possibly find gas or oil pent up
under tremendous pressure and ready
to escape In enormous volume. Hence,
the test not only excites the curiosity of
the public and is Of great scientific In
terest to geologlsts, but is also of practi-
cal value to the oil men, by whom 1t is
being closely watched. If the we'll
strikes valuable oil or gas pool In the
Clinton sand in this part of the basin 1t
may lead to the development of new oil
or gas reserves, and II subsequent tests
are successful it may open a new era in
the history of the Appalachian oil and
gas region. The possibility of discover.
ing such oil and gas deposits, comprising
new reserves hitherto unknown, is the
justification of the great cost and labor
of drilling the test we'll at Clarksburg,
though the best skill of the Nation may
be required to reduce the cost Of drilling
very deep wells to point at which such
work will be economically practicable.
II this boring ends In disappointment it
lie probable that similar wildcat tests
will be made In other districts until the
oil men are satisfied that their quest Is
hopeless, but II this deep validating
meets success the entire Nation will
welcome most timely as we'll as valu-
able addition to its petroleum resources,
and the gasoline consumer may we'll re-
joice at the prospect of new, even II
limited, supplies of high.gasolIne
Appalachian oil.