The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-11-22
OIL IN SOUTH DAKOTA
STATE oGoLooioT REPORTS
FINDINGS OF OIL AND
oAo SURVEY.

There IL some indication Of oil In
Harding county, and In the adjoining
region. This Is tho conclusion OF DIR.
Freeman Ward, professor OF geology
ct the University Of South Dakota
and state geologist, who spent last
summer investigating the Harding
county region. In his recent repor.
Or. Ward said:
Interest In oil and 4 in this
state run high, despite the lack Of
Any inds to date. Considerable in
Quiry has been made concerning the
northwest part Of the state. To meet
this demand the past field season was
devoted to 4 study Of the region. Fur
ther field work 10 necessary before
anything more positive can be said.
The problem will probably never be
entirely settled until, in addition to
the field work, = few deep holes are
put down.
The rocks Of this region are all
Of s~edirnentary origin. Probably four
lfths Of the county 10 covered by the
Lance. This consists essentially Of
clays and shale with local beds Of
sandstone. None of the stDta are
widely persistent; rather, variation is
the rule both vertically and horizon
tally.
In the northeast part of Harding
county and further west in the Cave
Hills n Table Mountain the surface
material Is Fort Union. In the Slim
Buttes and Short Pine Hills-south-
q s and southwest part Of the coun.
ty respectively-the Arikaree and
White River occur. The first two
formations are made up predominatly
Of Sandstone. The latter is chiefyy
clays.
mo oil seepages or scums. no gas
springs, no asphaltic substances. ETC.,
have been found by this survey. A
number of scums have been reported.
These have been examined insofar
have been indicative Of oil or gas. As
far - Is known there 10 no authentic
case Of surface evidence of oil or gas
in the county.
THE belief that oil or gas may ex
Int below the surface in this county
has arisen because in the neighbOring
states Of Wyoming and Montana both
oil and gas have. been found. The
value of this relation depends on the
distance from the nearest producing
lelds, the correct correlation and
possible variation OF the anne strata
in the given distance, and other fac.
tors.
THE nearest productive held In
Wyoming is the Moorcroft field In
the northeast part Of the state. 1t is
20 miles from the nearest part OF
Harding county. 1t has never reach.
ed quantity production and at the
present time 1t 10 rated As non-produc.
tive. The chief oil horizon Is the
Graneros. There are other anti.
clines in Wyoming nearer to South
Dakota. These are o being ex'
plored.
Until oil or gas Is struck in com
mercial quantity in the northeastern
corner OF Wyoming. the relation be-
tween Harding county and the Wyom'
ing oil neld can only be considered
suggestive: 1t should cause nc excite
ment nor create any strong hopes Of
success.
The nearest productive field in Mon
tanA is the Baker field, which is IS
miles from the nearest part north
west cornerD OF Harding county
This field IL already productive OF
gas tho oil yeti on . commercial
scale and bids fair to increase in i'm
portance very decidedly. 1t is 10
Gated on the Glendive anticline al
ready mentioned. The gas horizon Is
q sandstone bed In the Pierre.
The absence OF surface evidence Is
a negative argument; 1t neither sup
ports nor refutes the belief that oil
or gas is present. The expectation
or oil or gas in this area Is based on
its proximity to the productive
Wyoming and Montana fields. The
relation to the Wyoming field is only
suggestive. but the Glendive anticline
OF Montana IL known 20 enter Hard
ing county and 90 docs give a reason
able hope for gas land possibly oil
m South Dakota. It Is not known
whether the Cretacoous strata below
the area have bed porous enough to
act @ reservoirs even II oil or gas ii
present in the formations. Further
west this favorable condition exists;
further east 1t ID known to be absent
Field examination Of the area shows
structure %paralleling the Glendive
anticline, but with lower dips. A
fairly we'll marked dome was found,
which is one of the favorable loca'
tions for putting down . hole. Other
anticlines will probably be found
they are more likely to occur in the
western part than In the eastern part
or tho county. It II believed that
there 10 Z reasonable chance Of strik
ing gas land possible oil) in the
county. The most av0rable places
for putting down holes are on the
Glendive anticline itself and the
smaller anticlines In the adjoining
orao nna ~ which has alreadv beer