El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-01-22
TEXAS OIL WELLS
YIELD MILLIONS
Property In Two Counties
Enhanced $341, 900, 600 by
Great Discovery.

Easciand, Tex, Jan 22--lt was the
bringing in Of the Texas & Pacific
Coal and OIL company's No. 1 Nc
Cleskey wen during October, 1917
that first attracted the attention Of
the oil interests TO the central Texas
fields.
The NcCleskey well was drilled
into production at a depth OF $3.50
feet with an initial flow Of 1900 bar
rels daily. less than Is months ago.
Today the Ranger pool. in Eastland
county, Texas. has the largest po-
tential production Of any 1ield IN
this country. And farther develop
ment indicates that in this discoy-
cry was found the largest oil field
yet discovered in America.
The development Of the central
Texas fields began Just when the
worlds war was beginning 10 oraW
on the oil stocks Of America It was
then that the prices Of crude petrol
cum had advanced from less than
dollar a barrel to its present price
Of s225 per barrel for the mid-con-
tinent crude. 1t was then that those
old oil heads Of the oil fraternity,
those patriarchs. grown gray in the
service. were wondering where the
new production Of crude oil was to
come from to meet the demands for
winning the war.
And necessity is the mother OF in
vention. So necessity developed the
central Texas oil fields. Those pa
triarchs OF oil foresaw the necessity
Of increasing the production Of crude
They knew the capacity Of every
field America then had. and they
knew the fields Of oil already proven
would not meet the increasing de-
nnTaN-
oped Ard the farsightedness Of the
heads OF the oil industry met a con-
dftion. They we're right Each month
that the war progressed the demand
was heavier on the crude stock The
month of December drew on Amer
ica's crude sock for more than $500
900 barrels. There was, in other
words, more than 3.50o,0e0 barrels
more OF crude oil consumed by the
American refineries than was pro-
duced. during the month OF Deem
her. at which rate America would re-
duce her stock OF crude oil in one
year 40.o00.000 barrels. In less than
three years time. at the rate Of pro-
duction OF stock during December.
we would be having a famine in the
refined products from crude oil,
without the adding OF new produc-
Money Lavished.
The development program that
was staged for the central Texas
field. after the discovery well near
was on more gigantic
scale than anything that had ever
been figured on for any other new
oil field in oil history The big fel-
low Of the industry literally threw
money into the central Texas wildcat
territory. believing that there was
a possibility OF finding production
that would Justify the expenditure
and meet the war time needs for
crude that were fast developing
They were not disappointed. The
central Texas field made good in I
production. While the zenith Of pro- ]
duction has not been reached and. I
al this stage Of development, II can /
only be guessed at, IL looks IS though /
the high production mark viii be in /
excess Of 100000 barrels daily The ]
actual production Of the central 4
Texas field today is nearly 10000 /
larrels daily. The most reliable es-
Inmates on production as gathered 4
rom the various companies, for 1918, 1
are as follows.