The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-10-20
DEEP 1EST0N THE
GDFF farm HAS
BEEN ABANDONED
Hope Gas Company Plugged
the Hole Last
Week.
NEYF7OV0RLD'SDEEPES7
Was a Trouble Maker AL
Was a Trouble Maker Al.
most from Beginning
of Operations.

Last week the Hope gas company
abandoned work at the famous deep
we'll on the Goff farm about eight
miles northeast of Clarksburg and the
hole has been plugged. It is under
stood that the bore was 1885 feet
deep when drilling was abandoned
some time ago.
This is the second deepest well in
the world, the deepest being the one
ueing drilled on the ]. II. Lake farm
about eight miles southeast OF thls
city, in Marion county, also a Hope
company enterprise. The object of
these deep wells is to locate deeper
gas bearing strata which Dr.. l. G..
White. the state geologist, estimates
will be found between 1000 and 5000
feet below the surface. According ia
the belief of Dr.. White gas sands
which are near the surface in Ohio
dip to that point in this state and vii
be rich yielders If they can Ibe To-
Gated.
two years in drilling and was d
trouble breeder almost from the be-
ginning. Gas was encountered Just
once, in the fifty foot sand. At about
$3.50 feet the tools and that much
steel line dropped out Of sight and
one of the toughest fishing jobs on
record developed Then cave was VI
counered and when tubing from the
bottom was resorted to to overcome
that the tube, after it was in place,
got out Of line, and 1t was this cir.
cumstance which led to- the final
abandonment Of the huge Job.
2 Il was decided TO- sap work for 4
time on the GoG well while progress
on the Lake well Sn this county was
pursued. If conditions on the Lake
well, which is not far from the Gott
well had encouraged the hope that
the Goff we'll would be successful
eventually acids would have been
poured into the Goff we'll TO eat out
the troublesome out OF plumb tubing
and some new method OF overcoming
the engineering difficulties you'd
have been tried.
Evidently the Lake well indications
did not warrant the expenditure 1i
any more money at this TINA on the
Goff more. At last reports the Lake
well was 1879 feet deep. This is 2Sl
feet deeper than the well at CzuchoW
Germany, which until the Hope con-
,2auy began to search for the deep
sands was the deepest in the world.
In addition to the two in this state.
there is another deep well at McDon-
aid, Pa, which according 70 Geoto-
gical Survey figures IS 7.A4S feet
deep. This was drilled by the Peo-
PIES Natural Gas Company and In
some Of its aspects Is one OF the
most interesting bores in the world.
The mouth of the weii is about
1850 feet above sea level. The well
penetrates the Gordon stray sand,
the last OF the usual gas sands In this
region, al a depth Of 1871 feet. From
this point TO u depth of $500 feet the
strata penetrated are alternately
'lime" and "slate" and from $500
feet to the bottom, 7,24S feet, they are
sand" and lime" interspersed with
about 60 feet of rock salt.
The strata of time, slate, and sand
penetrated by these detp wells were
originally sediments deposited rom
ocean water. A bed Of ocean water
was actually found at depth OF $3.50
feet. DR.. White is of the opinion that
this water Is a fossil ocean, imprtS-
oned since mid d-Paleozoic time.