East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-09-29
GEOLOGIST REPORTS
ON OIL CONDITIONS
IN WEST END AREA
Only Drilling Can Tell
for Certain Whether Oil
May be Found is View.

At the instance of j. E. Leonard,
who is interested in trying TO find oil
in the west end of this county, f. NJ.
Handy. a consulting geologist of Spo-
kane. has made an investigation of oil
prospects in the . Umatilla- -Stanfield
region.
The following is Mr.. Handy's report
in full:
About a week has been spent in
field examination of this region ex-
tending as far east as Alfalfa
During a careful study of the dis
trict one well defined structure was
found and traced through its entire
length from where it crosses the Co
lumbia about a mile east of Umatilla
TO about ten miles south and west of
.Stanfield
This structure, a well defined enti-
cline with an average width of about
ia mile and a dip to either side of Is
to 20 degrees, is one of the most reg
.ular and well defined that have ever
seen in any oil field. 1t is not broken
by faults or slips and has on its axis
evidence of a domal elevation which
would furnish ideal conditions for oil
and gas accumulation where underly-
ing beds are of such nature as to fur
Inish a supply of these. The dip of the
sides is just steep enough to give a
good slope of the underlying beds for
accommodating over wide area on
either side and not so steep as to
cause the beds to be badly fractured
and SO allow oil or gas to escape.
Furthermore, the very broad areas
Of gently dipping beds of the basins to
either side. east or west, would furnish
ian immense supply providing they
icontain either within or beneath the
7 lava beds which cover the surface, oil
bearing shales.
The lag of the oil well at Alfalfa,
according to the managers reports
land samples shown, indicates that the
basalt is not over 500 feet thick there
and that from that depth down a
thick series of shales. states, and lime
stone is found in which 27 foot sand
is reported showing strong indica-
tons of'oil.
However, the water was not .cased
off and was allowed to enter the sand
where it could naturally drown out and
crowd back the oil or gas since il
Iwould have pressure of over 500
pounds to the square inch at that
depth
These same formations may be ex.
lpected to underlie this region also.
A further evidence that such may
be the case is found in the Blut
Mountains to the south where Jurasait
and Cretaceous marine beds are re
lported to occur and these should ex
tend beneath this region.
The depth through the basalt i
problematical, but judging from re
, suits at Alfalfa it may be less thar
: 1000 feet.
There is also this consideration. Th'
beds Of basalt have at intervals layer
that are very cindery and porous sep
arated by massive layers and thin
beds Of clay and ash. hence the natur
Of these beds is very favorable to oil
land gas accumulation. If oil shale
lunderlie these beds and are fissure'
land broken so that their content
could escape upward they would col
Ilect in these porous strata. AS con
firmation of this practically all tn
commercial gas in the Benton count.
district is found in the basalt itself.
At Lewiston, Idaho, some oil is re
lported at about 900 feet, all in basalt
At Spokane an oil seep yielding two t
five gallons per day comes from shall
beds between basaIt flows.
To sum it all up: SO far as can b
Judged from all the surface indication
possible to be observed after carefu
and detailed study, this region an
this particular structure offers the hes
and most favorable conditions for 0
. in all the inland country east of th
d Cascades so far examined by the writ
= er or reported on by others for oi
y lOnly the drill can tell for certai
y whether or not oil or gas. or both, Il
a beneath in commercial quantities.
In the Cold Springs region there ca
not be found any well marked strut
ture at all. hence a test wei, there III
I'll the district is proven is a shot
the dark, but in case the struiture
Hermiston proves productive this te
IlLDf9 NOhiu Dtttiht a NtiJ Ihttg Aitl
but for the first well the chances al
too great against drilling a solitaI
hole that it would be no real test
1.-THE district and would serve no re-
purpose since the really likely sp'
would lie unproven and unexplored.
1t would therefore. seem mere
good business judgment for all into
ests concerned to combine on the sp
that offers the very best possib
chance for success and il strike
made there II makes every acre whci
there Is any possible chance vel
valuable prospect.
+. NJ. HANDY,
Consulting Geoloeis
603 Nv, 14th Ave. Spokane WASH =.