The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1922-12-08
a; and many others of northern Mon

ia; and many others of northern Mon
tana.
The area included in the structure
as worthy of prospective should an.
of the present wells prove productive
gives a tremendous area for lease OPP
erations and activity has extended wei
down on the flanks.
The principal geological reports or
the structure have been made by A
J. Collier of the United States geo1ogi
cal survey, consisting of a preliminary
report in 1916 and a later revised re
port based on the drilling results after
that time; that of Barnum Brown
made in 1916; and one by Roswell H
Johnson of the firm of Johnson, Hunt.
ley & Somers of Pittsburgh, made in
! 1920.
The structure is described by John
son as a dome definitely closed or
all sides and is not faulted at any
place. 1t represents an almost ideal
structure from the standpoint of oil
and gas. Its area is so large that
should production be obtained a field
of large size would probably be OPP
ened. Four or five hundred square
miles of the territory is to be looked
upon with favor"
The dips, the biologists agree, are
less than n degree on all sides. The
dome as mapped by Collier is included
in townships 80 to 35 north, ranges 30
to sc east.
The first operations on the Bowdoin
dome followed the favorable report of
Brown to his principals in Malta and
Glasgow. There had then been no
drilling in Cat Creek or any other field
in Montana and the report of Brown is
interesting in that, after an inspection
of eastern Montana, he reports, cas-
a second choice for an oil test I should
advocate drilling in the Cat Greek
anti-cline at the head of Sage Hen
creek and a third choice would be
Smoke Butte near the junction of
Smoke Butte and Big Dry creeks. In
the latter site it would be necessary
to drill through nearly the entire Gre
~taceous series of more than 5000
feet"
Brown advised drilling on one of
two locations, the first north of Lake
Bowdoin and the second east of Mud
lake near the Nelson reservoir. He
Frankly admitted that the f~latness of
the structure and the glacial drift did
not permit an accurate estimate of
the height of the structure.
The first location was taken and a
well drilled by the Bowdoin Oil &
Gas, by whom Brown was employed,
on NEANEA, 22-31-31 E. When the
well reached the Eagle at 918 feet,
Brown advised moving to the second
location, which is approximately the
same spot where drilling operations
are now under way. Because of the
contract enforced into for the drilling
of the well, the contractor refused to
move his rig and the we'll was carried
down 2,400 feet, having reduced to
four and a half inches, and the hole
was lost.
Later, A. j.. Collier, government
g%eologist, in making a resurvey of the
structure, gave his opinion that the
well was but IT'S feet above the oil
sand, but the casing was frozen and
attempts to pull it, underream and
save the hole failed and it was aban-
doned in 1920.
Fred Whiteside in 1920 drilled a
well to 2,450 feet on the north side
of the structure in section 24-34-32 E.
The Eagle was reached at 1850 feet,
showing the we'll to be we'll down on
the flank of the structure.
Three years before geological inves-
tigation had been made of the struc-
ture while drilling for water on the
Martin ranch in township 81, range
IS east, gas was struck at GAO feet
and the gas we'll was a curiosity to be
visited by neighbors for years since
that time. The standpipe still stands
in the dooryard of the ranch and the
gas may be lighted by the passerby
although it has been filled with dirt
debris by the curious throwing rocks
and earth down the pipe.
Leasing activity took on new life
in the late summer this year wher
there was no doubt as to the success
of operations on the Kelvin Sunburs,
field. Actual drilling began a shor'
time later when the Cabbage we'll Of
the Phillips County Oil & Gas was
spudded in. A light water rig was
used, it being the plan Of the company
to drill three test holes for the pur
pose of determining the high of thu
structure. The Eagle was reached a
480, however, and the hole was con
tinued with the water rig. Rugged u,
for shallow drilling, the rig surprised
oil men by continuing to a depth O
about 1900 feet, and is now seekins
the Frontier sand, expected at a littl,
better than 1,4O0 feet. 1t would b,
about 1000 feet to the top of tn,
Kootenai.
The Bowdoin Oil & Gas was tn
second operation of this year to b
rugged up and is now down a goo,
distance and making steady progress
MAILING r