Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-26

structure from the standpoint OF oil
and gas. It's area is SO large that
should production be obtained a field
of large size would probably be open
ed. Four or five hundred square
miles of the territory is to be looked
upon with favor
The dips, the biologists agree, are
less than one degree on all sides. The
| dome as mapped by Collier is included
in townships 80 to 50 north, ranges
80 to SO east.
The first operations on the Bovdoln
dome followed the favorable report of
Brown to his principals in Malta and
Glasgow. There had then been no
drilling in Cat Greek or n other field
in Montana and the report of Brown
is interesting in that, after an inspec-
ton of eastern Montana, he reports,
''as a second choice for an oil test well.
I should advocate drilling in the Cat
Greek anticline 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
this latter site, it would be necessary
to drill through nearly the entire ere
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 Mudd
lake near the Nelson reservoir. He
frankly admitted that the flatness of
the structure and the glacial drift did
not permit an accurate estimate of the
height of the structure.
The First Wells History
The first location was taken and a
we'll drilled by the Bowdoin Oil Il Gas,
by whom Brown was employed on NE
u, SEA. 22-31-31-E. When the well
reached the Eagle at 91S feet. Brown
advised moving to the second location,
which is approximately the same as
the point where drilling operations are
now under way. Because of the con
tract enforced into for the drilling of
the we'll, the contractor refused to
move his rig and the well was carried
down 2.40O feet having reduced to four
and a half inches and the hole was lost.
Later, A. ]. Collier, government
geologist, in making a resurvey of the
structure, gave his opinion that the
we'll 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 2i-34-32E.
The Eagle was reached at 1850 feet,
showing the well to be well down on
the flank of the structure.
Three years before geological inves-
tigatiOn of the structure had been
made, while drilling for water on the
Martin ranch in township 81. range
80 east, gas was struck at 6p feet,
and the gas well was a curiosity to be
visited by neighbors for years since
that time. The s~tandpipe still stands
in the dooryard of the ranch and the
though it has been filled with debris
by the curious throwing rocks and
earth down the pipe.
Activity of This Year
Leasing activity took on new life
in the late summer of this year when
there was no doubt as to the success
Of operations on the kevin-Suburst
field. Actual drilling began a short
time later, when the Cabbage we'll of
the Phillips County Oil q Gas was
spudded in. \ light water rig vas
used. it being the plan of the com
pany to drill three test holes for the
purpose of determining the high of the
structure. The Eagle was reached at
$50, however. and the hole was con-
tinued with the water rig. Rugged up
oil men by continuing to a depth Of
for shallow drilling. the rig surprised
about 1900 feet. and is now seeking
the Frontier sand, expected at a little
better than 400 feet. IT would be
about 1000 feet to the top Of the
kootenai.
The Rowdoin Oil & Gas was the
second operation of this year to be
rugged up and is now down a good
distance and making steady progress.
A standard rig is being used and ex-
perienced drillers are in charge.
The Bowdoin Oil & Gas, the pio-
neer company in the field, which first
brought Brown TO look into the oil
possibilities of the region, was organ
lied largely through the activity of
DR.. A. y. Smith Of Glasgow. q well
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