The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1922-05-08
GOVERNMENT SURVEY
FAVORS SO. OKLAHOMA

The development of the Healdton oil
pool in Carter county, discovered in
1914, says a statement issued by the
United States Geological Survey, show.
ed that the region between the Ar.
buckle and Wichita mountains on the
north and Red river on the south, un-
doubtedly contains great reserves of
oil. The subsequent development of
the Hewitt and Walters and of a num-
Der of others of less output proved,
the statement adds. that Healdton was
not the only highly productive pool in
this part Of southern Oklahoma, but
that it is seasonable to expect that 9TH
ers will be discovered.
Numerous test wells scattered in Ste
phens, Cotton, jefferson, Carter and
Love counties have produced oil and
gas in some quantities.
This region merits careful and thor.
ough prospecting, but the business risk
is great" says the surveys statement
1.-THE Interpretation of the geological
structures by study of the surface
exposures is everywhere difficult and
in many places impossible, and even
where the structure can be determined
approximately it may be impossible TO
select accurately the most favorable To-
cations for drilling. Faulty locations
of a drilling site may be followed by
the failure of a test well and cause un-
justified condemnation of an area that
actually contains oil. In this connec-
tion the discovery of the Healdton pool
is instructive. The discovery well hap
pened to strike the very edge of the
pool, but if it had been drilled 800 feet
farther south, this great pool probably
would not have been opened. The de-
velopment of this field has been re-
tarded also by the nature Of the beds,
whose tendency to cave has caused
prospectOrs to use rotary tools in many
places, and thus to greatly increase
the danger of drilling through the oil
bearing sands without discovering the
oil.
"Wildcatting in this area obviously
should be restricted, for the present at
least, to territory that appears geologi-
cally more favorable than the average,
and the few known geologic facts
should be put to the utmost possible
use. One area that merits considera.
tion of the oil operator lies in southern
jefferson county, in one of the bends
of the Red river, which has been brief
ly described by Heath NJ. Robinson Of
the Geological Survey in bulletin 726-F.
only a small part of the area consid-
cred in the report contains outcrops Of
beds that permitted the determination
of the structure, but such observations
as could be made showed the presence
of four anticlines.
This area considered in the report
is ab1It eighteen miles southwest Of
the Healdton field, twenty-five miles
southeast of the Walters field, and
eighteen miles due east Of the Petrolia
field in Texas. The beds that yield oil
in the Petrolia field underlie the sur
face in southern jefferson county, Ok
lahoma. at depths of 1000 feet or less
and the showings OF oil obtained in the
wells that have been drilled to these
beds in southern jefferson county prove
that they are oil bearing there. Oil
pools may therefore have been formed
in some parts Of Jefferson county, and
persistent drilling. particularly on
known anticlines. may discover them" T"