The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-08-10

Yearly 40 years ago Granville
I'M Stuart, the great Montana ex-
plorer, and discoverer of placer
gold at Gold creek, before Bill Fair
weather, noted oil indications in Fer
gus county. He made sketches of
the formation at the time, which are
preserved in his writings. And now
comes Henry Sherard, the oil wizard
who discovered LIS producing oilfields
in Wyoming, and will drill in the
section picked as oil producing by
Granville Stuart in the old days.
Henry Sherard is known as the
coil wizard of Wyoming" because of
his unerring geology. He has been
in Montana less than a year and has
mapped but three structures. One
of these, the Sherard No. 1, is being
tested by the Ohio Oil company. His
newest find is the Fort Maginnis
structure. This structure centers in
section 12-16-20 east.
In the past Mr.. Sherard has been
Employed by the Standard Oil COM
panies and he located all of his Wy
oming structures for such companies
as the Ohio Oil company. Coming to
Montana, he entered independent
practice. He first located the Sher-
lard structure, near Big Sandy, and
planned to drill the No 1 structure
himself The Ohio Oil company
bought the structure, however, pay-I
ing cash bonus and giving him val
liable acreage.
The Maginnis structure is a shall
low test and ideal, he says for pri-
vate venture. 1t has been examined
by Dorsey Hager, vice president of
the Sunburst Oil & Gas company, and +
by G.. G. Howard, chief geologist of I
the same company. The surface is
Kootenai shales, at the top of the
dome, while the Colorado sands and
shales appear on the flanks and the
escarpment is formed by the Mowery
sandstone, middle sand member of
the Colorado.
According to the plane table map
by Mr.. Sherard, the structure has
500 feet of closure and it is structur-
ally the highest trap for oil in Fer
gus county. Cat Creek and similar
folds feed into this structure, which
is 1000 feet higher geographically
than Cat Creek. AS there is no in
tervening faulting of extent any
drainage from the Cat Creek area
would feed the Maginnis structure,
Mr.. Sherard states.
Maginnis structure is $500 feet
higher, stratigraphically, than Cat
Creek, and is in an area of structures
which have insufficient east closure.
Maginnis structure has ample east
closure, like Cat Creek, Brush creek,
Oiltana, Kootenai, in Fergus county.
Gas for Lewistown
Because it is so high structurally,
It is believed that the Sherard struct-
ure is almost certain of gas if not
Of oil. A pipe line to Lewistown
would be about 20 miles by direct
route and should this prove a com
nercial gas field, Lewistown will
nave natural gas before the winter
S over. Lewistown refineries will,
IF course, be first bidders for the
rude, should Maginnis dome produce
Ill in commercial quantities.
The drilling operation is financed
~ the Dea & Sherard syndicate,
which includes r. p Jackson, Joseph
Kaufman, Great Falls, and Bruce
2adigan and Jack Wait of Lewis
own. Sherard has purchased a rig
Ind will personally supervise the
lrilling, on a labor contract Mater
ais will be moved to the structure
Sherard is DrilIer
This is the first drilling Sherard
las undertaken personally in nearly
5 years, though he is an experienced
riller. He has had wide experience
n drilling with small machines and
rilled probably the deepest machine
ole in the state of Wyoming. With
small water rig he drilled 1910
eet, finishing with a three-inch hole.
Locates Wyoming Producers
In Wyoming, Mr. Sherard located
he Lost Soldier, Grass Creek, Elk
'asin, Hamilton Dome, Lance Creek,
'amb Dome, Rock Greek, Hidden
'ome, Maverick Springs, Pilot Butte,
loberly, Lox, Buffalo Basin and Cur
y Creek structures. OF these he To-
ated Rock Creek, Lance Creek, Hid
en- Dome, Buffalo Basin, CURLY
reek and Lost Soldier structures for
lie Ohio company. The Lost Soldier
.ructure was not developed, how Y