The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-03-28
OHIO-BAKER WELL
MARVEL OF STATE
HAS PRODUCED 100, 900 BARRELS
OF OIL IN THE PAST
1875 DAYS
Or An Average of Nearly 1000 Bar
rels Per Day; Geologist Gerlough
Looks for Production in Lower
Sands.

Oil wells in the best fields In the
Mid-Continent oil fields produce an
average, at most, of 10000 barrels
per acre. That is, If the well drains
eight acres, 1t viii yield in its life
time, at most, $780, 900 barrels. The
average of 10000 is high, accord
Ing to well informed operators.
This includes the sensational gush-
ers of Arkansas and Texas fame.
Here in Northern Montana is a
well that produced in eight months
100000 barrels of oil, and it was
still going strong at the time of
the field shutdown on October 20,
1928. This well was completed on
February II, 1928, and between
that time and October 20 yielded
100000 barrels of oil.
Devoid of the sensational rush
and roar of the southland, this
well is one of the marvel wells of
the nation but the facts are not
generally known.
The Ohio Oil company's Baker
No. well is the marvel of Mon
tana, according to Gene Gerlough,
geologist for the Potlatch Oil COM
pany, which holds a half interest
in the Baker lease. This well has
produced more oil in 165 days than
it should have produced in its en-
tire lifetime, were it a well regu-
lated, ordinary sort of an oil well.
The Baker No. has produced
100000 barrels of oil in 165 days,
an average of nearly 1000 barrels
a day. The spacing of wells in this
al ca of Kevin-Sunburst field is one
to every eight acres. The exact
thickness of the oil formation is var
liable. A little water was struck in
Baker well No. 5, short distance
away, after drilling % feet of sand.
Most of the wells are drilled only six
or eight feet in, but one of them,
the misunderstanding No. 1, off
setting the Baker No. on the south.
reported drilling clear through the
sand a distance of 35 feet. Assum-
ing then that the thickness of the
sand is 35 feet, which would be a
maximum and not an average figure,
an area eight acres in extent would
contain 280 acre-feet of sand.
Now the production of recover
able oil throughout all the fields of
the United States is found by statis-
from 200 to 400 barrels per acre foot,
to the porosity of the sand.
sand is not excep
porous, but again taking the
maximum figure of 400 barrels null
tiplied by the number of acre feet
or $50. gives the result 112, 900 bar
rels, which would be an excellent re-
covery for the life of the well. How
ever, as stated above, this well has
produced 100000 barrels in little
over five months time and was still
flowing at 500 barrels day when
shut in last fall.
at is obvious" says Mr.. Gerlough,
that there are only two logical con-
clusions as to existing conditions:
Either large crevices or cavities in
he lime have formed natural reser-
yoirs in which an unusual amount of
oil has been accumulated, or else the
sand is being fed at a very rapid
ate from lower formations"
Mr.. Gerlough is of the belief that
deeper sands will yield greater pro- ;
luction than present sands. He be- ;
ieves with numerous other geolo-
sists that the oil in this field is COM
ng through cracks in the lime from ,
sands below: possibly the Devonian. ;
lie says: ,
To date, no one can say definitely i,
md with absolute certainty whether {
he oil of the Ellis is indigenous, that
S, a product of the Ellis formation /.
tself, or whether it is migratory and :
las its source at some lower horizon. =
Tor the most part, it seems fair to !
assume that it has been distilled from
he Ellis shales and has gathered :
llong the Madison contact for the
simple reason that in the absence of
rue sands, the ragged break between
he formations along with the thin
Jed of rotten limestone here known
Is the Ellis sand offered the only 7
AVAILABLE place for its accumulation. .
On the other hand, freakish de-
at some of the wells have 5
presented grounds for belief that the
Ill is coming from below. Usually Z