The Coconino sun., 1924-04-18
FOUR CORNERS THOUGHT
TO BE HAVE BIG FUTURE
Continued from Page one.)

No stock is being sold, no advertis-
ing is being done. The oil concerns
in the field are the richest in the
world and are there because the oil
is there.
In fact it is known the oil is there
For there are producing wells and a
refinery at Mexican Hat and only the
other day the Midwest brought in
well on Boundary Butte Dome, at
$ 1900 feet. This dome lies half in
Utah and half in this state and the
well is practically on the state line.
This strike is intensely interesting
because it indicates that all the oil
structures along the state line may
be productive in the Goodrich sands,
the sands lying highest in the Penn
slyvania series. There are several
sands below the Goodrich that prob
ably also contain oil. This strike at
Boundary Butte Dome means the
opening up Of lots of opportunity for
drilling on and both sides of the
northern Arizona border.
There is some water in this first
well at Boundary Butte Dome and
the company is about to drill another
near it, using the oil from the first
for fuel.
Oil experts had long realized there
must be tremendous basin of oil
along the San Juan river There is
one place on the river above Slick
horn canyon where there is a seep-
age of oil and gas for one and quar-
ter miles, the longest seepage known
in the Rocky mountain region. This
,+o1
on which the Monumental Oil COM
pany is drilling. There is another big
seepage at Castle Rock Anticline, in
which several Flagstaff people have
applied for permits. This anticline
can be reached by boat from Lees
Ferry up the Colorado river, there
being no falls or rapids intervening.
In the Literary Digest of April II
there is map diagram of the five
groups of oil fields IN the United
States drawn by Ernest R. Lilley, as
sistant professor of geology, New
York university. The second largest
group extends from the Canadian
border through Wyoming and COW
ers large sections of Arizona, Utah
and New Mexico. In Arizona it ex-
tends along all of the northern part
of the state except a small area in
the extreme northwest, and extends
south to pretty well cover the reser-
walton country.
Accompanying this article is
sketch of the oil field country made
specially for The Sun from the u.
S. geological and other maps and re-
ports furnished The Sun by w. II.
Cranmer of Denver and Flagstaff,
handling the operations in the field
for the Wilson, Cranmer company.
Near the east margin of this map
is the Aztec gas field. Here gas in
abundance has been found. That this
is the east end of the. field is evidenc-
s ed by the fact that west of it at Hog
back Dome, near Shiprock, where the
Midwest has seven wells, the oil is
of the highest specific gravity found
in the United States, and can be
burned in a car without refining, and
is believed to be secondary oil.
At Boundary Butte Dome the oil
is high grade, but lower specific
gravity, about AZ degrees. At Mex
lean Hat, still farther west, it is a
high-grade oil, with paraffine base.
There is a small refinery at Mexican
Hat which is supplying gasoline and
fuel for local use.
At Organ Rock and nearby domes
the Pennsylvania formations, which, |
by the way, are the greatest produc
ers of any formations, are nearest the |
surface Here it is believed oil ex-
lists in largest quantities in the basin,
and the indications are that the sup
ply is tremendous.
An interesting thing in this con-
nection is that oil in Boundary Butte, |
Organ Rock and the Anticlines has
paraffine base. In California the
oils have an ashphaltic base. The I
latter are valuable for fuel and gaso-
line, while the former is valuable for
lubricants as well. California refin-
cries need paraffine oil to round out /
their operations and the country needs /
additional lubricating oils perhaps
even more than fuel oil, while the de-
mand for gasoline is growing by /
leaps and bounds.
With the operation of numerous
big producing wells in the -Four Cor |
ners" country, the next problem is
getting in of. equipment and supplies
and transporting out of the OIL
The logical place for the oil to go
is California. There is a plan to
build a railroad up to that country
from west of Albuquerque. But that I
would mean shipping oil east and then
west again and would not be econom-.
ically advisable. Mr.. Cranmer believes
the logical and probable method to
be a pipeline to the Santa Fe rail-
road, probably to Canyon Diablo.
Such a pipeline would encounter no
great grade problems. From Canyon
Diablo the oil would be shipped by
rail to California, though refinery
at Canyon Diablo would not be inn
probable.
The logical base of supplies is
Flagstaff. Communication by auto
mobile is possible the year around.
and operations at the fields also can
be carried on throughout the year.
No other point is as favorably situat
ed to be supply base as Flagstaff.
Some of the road from here to the
fields is good, some not so good, al