The Bismarck tribune., 1925-11-11
OIL FINDING
AT ROBINSON
PURE GAMBLE
Professor Leonard Says Con.
ditions All Against Find
ing Oil in Quantity
SOIL IS UNFAVORABLE
No Reputable Geologist Has
Examined the Field So
Far AS Is Known

Grand Forks, N. D., Nov. 11.-(P)-
Samples of oil taken from the we'll at
Robinson, which has created intense
excitement in kidder county by pro-
duclng gasoline, show that the sub
stance is in fact refined gasoline.
prof. A. q. Leonard, director of the
North Dakota Geological su.rY, tyld
the Associated Press To-Day.
AS result, Prof. Leonard said.
prospects Of finding oil in the Robin
son district. or near Wing. Rurleigh
county, are "a gamble pure and simple
with the chances all against those
who invest in the projects"
Prof. Leonard's statement followed
numerous reports which have gained
wide circulation throughout the state
that geOlogists have examined the
kidder county area and declared i
to be an oil-bearing formation As
a result the hopes Of kidder county
citizens that oil will be found in com, :.
mercial quantities have been raised d
to such high pitch that some land
owners are holding their property at
$1,000 an acre.
Investigation by the state sccuri-
ties commission failed to locate a sim
gle reputable geologist who had made
a favorable report on the possibility
Of finding oil in the region In fact,
state investigators were not able to
establish the identity Of a single ge-
ologist who has inspected the area
recently.
rownley Said to Have "Oil Witch"
Reports received by state indicate
that A. c. Townley. former Nonparti-
san chicftain and one of the leading
tor in, hn' k,,
trict, has placed at least partial re-
lance in an coil witch" imported from
Kansas. 1t is alleged to be an instru-
ment which, when carried over the
ground in a certain position, indicates
the presence of oil. A few pers ons,
who visited another oil development
project spon sored by Townley in Kan
sas, claim to have, seen the witch" "
in action and profess to believe in it.
Commenting on the numerous
stories of favorable reports by un-
named geologists on the prospect of
finding ol in kidder county, Prof.
Leonard said:
Leonard's Statement
81 am glad to make statement re-
garding the possibilities of finding
oil in kidder county and the adjoin-
ing region. While ! did not carry
on any investigations in that county
the past summer, l and other men,
bers of the Geological Survey have
spent considerable time in that re-
gion during previous summers and
are familiar with the geological con-
ditions there. So far as l know, no
reputable geologist from outside the
state has ever examined the field or
made any report on it, favorable or
otherwise. In fact, am quite sure
that no reputable geologist would be
willing to make favorable report
since the geological conditions are
all against the finding of oil in COM
mercial quantity in that region.
"The samples of oil from the Rob
inson wells show that it is refined
gasoline and cannot have come from
the rock formations since such Oil Is
not found in the oil sands. There is
no evidence whatever of any anticllne
or other oil structure in the region
and in the absence of these there Is
practically no chance that oil Will be
found in commercial quantity. Pros
pectine in the area is thus gamble
pure and simple with the chances all
against those who invest in the pro-
jccts.
1000 Feet Of Shale
"Below the glacial drift of the re-
gion, the we'll would so through 1000
feet and more of shale which is SO
compact that it does not contain OIL
in an quantity, if at all. Below this
shale is the Dakota Sandstone which
seldom carries oil even where the
structural conditions are favorable:
1t is thus practically certain that OIL
cannot occur in commercial auantilcs
in the vicinity of Robinson and IT. Is
waste of money to prospect Tor IT,
"The deep we'll drilled over year
ago, southwest OF Marmarth on tne
Cedar Greek anticline where the ge-
olouical conditions were all favorable
for the occurrence of oil, has found
no oil although considerable gas was
struck in the we'll"