The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-05-04
NATURALGAS
BIG ASSET TO
NORTH DAKOTA
Big Pockets Found in DIFF.
ferent Parts of State
BY Surveyors

A small boy with five pennies be-
fore candy counter displaying a
variety Of sweets is in no worse
predicamtnt than North Dakota with
her variety of natural resources. She
spends most of her five cents" on
soil, little on coal, very little on
clay, and so finds herself with moth
ing for gas, (either natural or ar
tificiaD water. or all the other re-
sources she might enjoy il she had
the money to develop them.
1t is only when farmer or ranch
er drills for water and gets gas that
further information concerning our
natural gas resources is secured. But
there is little doubt that in this gas
we have future possibility Of con-
siderable industrial value to the
state. Geologically, North Dakota
in several localities meets the essen
tial conditions necessary to produce
gas in commercial quantities.
/. "All gas pockets so far discov-
cred occur in sedimentary or water
laid rocks, such as sandstone, sands,
limestones, and shales." A large
portion of North Dakota is under
laid with sandstone and other sedi-
mentary and waterlaid deposits.
Benton, Niobrara, Pierre, and other
shales.
2. THE reservoir is capped or
covered by practically impervious
beds, and also in most cases similar
impervious beds underly the reser-
voir." As was told in the story of
our Ignite coal deposits, North Da-
kota during the Mesozoic age was
for time under water in which
Dakota sandstone was laid down to
depth of from 10000 feet and on
these layers of sandstone, shale, and
clay were deposited toAa depth of
over a thousand feet. The water
marshes and forests from which came
our Ignite beds flourished. Again
the water came, bringing in more
sand, clay, and shale, impregnated
with lime, to form another mineral
layer,-and SO on through the ages.
3. Water is present in almost all
cases in the gas reservoirs. and be-
cause of its greater specific gravity,
tends to occupy the lowermost por-
tion Of the reservoir" As said be-
fore, the gas pockets in this state
have in most cases been located by
drilling for wells.
d: Commercial gas deposits oc-
cur for the most part in higher
parts of folds, such as anticlines and
terraces. Commercial quantities of
gas do not accumulate as a rule if
the layers of rock are perfectly
flat" Can anticline is produced by
the arching or bullying strata.) Sew
erai anticlines have so far been To-
Gated in North Dakota and it is on
these. the gas pockets already known
have been discovered.
These gas pockets have been found
in Bottineau, Renville, LaMoure, Het-
finger. Slope, Williams, and Ward
counties. From some of them gas
has been piped to neighboring towns
for heat and light. from others to
the buildings on the farm where the
gas, was discovered.
--"Perhaps the most promising gas
field in the state" says DR.. A. G,
Leonard Of the State Geological Sur
vey, us in what may be termed the
Mouse River Loop field in North
western. North Dakota" There. are
between twenty five and thirty ga.
wells in this field and many of the
water wells yield much gas. The gaa
in most of these wells comes from
sandstone layers found at depths
ranging from 100000 feet The gas
is often found under a pressure OF
100 pounds.
Besides having no funds to inyes.
tigate gas fields, there are none tc
work out the proper methods OF
handling gas pocket when foun |,
So. Westhope and Lansford in Bot.
tineau County after using for some
years gas piped several miles, found
their supply permanently cut of:
when fine sand choked the pipe
Methods can no doubt be worked out
to overcome such difficulties.
Artificial gas ultimately may he
OF even greater value than the nat.
ural gas rs state resource. Fo: the
Iaexhaustible beds of Ignite coal
have more uses than heating and
cooking. At least one third Of the
Ignite is made up of light gases
which can be driven off easily from,
the coal by heat. Accordingly the
process Of manufacturing gas from
Ignite for heat, light, and power re.
mains only to. be further develoned
to be put on commercial basis.
The first steps have ALREADY been
taken. In series of experiments
carried on at the University School