Evening star., 1927-08-23
|O|L OUTPUT HELD
vEX|NG PROBLEM
Drilling in Wildcat Territory
May Defeat Plans to
Restrict Production.
BY j. G. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 23.-On an oc
casion rare in the history of the pc
troleum industry, oil men today are
watching the drilling of an important
we'll and hoping sincerely it will prove
"duster." Even the people with ad
joining property hope so in some
cases. All are fearful of what the
bringing in of gusher may do to the
industry in its present weakened and
precarious condition.
1t has been rumored that the 7. B.
Slick well in the Little River section
of the Seminole field, the most impor
tant wildcat drilling in Oklahoma al
present. would be shut down before
testing the Wilcox sand, in which for.
nation the oil is found. This is EN-.
phatically denied by the Slick Co. They
say the well will test the Wilcox sand
but if 1t produces, it will be shut
down and remain capped so long as
conditions in the industry made it de.
sirable, as the company is anxious to
keep all unnecessary oil off the mar.
ket. If the we'll is big producer it
would mean the opening of another
Seminole gusher area.
Have to Enforce Shut Down.
1t would be hard to enforce the
shutdown agreement for any length
of time If the well were a big one, so
the industry may be faced immediate.
ly with another large drilling cam.
paign. If one property owner in the
vicinity starts, the others will start in
self-defense, so that the oil may not
be drained from beneath their ground
before they can tap the deposit them
selves. That is why the ma jority of
oil men are hoping for duster.
Oil men are frequently forced into
drilling competitions by old and in
accurate surveys. One case is cited
where an operator discovered a strip
of land four miles long right in the
middle of field that belonged to no
one. He leased it from the State and
started a line of wells. In self-de-
tense owners on each side of the strip
had to start wells also and the field
Is now adding 10000 to $4,000 barrels
a day to the over-supply.
Plea Of Seminole Operators.
nobody ever stopped the search for
gold, black or yellow, by agreement.
Whether this is true or not, the latest
attempt to restrict the Seminole out
put to 100000 barrels a day by agree
ment apparently Is meeting with no
marked success. although some oper-
ators say that production will be held
to that figure. 1t may be possible
that the 100000 barrel mark will be
passed, according to others.
New locations in Oklahoma in the
last week totaled 83, with more than
half in Seminole County. There were
Al new wells started in that region.
Most of the new wells were in the
Little River section, where a COM
petitive drilling campaign has started.
Proposal to Pinch Output.
When the Oklahoma Corporations
Commission approved the curtail-
ment scheme and appointed Ray II.
Collins, field umpire, as special agent
of the commissioners to see to the
enforcement of the order, it was be-
lieved the producers would accede to
the demand that maximum produc-
ton be held at 100000 barrels a day.
because it was proposed to pinch
down wells on pro rata basis.
Wells in the original Seminole area
were to be cut 10 to Is per cent. and
new drillings clipped 100 barrels.
The committee of five appointed to
oversee this work and the umpire
have worked and are working hard,
but production continues near the
top notch. 1t Is charged more or less
openly that certain operators are
not making any sincere effort to in
sure the success of the movement.