The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-02-18

~ NE reason why there is no rea
son to worry greatly about
motor fuel for long time
ahead is that people are worrying
about it. Interest in such question
at the right time, is the best insur
ance against disaster. The President
and the Federal Oil Corporation
Board have done what was needed, at
the right time.
We know that most petroleum has
come from rather limited areas and
that even from these only small pro-
portion has been taken out. Oil pro-
duced by gas pressure capable of lift
ing it to the surface when we drill
holes is but a small proportion of all
the oil contained in the sands. Even
from the best pools recovery by the
old methods is small, perhaps one
half in the most favorable conditions,
oftener one-sixth, or one-seventh, or
one-tenth. But considerable part of
what still remains in the ground can
be recovered by methods now estab-
lished as technically and economically
practicable.
Producing oil from coal and shales
and by mining the oil bearing sands
is entirely possible. Experiments are
going on in these directions, and if we
ever have to fall back on these re-
sources we will be ready. For long
time, however, the present methods of
exploration and drilling, with improv-
ing processes to assure larger recov-
cries, are likely to suffice.
An Oil Dome illustrated
l am no draughtsman, but maybe I
can draw something that will help ex-
plain. Here's rough drawing of an
oil dome. The shaded part at the bot
tom is deposit of oil bearing sands
with an impervious rock stratum
above. A wild-catter drilled the hole
ABB and gas pressure caused oil and
gas to flow. After while the gas
pressure wasn't sufficient to keep up
the flow and they pumped until ulti-
mately even this ceased producing.
Nevertheless, most of the oil was
still left sticking to the sand grains.
Then the operator drilled the we'll
CD, which flowed for time, but most
of the oil was still down there in the
sand. If the gas pressure could be re-
stored more would fiow So the oper-
ator injects gas into one well, restor.
ing the pressure and causing the oil
to resume flowing from the other.
After a time the flow will stop again,
but still much of the oil will be left.
In some fields 1t has been possible to
obtain additional amounts of oil by
introducing water in some of the wells
and forcing the oil to others. The ad-
dition of chemical such as soda ash
to the water may assist in removing
the oil from the sand grains, but nei-
Their plain water nor water containing
chemicals should be introduced into
an oil sand except as a last resort,
for it is likely that the water, which
travels faster through the sand, will
get to the open wells ahead of the oil
and when the flow is resumed under
pressure water will come out.
Everything Saved Nowadays
The gas escaping from an oil well
carries with it a proportion of gaso-
line, which in the old days was lost
Nowadays it is extracted from the gas
and saved, while the dry gas can be
forced back into the ground to main
tain pressure
One of the menaces to most oil
pools Is the inflow of subterranean
water. Water flows through the oil
sands faster than oil, and by surround
ing the bottom of the well keeps the