Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1936-01-11
You Must Understand The Language

No investor in oil. either
one who drills or one who
invests in a royalty, can ar
ford TO be without a know
ledge of theories of the accu-
mutation OF oil.
He may rely upon the
Judgment OF a succesSGul OPP
orator, or upon the knowledge
of a college-trained geologast.
But, after all, If he cannot
understand the Language"
the experience and knowledge
OF others cannot be translat-
ed into profits.
Oil is generated by heat
and pressure from the hydro
carbons in shales. Since heat
and pressure tome from
mountain building, then oil
fields are likely TO be re-
lated TO mountains.
The same forces which gem
crate petroleum form the Trap
in which petroleum acumulac
les. Recognition OF these
traps is the science OF geo
logy. The theory is summar-
ized by a report written OF
the Rocky mountain region
in Montana by a geologtst OF
the United safes Geological
Survey:
at Is generally conceded
that the accumulation OF OIL
in pools Is due to some ir-
regularity In the rock beds
II the beds lie flat. or IL Ley
din slightly but regularly IN
a certain direction, the oil
that circulates through the
pores OF he rock wnl not
tend to accumulate in any par
ticular place, but II the beds
have been disturbed-that IS.
warped into folds or broken
the oil may find a resting
place and form a pool.
1.-The structural form that
Is most favorable to the ac-
emulation OF oil Is an up
warp or bulge, q feature that
Is generally known as an an
ticllne, but if the anticline
has about the same width as
length, 1t 10 generally called
a dome"
So we find that earth pres
sures exerted on the crust
OF the earth canse 1t TO warp
upward and break. Where Il
breaks, we have mountains.
Where Il warpB but does not
break. we have folds or anti
clines.
where the formations Of the
earth are broken, like layer
cake broken and upendyd'
sandstones which are capable
OF absorbing water take In
the rains and melting SHOWS
OF The mountains. over count
less ages. The water seek
ing a lower level, travels
through sandstones toward
the lowlands.
Where the sandstone comes
10 the surface. at a lower le-
vel than the intake, springs
occur. Where there is NO
leakage in the particular
sandstone, however, the wa
ter continues onward perhaps
many miles underneath the
plains beyond the mountains
when oil Is squeezed from
the shales, it tends to accu-
muiate in any open spaces
which may exist in the rocks
below the surface. The most
important open spaces in the
rocks are the pores in sand
stones.
II Is always a surprise to
realize when one looks at a
fragment of sandstone. so hard
and firm that 1t takes a hams
mer TO smash It. that the
omen spaces between the
grains of that sandstone may
amount to Is per cent Of its
bulk.
In other words. that piece
Of sandstone will absorb 2
volume OF oil or water equal
10 Is per cent Of its bulk.
Every boy raised in the
country has turned a grind
stone and has poured water
and sometimes oil onto a
grindstone, only to see Il
suddenly disappear inc the
rock. In like manner, any OIL
that may be distilled from the
shales inside the earth forma-
tions. is asorbed by sand
stones. Water coming from
higher levels, travelling down
ward, picks mp any such oil,