Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-08-13

tions to supply them until today there
are more than 100000 filling stations in
the United States and more than 400
refineries in 33 states, producing from
crude petroleum not only gasoline but
hundreds of other products
There are more than 100000 oil wells
in % states to keep the refineries sup
piled with oil. Some of these wells go
down more than two miles and produce
thousands of barrels per day.
In the old Pennsylvania days oil was
found by guesswork The early pros
pector for oil was called a "wildcatter"
who took his courage in his hands and
drilled a well with nothing but "hunch"
to guide him The East Texas field,
which is the largest in the world, was
discovered in 1880 by a wildcatter.
One Of the earliest methods of pros
pecting for oil, other than the knowledge
of the wildcatter was by using a diyining
rod called a doodle bug" The doodle
bug was a hazel bough or a peach twig
which was supposed to point to the
ground when carried over the spot under
which oil was present.
Guesswork has given way to science
since then. 1t costs thousands of dol
lars to complete a modern oil well and
the producer must have all the knowledge
that science can give him before he starts
to drill. Today, the geologist and the
physicist the chemist, the paleontologist,
the mathematician the aviator and the
photographer contribute their knowledge
as to the best location for the well.
The drilling methods used today are
very different, too from those of Colonel
brakes time He used an iron bit
which was driven through the rock 10y
a steam engine and made about three
feet of hole a day. For modern drill
ling, the industry has developed a new
method. The drill rotates rather than
pounds its way through earth and rock
The difference may be compared to bor-
ing a hole in a piece of wood with
brace and bit instead of pounding a hole
into it with a nail and hammer The
modern method is called rotary drill
ling the older method "cable tool
drilling.
The metallurgist, the physicist, the
geoIogist. various branches of engineering
all have contributed to the progress of
drilling. There are regions where oil is
believed to lie in enormous quantities
10000 to 10000 feet down with opinions
differing only as to when it will zoe pos
sible to drill those four to six miles into
the earth
The United States leads the world in
oil production. Between 1857, the date
production was first recorded, and 1886,
the United States produced ga per cent of
the worlds oil. Every piece of machin-
cry that runs today depends upon lubri-
eating oil.
Scientific methods 70 refining are de-
veloping new products to meet changing
needs and making old products suitable
for more effective use. billion barrels
of oil is being saved every year by the
Cracking" process alone. Twalve mil
lion dollars is spent by the industry every
year to find even better ways Of pro-
ducing these products. The science of
kaaA 10
best plant becomes out of date within
five years. These plants run contin-
uously and refine as much as 10000
barrels of crude oil every day.
The swift progress of this tremendous
industry in the last 20 years has made
it possible to buy gasoline for less than
half the price which citizens of other
countries are forced to pay. The billions
of dollars in federal, state and local taxes
levied upon gasoline have helped to build
the highways of America
million people are employed in
the petroleum industry and their earn
ings are close to one billion five hundred
million dollars every year. Oil has
brought 23 billion dollars worth Of bust
ness to % states and it accounts for 26
per cent of all the mineral wealth pro-
duced every year in the United States.
Each year, thousands of Americans
visit the monument in Titusville erected
10 the memory OF ola COLONEL Drake.
And we'll they may do so for Drake, the
pioneer driller for oil, opened the way
for great happiness and ever increasing
progress around the world.
ROE poOls-that can be found only with
HE BIG LIME. Deep drilling offers the
Montana has known. Those persons who
tiles of the situation and who know how
make tremendous personal fortunes from
hat is the history of other oil producing
ing has suddenly developed unprecedented
garsIing the progress of such Development
led members of this organization i'm our
No royalty investor can afford 90 be
I've bulletins.