Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-09-09

Devonian and in the lower part of the
Madison lime in Alberta to the north.
1t takes little deduction to conclude
that WHEN 1T is DRILLED, the Devon
ian and lower horizons will be the great
oil sources of Montana, and especially in
the Sweetgrass Arch where drilling is
shallowest.
1t is an interesting fact that the Unit
ed States Geological Survey in its latest
map shows a photographic column of
Kevin-Sunburst and includes in the
column the Devonian formation. 1t
shows a section of from 785 to 1860
feet of Madison limestone, with gray
and dark gray limestone and dark gray
shale in alternating beds" at the base.
Below that is given the Devonion, with
800 feet of Upper Devonian, divided in
to the Three Forks shale, gray calcar-
eous sandstone at the top followed by
gray to black calcareous shale and then
white to pinkish anhydrite with laminae
of black calcareous shales. The lower
half of $40 feet is shown to be brown,
granular, magnetism limestone with sozhe
anhydrite. The data is based on the log
of the Hiland-Van Dazzle well, south of
Kelvin field, near Conrad and that well
was reported to have had showings of oil
in the Devonian and when it stopped
drilling was still in the Devonian.
Midcontinent operator visited a well
drilled at Pendroy recently. He saw the
crew bailing out oil and when he left
it looked as though it might be a pro-
Queer However it was abandoned. 1t
was producing from the slow" side of q
fault proven by two wells to have a
displacement of more than 500 feet.
Hearing of the abandonment, he wrote
back to Montana:
II am astonished to learn of the
Abandonment of this well, which merely
served to prove the presence of a struc-
tural condition and the presence of oil
in the structure. Here in Oklahoma
we would not think of quitting until we
had gone on through the big lime and
into the Devonian from which this oil is
undoubtedly migrating. The fault APP
parently serves as a pretty good seal
combining the accumulated oil in the
lower formations. The sticky shales of
the Kootenai doubtless serve as an eff
fective seal against upward migration
of oil, which is to me a highly favorable
situation.
II am of the opinion that when the
refners need the oil, you are going to
have a drilling campaign similar to that
in Illinois, although / hope it will be
more orderly. The point is that / be-
Iieve that you have yet to drill to the
principal oil producing horizons"
To operators this means little because
there are few who are able to drill
through the Madison lime It requires
different drilling equipment than is now
used and initial wells will prove expen-
sive. But 1t is apparent that when this
oil is NEEDED there is adequate capt.
tai to drill for it, Just as there is avail
able capital to drill 10,O00-foot wells in
To the royalty investors. however,
this means something. The investor
who buys a royalty in any of the DE-
FINED structures of Montana and par
ticulary in the Sweetgrass Arch, has the
assurance in his own mind that the oil
found in the formations ABOVE the
lime is JUST THE BEGINNING and that
as in the Midcontinent, in Illinois, in
Turner Valley and elsewhere the great
est reward will come when the forma-
tons BELOW the Madison lime are
tested.
It is the business of this organization
to keep its members informed on pend
ing developments. We are closely in
touch with deep-test possibilities in
Kevin-Sunburst and elsewhere. Those
who wish to follow this information NAV
secure it through membership in this
organization.