Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-06-24
Our Chickens Come Home To Roost

sand (they call 1t Baskoo in some re-
gions) we KNOW that the old shore line
somehow swings around north of the
Sweetgrass Hills. With clues of that
kind, an intelligent investor can reason
out his own plan Of royalty purchases,
especially If he has the chance to share
the views of several hundred other stu
dents of the subject.
And while we are turning our attention
northward we wish to point out to those
who did not get our current publication
last week this interesting fact:
North Cut Bank is the only field in
Montana in which commercial production
is established in THREE horizons Other
fields have one and two but only North
Cut Bank has THREE. as follows:
MOULTON SAND with both oil and
gas production including the largest
oil well in the State of Montana and
the two largest gas wells in the
State of Montana.
SUNBURsT SAND with only one pro-
ducing oil well thus far but long
list OF producers in the nearby Bor-
der field in which sand conditions
are identical The only trouble Is
that the Sunburst sand in the Border
field is called "vanalta sand"
CUT BANK SAND, with one producing
well, the discovery well.
Furthermore, the main Cut Bank field
has but little structural variation save
a regional dip to the west. The North
Cut Bank area is SHARPLY FOLDED.
It has more well defined traps to con-
tain oil and gas than any other area
of which we know in the Sweetgrass
Arch OF these several folds only
two have been adequately tested ond they
develop the Border pool and the OAR
ling pool.
And still Furthermore, this is the only
area where we know there is hydro
static table-water pressure-holding the
oil up in the structure. The only excep-
ton is the Moulton sand in which no
water has been found. The Sunburst sand
and Cut Bank sand carry water in North
Cut Bank in points STRUCTURALLY
LOW-as should be- In the producing
contours of the main Cut Bank field,
wells drilled through both Sunburst and
Cut Bank sand show no water, showing
that the hydrostatic table has receded.
Here again is food for thought. The
intelligent investor who will LOOK
AHEAD can see his way clear to make
a fortune from some careful investments
made before further developments in
North Cut Bank close the doors to low
price royalty purchases.
This last week we handled a royalty
we believe to be in the path of coming
production, in an advantageous struc-
ttiraI location, that cost us only 81 per
cent per acre. That means that produc-
ton of 500 worth of oil or gas per acre
will pay out the cost and each $1OO
yield per acre in the future will pay
1907 profit. That means that II the
tract produces barely enough to pay the
cost of wells, it will pay the royalty own
err $50 for each 81 invested. II 1t pays
the operator the cost of his wells plus
a normal profit of TWICE his invest
ment, it will pay the royalty owner $50
for each 81 invested.
THAT is the type of investment that
will make fortunes a few years hence.
1t Is the sort of investment that can be
had only IN ADVANCE OF THE DRILL
II is the type of investment that may
yield nothing; It may miss the trend
entirely, in which case the investor will
lose but the loss will be so small, COM
paratively, that just one other moderately
successful investment will more than
offset the loss.
With many royalties of this type in
a field as promising as these North
Montana areas, 1T is quite easy to con-
ceive that "some of the chickens will
come home to roost.'