Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-12-30

closing. II was during this period that
the old Montana refineries were modern
lied and their capacities increased: new
plants were built at Cut Bank, Shelby,
PocatellO, Idaho, and Spokane. If all
the refineries now established were work.
ing at rated capacity, there would not be
enough crude TO supply them today. But
when Montana products began making an
impression ON the Inland Empire market,
the California oil interests fought back
and kept Montana oil and refined pro-
ducts out of the market until the very
close of the decade. The long battle,
waged entirely by Independent Montana
operators. came to a successful close
only last week, when new rail rates be-
came effective, after an Rll-year struggle
These refineries were built in nearly
very instance as a result of the cOopera-
tive effort of producers or individual pro-
ducers who put their own money into
the refining business. The "Ione wolves
of the first decade have gone the way OF
the buffalo. Those remaining are the
ones who are today without a market.
The first generation thought nothing
of the morrow. The second generation
suffered as a result but painfully worked
ont its own salvation, but the second
decade did not last long enough to see
iudtUFAtF Oh TIE EFtlkNS Oh NnGtF pains anu
sacrifices. The second generation is
now ready to come into period of profit.
The third decade is likely to be the
age of magic and miracles in the Montana
oil industry. With the year 1910 comes
the beginning OF modern drilling prac-
tees on large scale. Operators now
know that they must make their money
by producing their oil at a minimum of
cost. They will drill wells in Kelvin
SunbUrst field for fourth of the cost
Of the earliest wells of the slap-stick
decade. Their profit will be three times
greater Der dollar of investment in drill
ling. They will recover more oil per
well and per acre through the magic of
modern methods.
Cheaper drilling methods, by use OF
modern portable rotary equipment, are
coming certainly as the dawn of the
New Year. Operators will spend less
time in drilling wen and viii have less
permanent investment, through the saw
ing in casing. They will bring wells into
production with the intelligent guidance
of core of the producing formation,
rather than the guess-work of the present.
They will determine the value OF produc-
ing formations by electrical equipment
which will give an accurate log of the
wells. They will shut off water flows by
modern methods which save oil wells
which would otherwise be lost. They viii
acidixe with definite knowledge of where
the acid Is going to attack the formation.
through improved methods of cores and
the use Of Liquid rock"
Deeper drilling which everyone knows
Is going to open up new and greater
producing formations, is coming with this
new decade as certainly, likewise,
the dawn OF the New Year. We have the
history of other oil producing states to
lead ms to the belief that where one
dollar has been made at the top OF the
lime, ten dollars and possibly one humid
red dollars will be made from the oil
strata below the top OF the lime-possibly
in the Turner Valley horizon and pos
sibIy I'm the Devonian and lower horizons.
This decade viii see, starting with
1910. the steady growth in the output