Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-03-02
Are Refining Investments Safe?

Recently Montana refiner,
with heavy investment in this
state, made this statement
Development of new crude re-
serves is essential to the safety of
the present investment in refineries
now utilizing Montana crude OIL
BY that we understand that the only
way the total investment in the twenty
two Observation-Disclosures many millions
of doIlars-can be armOrtized is through
continued operations over a period of
years; furthermore, that If additional Oil
land is not discovered, there may be some
question as to the security of refinery
investments in years to come. In other
words, IL no extensions to present fields
and no new fields are discovered, then
there may be some danger that there
viii not be enough low-price oil to con-
tinue profitable refinery operations I'm
years to come.
Recently we pointed out that since
the discovery of the last new oil field in
Montana, some 34,OOO,O0O barrels of re-
serves have been drained, with no new
discoveries to offset them. The fact is
that important extensions in Kevin-Sun-
burst field, particularly have helped off
set this drainage. These extensions have
resulted absolutely from the science of
acidizatiOn. Without acidization it is
improbable that either the Rimrock pool
or the Rocky Ridge pool would ever
have been discovered
('Developed" is perhaps the better
word because both pools were discovered
a decade before acidization. IL merely
required the cleverness to recognize the
discovery
Last week well was put I'm produc-
ton in the Rocky Ridge pool that showed
an initial swab test of $50 barrels per
day and then pumped 40 barrels per
day IN NATURAL PROFESSIONALISM
out acidiZatiOn. Shortly before that an
SO-barrel well IN NATURAL PRODUC-
TION was completed i'm the high gravity
pool to the south, known as the Rim
rock pool. Before that large FLOW
ING well in the Kelvin pool. These wells
prove that there are important reserves
remaining in Kevin-Sumburst field, since
they are at widely separated locations.
However, it is improbable that any OF
these wells would have been drilled
EXCEPT FOR THE OPERATORS FAITH
IN ACID
Those wells show definitely that
the TANKS of Kevin-Sunburst field
will provide additional reserves to
safeguard the refinery Investment.
So important is this factor that we
are led TO ask: WHY WILDCAT?
Why go out into new districts and drill
for new oil reserves when It Is possible
TO find pools of the Importance of the
Rimrock pOOl-which in itself is q val
liable oil field, irrespective of any other
production in Kevin-Sunburst. Call this
the Rimrock oil field and forget the rest
Of kevin-Sunburst 1t has a proven area
of 5000 acres. 1t produces 8S gravity
oil at an average depth Of 1880 feet.
Since the advent of acidfzation, 43
wells have been drilled I'm the pool or
field. Ten have been dry or non-com-
merGial. The thirty-thrse producers
have ranged from five barrels to 500
barrels per day with one well which had
an initial Of 800 barrels per day. All
but three or four of these wells had TO
be acidized. In natural production prob
ably 81 of them would never have been
put ON the pump. With acid they are
highly profitable