Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-09-20
WE WILL CHOOSE MONTANA

" AANii w +AeAFN OPPOA NAAA4Al ~ Vii
pare Montana's oil and gas resources
with those of other states, barring AL
berta, we are inclined to say Wen
take Montana"
Opportunity for comparison IS af-
forded by the recently issued indie
pendent Petroleum Association publica-
ton The Oil Industry in Your State,
copies of which can be obtained from
the IP.A.A. at 704 Thompson Building,
Tulsa, Okla
This publication gives tabulated data
on each oil producing state. providing
quick reference. 1t is intended to show
that the oil industry is able to care for
all the requirements of the nation in
times of war or times of peace, saying:
The defense of a nation and the con-
duct of war are based upon the assur-
ance of supply of gasoline, lubricants,
fuel oil for ships, special hydrocarbOn
fuels for tanks, tractors and trucks.
Scientific research conducted BY the pc
troleum industry has brought other
products. Tires for automobiles are &C
tually being made from petroleum and
this substitute for natural rubber will
be produced in increasing quantity. To-
luene, the 1T" of TINT, is being made
in several petroleum refineries, These
are two of a number of products of
fairly recent development. The list of
products which are being made and
which can be made from crude petrole-
um and from natural gas is too long
to permit discussion in this brief space"
AT the start of the year the known
fields of the United States contained
an unproduced reserve estimated at ap-
proximately 20 billion barrels This is
the greatest reserve in history. But it
must be replenished New fields must
be found The system of land titles in
the states and the freedom of oppor-
tunity to explore for new fields have
enabled the petroleum industry to keep
ahead of consumer requirements. All
reasonable legal and economic encour-
agement to the discovery of new fields
will enable the industry to maintain
adequate reserves over many years. In
such encouragement there must be in
cluded that of adequate price for the
oil that is found Yearly, as new depths
are explored and all forms of cost in
creases, labor and material-the price
of discovery goes up. An authority has
recently studied the cost of finding new
fields in Texas and has asserted that
today's cost is more than four times
as great as it was 10 years ago"
In this factor, we in Montana are
fortunate. 1t is true that Carter Oil
company is drilling l00OO-foot test in
Eastern Montana but for every struc-
ture in Montana requiring 1O,O00-foot
drilling there are 10 equally good struc-
lures on which the Devonian will be
tested under 5000 feet-a depth to
which no prospectors now drill. There
are fully 100 we'll defined structures
in central and northern Montana where
less than 5000 feet of drilling will test
all probable producing horizons
In the tabulation the drilling depths
in Montana are given from 700 to ooOO
feet but the fact is that no commercial
production has ever been marketed from
a depth of $500 feet Out of the $llO,-
100000 worth of oil and gas thus tar
produced in Montana, $lO8OOO,OOO
worth has come from wells averaging
1000 feet in depth There still remain
many shallow fields to be developed
in Montana whereas most other oil