Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-08-22

In a recent decision in United States dis
trict court at Great Falls, involving a drill
ing contract, Judge Charles N. Pray said:
Like gold, oil is where you find it,"
That is a bit out Of line with the theories
of geology but il is in line with a lot Of
thinking. Under the rules Of surface geology,
Cut Bank field should never have been
drilled because there was no structure ap-
parent-merely the west slope Of the Sweet
grass Arch, west Of Kelvin oil field. So It
was that under the Misrepresentation that
there was a structure present-sh0wn by
nice, even contour lines representing an al
legged dOme-a well was drilled. And, con-
trary to the rules, 1t encountered oil and
gaS-nOt much oil, to be sure but enough
oil to indicate that there was oil present
And so the rule, coil is where you find it."
applied pretty well TO Cut Bank because
the spray Of oil in the DrumheIIer- Yunck
discovery well pointed the way to pOten-
tial hundred million barrels Of oil
The rule oddly enough, applied to Pom
dera structure where the discovery well had
some oil and some gas-nOt a commercial
amount Of either. The well was not located
on the "high" All the rules were against
it, excepting the rule stolen from the gold
mining industry: "Oi is where you find it."
If we look back at the discovery well on
Cat Greek, down on the MusseIshelI river,
off the main structure; il we look at the
Campbell discovery well north of Kelvin,
which was so far down structure as to have
definitely condemned the location under the
rules of geology; If we look up and down
the list of important oil discoveries we win
find that Judge Pray's rule has been the
guiding rule in nearly every instance.
In new territory there is no better rule
than to LOOK FOR OIL WHERE 1T HAS
BEEN FOUND.
In other words a showing of oil in any
wildcat well is highly significant The
AMOUNT of oil found Is Of no consequence.
The fact that there is ANY oil present is
evidence that there is MORE oil to be found.
II doesn't have TO come gushing out of the
ground to tell its story. To find an oil field
we must have more than a well checking
high structurally. II must show some OH.
GeOchemistry, geOphysics and geology are
ali helpful in finding the spot where oil
SHOULD be and the chances are twice as
favorable when modern science is employed,
,ut oil still is where you find it."
We have in mind the recently published
composite log of wells drilled through the
Madison lime in northern Montana For
more bfAam ~ years we nave Deeu thinking
n terms Of finding oil in northern Montana
n horizons below the Madison lime contact
the stopping point Of Montana drillers-
We have believed that deeper production
will be found In Montana. We saw the theory
'rOven in Alberta where, in Turner Valley,
riIIing continued down below the afOrbid-
len" contact zone and the great Turner
ALLEY field resulted, without even reaching
he Devonian- Ordovician horizons which
roduce SIXTY PERCENT Of this cOuntry's
etrOleum.
Knowing that In the other great oil states
o percent Of the production comes from
he formations below the "big lime" we
cit confident that some Oil-bearing horizons
vOuld be found in Montana below the "big
me-" which is a name for the Madison
me, of Mississippian age.
Several scattered wells have been drilled
trough the Madison lime in northern Mon
ana and nearly all Of them have had show
lgs Of oil or gas or both. But not until we
aw the composite log of these many wells
i'd we realize the large number Of horizons
caring oil below the top of the Madison.
If oil is where you find it, the only place
, look for it Is BELOW THE MADISON
IAIE CONTACT.
Let us compare the full sections Of for
atiOns in the oil area Of northern Mon