Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-12-19

the Pacific area, which includes the Pacific
northwest and has demanded that the gov
eminent take time to look ahead, plan and
carry out program that viii arrive in time
to serve the military
AS compared with the national picture,
the Montana part in this program is small.
but its geographical position with regard to
the Pacific northwest and the markets that
are most difficult to supply, magnifies its
importance.
The national picture was described by
A. I. Levorson, geoIogist appearing before
the Senate subcommittee which studied the
oil industry. He gave these facts:
Total of all discoveries made since the
beginning Of the oil business in 1860 has
been about As billion barrels. OF this Is
billion barrels have been produced and con-
sumed and the reserve remaining is 20 bill
lion barrels. Projected into the future, at
the same rates of expansion, by 1920
years hence-there will have to be % billion
barrels added to discoveries, of which II
billion viii have been produced and the
other five billion should be added to re-
serve. In 1862, 20 years hence, cumulative
discovery should be some 80 billion barrels,
of which so to IS billion will have been pro-
duced and consumed leaving 25 to 80 bill
lion in reserve. Thus said Mr. Levorsen,
in the next 90 years. 'if we are to maintain
the same rate Of increase in supply and de-
mand and the same ratio of reserve to an
nual consumption as has prevailed during
the past 20 years. it will be necessary to
add-by discovery or some new unknown
method-oil on the order of As billion bar
relse This is equal to the total amount found
by all methods during the past 80 years"
Can this discovery requirement be metz
Mr. Levorsen asserted that consideration
of all known geological factors leads to the
conclusion that there is much" oil yet to
be found. It cannot be estimated. The two
groups or types of areas favorable to the
discovery of petroleum reserves are the IN
discovered reserves in the areas of current
development and production and the par
tally explored regions fringing the areas
of current development The first class
the bulk of current discoveries
and sis considered as the most available of
the (undiscovered) reserve for the i'm
mediate future The other class-reIatively
unexplored (example the Anadarko Basin,
of Oklahoma and portions of Kansas, Colo
RADIO and Texas; plains region of the
Dakotas, Nebraska, parts of Montana and
Wyoming; numerous basins of the
Rocky mountain area; southeastern U. So
contains, said Mr.. Levorsen, much "big
geology" enormous sedimentary formations
Geological concepts have been expanded
greatly in recent years, MIR. Levorsen said
The expansion has been in the direction of
adding to the possibilities of discovery More
S known. But discovery is the product of
both the knowledge of probable places to
explore and the actual exploration with the
irill"
Accordingly, Montana and the other Rocky
mountain states may have far greater part
n the future picture of the oil industry than
my of us now recognize.
AS investors we believe that Montana
ffers greater opportunities than any other
il producing state, both as to its immediate
Possibilities as a contributor to the war ef-
ort and as to the future Fortunate is the
nan who owns oil lands or oil royalties in
Iontana, for the greatest events in the pc
roleum history of this state are in the
utJre rather than in the past.
Persons interested in the purchase of
otential oil lands or oil royalties are in
tied to join our organization which has
cen in successful operation for more than
D years dollar membership will bring
laps, reports and current publications to-
ether with offering sheets, when requested.