Jasper County Democrat, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1902 — TWO DISTINCT FORMATIONS. [ARTICLE]

TWO DISTINCT FORMATIONS.

In Indiana crude petroleum occurs In commercial quantities In two distinct geological formations—ln the lower rocks of the Silurian system, known as the ”Trenton limestone,” and In the lower formation of the devonian system, known as the '‘cornlferous formation.” The principal 011-bearlng formation Is the Trenton limestone This formation underlies the whole state, but on account of Its dip It has not yet been penetrated by the drill In the western part of Indiana, while in the northeastern part It Is only reached at great depth on account of the thick mantle of glacial drift material overlaying the country rock. The Trenton rock does not outcrop In any part of the state, but near Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county. It Is found within 350 feet of the surface. • West of this, near Balem, It li found at a depth of 1.350 feet, and farther west, at Loogootee, in Martin county, a well drilled 1.680 feet did not reach Trenton rock. In th# main producing field the Trenton Is reached at an average depth Of 1,000 feet. The principal producing oil field In Indiana extends from the Ohlo-Indlana state line westward to Marlon, Grant county, and from Warren. Huntington county, south to Hartford City, Blackford county. The greatest length Is fifty miles and extreme width thirty miles. This field embraces the townships In the extreme southern tier of Adams, w-” and Huntington counties, and the nortnern tier of townships of Jay and Blackford counttea, and the four northeastern townships of Grant county, with Isolated pools In the adjoining townships. Outside of the main oil field Isolated pools In the Trenton formation have been developed and exploited at Peru, Miami county, Kellar. Wabash county, at Broad Ripple, north of Indianapolis, at Fisher Station, Hamilton county, at Parker. Randolph county, and In the main gas belt at Alexandria. Madison county. Development In the latter field has been checked by the enforcement of legislation prohibiting the opening of oil wells In producing gas regions While It Is true that Trenton rock underlies the whole state at various depths It Is only where porous strata exist that the rock is petroleum bearing. Comlferou* Oil Field.

This formation occurs only In the western half of Indiana where It Is represented either by sand stone ten to twenty feet In thickness or 'by limestone five to seventy feet thick, and In some places by both sandstone and limestone. The sand and limestone formations are overlaid by black or brown New Albany shale; so named on account of their outcropping on the Ohio river near New Albany. Ind. This shale Is from 100 to 200 feet thick. It Is very rich In bitumen and attempts have been made at New Albany to utilise thla shale as fuel. Experiments by the New Albany gas works showed that whereas It required five pounds of Pittsburg coal to produce ICS gallons of gas It required five pounds of New Albany shale to produce the same quantity. But the New Albany shale gas had twentytwo candle power to eighteen for the Pittsburg coal gas. Experiments by distillation of the shales In other parts of the state have produced from 7 per cent, to 12 per cent, crude oil. The distillation of shales in Scotland and .Germany Is an important Industry. The Scotch output of mineral oil amounted to 60.000.000 gallohs last year which was refined Into naphtha, burning oil, gas oil, medium oil, lubricating oil, and paraffine. As a valuable by-product 25,000 tons sulphate of ammonia was also produced which Is used In making commercial fertilizer. It Is from the oil and gas which nature has separated from these bituminous shales that the cornlferous rocks became charged wherever porous. Some of these porous places or reservoirs have been struck by oil drillers nearly all along the cornlferous belt from the Ohio river to Lake Michigan. But so far, this formation has firoduced oil In paying quantities only at Terre Haute, near Loogootee and In Jasper county, near Medaryvllle. The cornlferous field, however, has not received much attention from oil operators for the reason that the Trenton field affords surer and more remunerative Inducements. At Terre Haute the Phoenix well was struck In 1880 and ever since it has averaged 1,000 barrels per month. The oil Is found In the cornlferous limestone tnere at a depth of 1,630 feet. This la the best oil well In Indiana. None In

the Trenton rock has come near equaling It as a steady producer. The Loogootee wells show both oil and gas at a depth of 47* feet Boms of these wells yield twenty barrels per day. The total production last year In that field, however, was only 8,000 barrels. The Jasper county field Is of more recent development and has been confined chiefly on a lease of 35.000 acres, which was sold together with nineteen wells last year to an English syndicate for *150,000. This company has since added 100 producing wells. The yield per well Is smalt but as the oil stratum Is struck at 100 feet and the cost of pumping Is low and tho lubricating quality of the oil Is excellent, two-barrel wells are paying big. profits. As high as |lO per barrel ha* been obtained for this oil as a lubricant but the average price Is *5. The outcrop of the New Albany shale extends from tlie Ohio river, near New Albany, In A northeast direction through Floyd, Clark, Scott, Jefferson and Jennings counties, thence In a northwesterly direction through Bartholomew. Johnson, Marion. Boone, Clinton. Carroll and White counties. Production In 1900. From 1891 to 1901 8,534 wells were completed in the Trenton limestone oil field, and on Jan. 1, 1901, 5,480 wells were producing, showing 8,054 dry wells. Fourteen per cent, of the oil wells drilled In 1900 proved dry or barren. The total production of the Indiana fields In 1900 was 6,096,765 barrels, of which 184,090 barrels came from the cornlferous field, 8,000 barrels from Loogootee, IXO9O barrels from the Phoenix well at Terre Haute, and 164000 barrels from tho Jasper county field. In the Trenton rock outside of the main field Peru produced 237,288 barrel#, Alexandria 69,894 and Broad Ripple 30.194 barrels. The average price In the Trenton field was 96V4 cents per barrel. From 1891 to 1901 the average prices of petroleum In the Trenton fields per barrel were as follows: 189 L 40 cents; 1892, *7 cents; 1893, 45 cents, 1894 48 cents; 1896, 64 cents; 1896. 63 cents; 1397. 43 cents; 1888, 69 2-6 cents; 1889. 87% cents; 1900, 96H cents.