Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 132, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1903 — Some Oil Field Notes. [ARTICLE]

Some Oil Field Notes.

Col. B. J. Gifford, who probab’y owns ten times as much oil bearing land in the Jasper county oil field, as any other one man, estimates that close to a million dollars have beep spent in developing the field, up to this time. It does not appear tliat at the present the cash returns on this great investment are at all commensurate with its magnitude. But there are great things in prospect. The oil producedT there is probably the most valuable crude petroleum produced any plaoe ip the mould, in large quantities. Col. Gifford says tikis oil is worth in its crude Btate $4 or $5 SJtoarrel. The refinery already in operation there finds that the oil yields 50 per cent, of fine asphaltum and the balance high grades of lubricating oil.

Owing to poor management the refinery is not at present running at near its full capacity, because of non delivery of oil. Thus the Federal Oil Company has contracts ed to sell the refining company 300 barrels A day, for two years, but of its 400 wells now finished it is pumping less than 100, and is therefore delivering much less to the refinery than its contract calls for. The reason why the Federal Company is not pumping more seems to be that they have not bunched their wells sufficiently, but have them scattered over such a wide extent of country that they can not be profitably ptftnped to the pipe lines, at present. The nature of the oil also makes it difficult to , handle, by ordinary methods, it being so very thick and heavy. The ordinary two inch . lines will not carry it readily, and are being replaced by three inch pipes. Ordinary packing pumps also make poor headway in pumping it.

Mr. Mudge, of Illinois, head of the Cresent Company, thinks he has the solution of all the difficulty, in a method he is about ready to put in action. He has installed the largest air compressor in the world there, which is operated by a 500 horse power engine. He expects to carry this compressed air in'pipes to the bottom of the wells and to there turn on jets which will blow all the oil and water out as fast as it accumulates. The air will also be used to force the oil through the pipes to the tanks and refineries If his plan works the other companies will also adopt it.