Developments in North and West-Central Texas in 1947

Abstract

The North and West-Central Texas district reported 144 discoveries during 1947, including 50 new-field wildcats, 39 new-pool wildcats, 25 extensions, 24 deeper pool tests, and 6 shallower pay tests. This is comparable with a total of 102 discoveries reported during the preceding year. In 1947, 2,979 wells were drilled, of which 835 were classified as exploratory. This is comparable with a total of 3,007 wells drilled during 1946, of which 653 were exploratory. A total of 62,127,399 barrels of oil were produced in the district during 1947, as compared with a total of 57,840,000 barrels for 1946. This is an increase of 4,287,399 barrels. Wichita County continued as leading producer, although its production dropped to 10,894,984 barrels in 1947 from a total of 11,946,000 barrels in 1946. The more important discoveries and developments of 1947 were: (1) continued discovery of new Caddo and Mississippian fields in Throckmorton and southern Young counties by subsurface geology and the seismograph, (2) the Acme or Mobley field in west-central Clay County, (3) the Bryant-Simpson field and Joy field extensions in Clay County, (4) the North Chalk Hills field in central Archer County, (5) the Lewis-Stuart field in Montague County, (6) the Standard of Texas' Covey-Bates No. 1 Strawn discovery in Grayson County, (7) the Cities Service's B. O. Manning No. 1 in northeastern Wise County, (8) Ellenburger fields in Callahan County, (9) the Round Top field in northeastern Fisher County, (10) Cisco production in Jones and Taylor counties, (11) renewed activity in the Bolivar field are in northwestern Denton County, (12) The Texas Company's Benson No. 1 and Continental's Gronow No. 1 Strawn discoveries in Montague County. The 144 discoveries and extensions were as follows: 2 from the Permian, 25 from the Cisco, 8 from the Canyon, 69 from the Strawn, 16 from the Bend, 13 from the Mississippian, and 11 from the Ordovician. The most successful exploratory methods in this district continued to be subsurface and the seismograph, or the combined use of these two methods.