Developments in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico in 1948

Abstract

There were 3,839 tests drilled in 1948 in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. This is 982 more wells, or an increase of 29 per cent over 1947. In all, 469 exploratory tests were drilled, of which 131 were producers, a success of 27.9 per cent. Fifty-six new fields and thirty-six new pools were discovered. For the new fields discovered, the credit is about equally divided between subsurface geology and seismic control. During 1948, in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico, seismic activity totaled 3,612 crew weeks, gravity work 614, and magnetic 138. Seismic concentration on the Central Basin platform was in Andrews and Gaines counties, Texas, and Lea County, New Mexico, but strong interest is being shown in the southern Midland basin in Crockett, Reagan, and Upton counties and on the Eastern platform, especially in Scurry, Coke, and Tom Green counties. An important aspect of the 1948 development is the apparent beginning of a shift in interest away from the Central Basin platform. Important discoveries such as Vealmoor, Green, and Bronte, together with several minor discoveries, indicate a large area on the east flank of the Midland basin and on the Eastern platform in which prolific reef production may be expected from the Pennsylvanian. The Crossroads field extends the area of Devonian production 35 miles north and opens a new province of possible pre-Permian production.