Exploratory Drilling in 1959

Abstract

This report, the fifteenth based on data gathered by the Committee on Statistics of Exploratory Drilling, is the twenty-fourth annual summary on the subject published in the Bulletin. Frederic H. Lahee prepared this statistical analysis and wrote the annual article for twenty consecutive years. Graham B. Moody prepared the report for exploratory drilling for 1956. This is the third report for the present chairman. During 1959, 13,191 exploratory holes were drilled in the United States. Of these 7,031 were new-field wildcats, 3,355 were new-pool tests (including new-pool wildcats, deeper-pool tests, and shallower-pool tests) and 2,805 were outposts. Among the new-field wildcats, 772 were successful, among the new-pool tests 941 were successful, and among the outposts 901 were successful. The total exploratory footage drilled in the United States in 1959 was 63,252,521 feet in the 13,191 holes, or 4,800 feet per hole. These figures compare with 61,483,911 feet drilled in 13,199 exploratory holes, with average depth of 4,661 feet in 1958. For the first time we are presenting data on natural gas reserves in the 17 States Area by years, for discoveries having six years or more of development history. For the twelfth time, we are presenting data on Canada and Mexico.