Reservoir Gas and Oil in the Vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio

Abstract

Published in Petroleum Transactions, AIME, Volume 57, 1917, pages 831–842. It is customary to ascribe two general modes of occurrence to natural gas, namely, shale gas which, as the name indicates, is found in shale, and reservoir gas, which occurs in sandstone, conglomerate and dolomitic limestone. Both of these types are found in the Cleveland district. The shale gas has been produced on a small scale for a long period of years, probably dating back as far as 1883. Shale gas is a low-pressure gas, small in volume with variable pressure, and is limited to no definite horizon. It is generally independent of oil, may last for a long time, and is not dependent to any great extent on the structure of the rocks. There are many such wells in the district which range from 400 to 1,840 ft. in depth, although most have been completed at about 800 ft. This indicates that the wells pass through the Cleveland and Chagrin shales into the Huron or Portage shale of the Upper Devonian. During the last 2 years great interest has developed in a deeper-seated reservoir gas. What is commonly called reservoir gas is generally a high-pressure gas occurring in large volume at a definite horizon. Oil may, or may not, be associated with the gas, and in most regions in which reservoir gas is found, the geological structure is of great importance. This type of gas occurs in all large fields such as those of West Virginia which have been supplying Cleveland until the recent discovery of local gas at great depths in commercial amounts. Historical Outline The oldest well producing reservoir gas in the district was drilled in 1886 in Newburg for what was then known as the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co. This well was 3,000 ft. deep, and was thought to have reached the "Clinton" formation. Two "sands" showing small amounts of oil were recorded in the Niagara limestone at depths of 2,658 and 2,686 ft. This is about the horizon of the so-called Newburg sand which has proved to be of some importance as a source of gas and oil by recent drilling operations. The rock pressure was reported to be 400 to 500 lb. per square inch, but since the volume was only 14,000 to 16,000 cu. ft. daily, the well was not only considered unsuccessful but was thought to prove the absence of high- pressure gas in commercial quantities in the Cleveland district. T.P. 056–43