Additional Drilling Research Articles

Petroleum Developments in Middle East and Adjacent Countries in 1952

Petroleum production in the Persian Gulf countries in 1952 reached a new all-time high of 762,400,900 barrels, an average of 2,083,060 barrels per day. This exceeded the 1951 production by 62,172,000 barrels, which was achieved in spite of the loss of Iranian production during the full year except an estimated 10,000,000 barrels of production for local consumption. The production in India, Pakistan, and Burma totaled 4,560,000 barrels in 1952, an increase of 440,000 barrels over 1951. New fields were discovered at Magwa and Ahmadi in Kuwait and a deeper productive zone is being developed in the Dhulian field in West Pakistan. Additional drilling in the Ain Dar and 'Uthmaniya areas in Saudi Arabia showed these features to be parts of one field which is now called Ghawar. The Shedgum productive area is also considered a part of this field. A pipeline outlet was provided for the Ain Zalah field in Iraq and the 30-32-inch line from the Kirkuk field to Banias, Syria, was completed, which provides an additional outlet more in line with the potential of that field. Geological and geophysical work was actively carried out in most of the countries. Exploratory drilling, apart from extending the present productive areas, was most active in Pakistan, Turkey, and India.

Recent Geological Developments in Western Anadarko Basin, Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles

Very little has been written about that part of the Anadarko basin west of the Texas-Oklahoma line other than to mention that it appears to extend some 125 miles westward into the Texas Panhandle. The main reason for this was, of course, the lack of deep well control. During the past 2 years twelve deep (Mississippian or Ellenburger) wildcat tests have been drilled in the Texas Panhandle part of the Anadarko basin. These have served to give some insight into the structure and deposition of this part of the basin. A few questions have been answered and a great many more have been posed which only additional drilling can answer.

Review of Geology of Western Anadarko Basin: Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles: ABSTRACT

Very little has been written about that part of the Anadarko basin west of the Texas-Oklahoma line other than to mention that it appears to extend some 125 miles westward into the Texas Panhandle. The main reason for this was, of course, the lack of deep well control. During the past 2 End_Page 622------------------------------ years eleven deep (Mississippian or Ellenburger) wildcat tests have been drilled in the Texas Panhandle part of the Anadarko basin. These have served to give some insight into what the structure and deposition in this part of the basin is going to be: a few questions have been answered and a great many more have been posed which only additional drilling can answer. End_of_Article - Last_Page 623------------

Geology and Occurrence of Oil in Florida

The eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico basin can be divided into the North and South Florida provinces on the basis of stratigraphy, and subdivided further on the basis of its major structural features. The southeast-striking ridge formed by the Central Georgia, Ocala, and Bahama uplifts is considered to represent the marginal flexure of this part of the Gulf basin. The Apalachicola embayment of south Georgia and west Florida has a maximum sedimentary fill in excess of 15,000 feet of clastic sediments, and the South Florida embayment, which covers the area of south Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the intervening areas, has a maximum fill of non-clastic sediments approaching 20,000 feet, and the area of the Great Bahama Bank is considered to be underlain by a section in ex ess of 10,000 feet. On the basis of present data, anticlines are probably the most prevalent type of structure of both embayments though faulting is undoubtedly present, and conditions are favorable for the formation of stratigraphic traps. Oil production has been developed on the south Florida segment of the embayment, and additional drilling development is under way. Gravity and core drill are the most widely used methods of prospecting; additional experimental work is necessary to develop proper seismograph technique. The Sunniland field of Collier County, Florida, has four producing wells that have produced approximately 100,000 barrels of 19°-24.5° gravity oil. One rig is working in the field, and eight wildcat operations are active in Florida.

General Geology and Occurrence of Oil in Florida: ABSTRACT

The eastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico Basin is divided into provinces on the basis of stratigraphy and subdivided further on the basis of its major structural features. The general area is considered to be a part of the Gulf of Mexico Sedimentary Basin. The Apalachicola Embayment of south Georgia and west Florida has a maximum sedimentary fill of approximately 15,000 feet of clastic sediments, the South Florida Embayment has a maximum fill of non-clastic sediments approaching 20,000 feet, and the area of the Great Bahama Bank is considered to be underlain by a section in excess of 10,000 feet. Anticlines may be the most prevalent type of structure of both embayments, though faulting is probably present, and conditions are favorable for the formation of stratigraphic t aps. Oil production has recently been developed from the Lower Cretaceous on the Florida segment of the South Florida Embayment, and additional drilling development is under way. Gravity and core drill are the most widely used methods of prospecting, and it is indicated that additional experimental work is necessary to develop proper seismograph technique. The Sunniland field, Collier County, Florida, has three producing wells that have produced a total of 80,000 barrels of 20 to 24 degree gravity asphalt-base oil. One rig is working in the field, and eight wildcat operations are active in Florida. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1965------------

Dixie Oil Pool, Caddo Parish, Louisiana

The Dixie oil pool is really a southeast extension of the old Caddo oil field, about 3½ miles from the old producing area and within 10 miles of the city of Shreveport. It was discovered in April, 1929, by the D. C. R. Oil Company (D. C. Richardson). By the end of 1929, thirty-seven producing wells and thirty-two dry holes had been drilled within a 3-mile radius. The wells penetrate the normal section of Eocene and Upper Cretaceous formations. The oil is produced from the basal sand of the Tokio formation, just above the unconformable contact with the Lower Cretaceous upper red beds of the Trinity group. No oil has been produced from the Lower Cretaceous beds in this area. The Dixie pool is on the Sabine uplift, but the local structure is only a terrace on a slight anticlinal nose, with oil accumulation in sand lenses deposited in basins in the Lower Cretaceous surface. The lenticular condition of the sand has caused a large percentage of dry holes. Features of the geologic history of the Dixie area and the older Caddo field, as shown by recent deep drilling and geological investigations, are briefly discussed. In 1929 the Dixie pool produced 588,415 barrels of oil, all of approximately 42° gravity, valued at more than $1,000,000. Future production depends largely on additional drilling; hence, it can not be closely estimated.

Increasing Recovery and Its Economic Effects

The development of present methods has been a gradual outgrowth of extensiveobservation, both scientific and practical, of conditions surrounding theaccumulation and extraction of oilbodies. Until comparatively recently, ourknowledge of many of these factors had hardly gone beyond the experimentalstage. We are now well into the transitional period between the experimentaland practical, and it appears certain that the use of the gas, air, waterdrives, possibly the mining process and improvement of operating equipment havebeen developed to a point where their commercial application on a large scalewill bring satisfactory results, having a wide and lasting effect on the oilindustry throughout the world. Because of its comparative newness and itsappeal to the imagination, the restoration of rock pressures is more in thepublic eye than are many routine production processes and methods that may beof equal or greater aggregate importance and which must be extended and furtherimproved to keep pace with the times. Inasmuch as we are now concerned with thesalvaging of oil in developed pools, no consideration will be given to newproperties. In many of the so-called "hydrostatic" or natural water-drive pools, the existing well spacing is such that it is highly probable that maximumrecoveries, under present methods, are not being obtained. Large quantities ofwater carrying comparatively small amounts of oil, handled with present liftingmethods, bring such limited returns that additional expenditures in new wellsand equipment apparently cannot now be justified from a ledger standpoint. Itis reasonable to suppose that coning has taken place in many wells of thischaracter and particularly so in wells, which may have bottom waterdifficulties. In many cases, the sands may be water-logged. This hasundoubtedly curtailed production in many instances but the measure of the wellsunder these conditions should not be necessarily accepted as a measure of theproductive possibilities of the sands. Many of us can cite specific instancesof profitable late close-drilling in water-flooded areas and also instancesthat might justify additional drilling.