THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE State Oil and Gas Supervisor FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1917-1918 Covering Operations of the Department of Petroleum and TABLE OF CONTENTS. General statement of departmental work. Spacing of wells. Results obtained by certain companies in shutting off water. Statistics of oil production. Oil production June, 1918. Proved oil land and degree of development. Collection of funds by assess- ment. Financial statement. Plats of proved oil land. Details of departmental work in various counties. Transcript of public discussion of use of mud fluid in oil well operations. Special paper on process for reducing viscosity of heavy oil. Comparison of various methods for excluding water from oil wells in California. Methods of drilling compared. Cement and formation shut-off compared. Cementing methods compared. Factors of results of test for water shut-off. Details of various sources of fluid entering a well at time of test. Tabulated results of tests for water shut-off during fiscal year. Progress chart for comparison of a group of drilling wells LOS ANGELES and ORANGE counties. General statement, names of fields and geology. Summary of water conditions. Graphic logs, peg-models and cross-sections. Method of operations. Legal action. Details of development in following fields: Coyote Hills, Olinda, Brea Cañon, Puente, Whittier, Montebello, Salt Lake, Newhall and miscel- laneous fields. Special report on Murphy-Whittier property of Standard Oil Company. Formal Order No. 16, Petroleum Midway Co., Ltd. List of Decisions. VENTURA COUNTY. General statement and names of fields. Early history of opera- tions in Ventura County. Details of development and water conditions in following fields: Bardsdale, Sespe, South Mountain, Santa Paula, Ojai, Ventura, "wildcat" wells SANTA BARBARA, SAN LUIS OBISPO, MONTEREY and SANTA CLARA counties. General statement and summary of development. Details of development and water conditions in following fields: Arroyo Grande, Casmalia, Cat Canyon, Lompoc, Santa Maria and Sargent. Chemical analyses of water, Casmalia field. Subsurface contour map, Casmalia field. Special report on Doheny-Pacific and Associated Oil Companies prop- KERN, TULARE and INYO counties. General statement of work of department in following fields: Devils Den, Lost Hills-Belridge, Midway-Sunset and Kern River. Formal Order No. 5, Union Oil Company of California, International Well No. 7. FRESNO and other counties. Summary of operations in Coalinga field. Illustrations LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND FIGURES Fig. Page 1 Decrease in production due to close drilling. 11 2 3 Diagram showing oil and water produced by certain operators. 23 79 10 11 12 13 Map of Murphy-Whittier property-average daily amounts of water-- 240 241 242 262 16 Ideal log of oil formations of Maricopa flat_ 17 Map showing wells producing from Zone "A," Maricopa flat__ Table showing chemical analyses oil well waters of Casmalia field. 368 423 424 425 427 429 431 432 433 434 435 25 26 27 28 Graphic log and abstract of History of Union Oil Co. (Jergins) well No. 1 436 437 442 444 December 1, 1918. To His Excellency, the HONORABLE WILLIAM D. STEPHENS, Governor of California. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith Bulletin No. 84 of the State Mining Bureau, being the Third Annual Report of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor. The law providing for the protection of California oil deposits against water and other damage following improper development methods is an outgrowth of local conditions, and had little or no precedent to follow. The underlying motive is to gather and arrange facts as to underground conditions and supervise oil field operations, as far as possible, in an advisory manner. Previous to the enactment of this law, but scant attention had been given to the gathering and comparing of facts, and operations were largely conducted upon theories as to underground conditions. As the theories were usually advanced by men of long experience, the ordinary usage assumed the misnomer of "practical methods." Very gratifying results have followed three years of educational work, during which time both the department and the oil operators have advanced in knowledge of natural laws governing underground conditions. As was to be expected in such work, a few operators have not readily adopted suggested changes in operations, and some do not yet realize their responsibility in protecting the oil fields, in which the public is vitally interested. Some changes in the law, therefore, will be necessary in order to make it thoroughly effective. Such changes will not affect individuals or corporations who are more interested in the spirit rather than the letter of the law. Respectfully submitted. FLETCHER HAMILTON, MR. FLETCHER HAMILTON, State Mineralogist. SIR: In transmitting the Third Annual Report of the work of the Department of Petroleum and Gas, I believe it may be well to call attention to the fact that the usefulness of the department to the public requires absolute impartiality in dealing with the various producers, both large and small. It is a pleasure to record that the department has been given a free hand to discharge its duty. Respectfully submitted. R. P. MCLAUGHLIN, State Oil and Gas Supervisor. |