OIL PROSPEC'rING IN THE GULF COAST COUNTRY 435 Principles and Problems of Oil Prospecting in the Gulf Coast Country BY W. G. MATTESON, * E. M., MET. E., HOUSTON, TEX. Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/TRANS/article-pdf/59/01/435/2177032/spe-918435-g.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 (New York Meeting, February, 1918) I. Introduction ....................................................... 436 (a) Extent of the Gulf Coastal Plain. (b) History of Important Gulf Coast Oil Pools. 1. Corsicana, Tex. 2. Spindletop, Tex. 3. Sour Lake, Tex. 4. Jennings; La. 5. Saratoga, Tex. 6. Batson, Tex. 7. Humble, Tex. 8. Caddo, La. 9. Vinton, La. 10. N aborton, La. 11. Red River, La. 12. Edgerly, La. 13. Goose Creek, Tex. 14. Damon Mound, Tex. 15. New Theria, La. (c) Favorable Features of the Gulf Coast Pools. II. General Topography and Physiography of the Gulf Coastal Plain. .. 440 III. General Stratigraphy of the Gulf Coastal Plain West of the 90th Meridian .............................•........................ 441 IV. Structural Types and their Characteristics......................... 446 (a) Anticlinal Structure. (b) Structure of Salt Domes. 1. Domes of the Coast Prairie. 2. Domes of the Wold Region. 3. Recapitulation of Dome Structural Characteristics. V. Methods of Surveying and Prospecting ............................. 454 VI. The Development of Salt Domes .............. , .-. ; ............... , 458 VII. Origin of Salt Domes .......•....... of. , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 461 (a) The Volcanic-plug Theory of Hager. (b) The Contemporaneous Sedimentation Theory of Norton. (c) The Theory of Upward Pressure Exerted by the Force of Growing . Crystals, as Developed by Harris. VIII. Source of the Oil in the Gulf Coastal Pools.. .. 465 IX. Petrolific Value of the Salt Domes of the Wold Region .............. 467 -·X. Future Outlook ...... '............................................ 467 * Petroleum Ge()logist and Mining Engineer, Th() Texas Co. 436 OIL PROSPECTING IN THE GULF COAST COUNTRY 1. INTRODUCTION (a) Extent of the Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal plain of the southern United States is that area bordering for a large part the Gulf of Mexico and extending inland and northward to the main interior highland region. It is more or less V-shaped and includes the States of Florida, extreme southern Alabama, all of Mississippi and Louisiana, the eastern and southern half of Arkansas,Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/TRANS/article-pdf/59/01/435/2177032/spe-918435-g.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 and the eastern, southeastern, and southern portions of Texas. While the contents of this paper apply to the Gulf Coastal plain in general, they are intended to refer more specifically to that portion of the plain included between the 90th and 97th meridians, and the 29th and 33d parallels, an area that may be described geographically as comprising western Mississippi, all of Louisiana, part of eastern and all of south­ eastern Texas. It is within this area that numerous and prolific oil pools have been developed during the last 17 years. (b) History of the Important Gu(f Coast Oil Pools Oil in commercial quantities was first found in the Gulf States at , Corsicana, Tex., when, in 1896, a well was drilled into a sand, at 1030 ft. (313.9 m.) and came in at 22 bbl. daily production. Forty-seven wells followed quickly thereafter, so that in 1897 this small pool had a yearly production of 60,000 barrels. Attention was first drawn to the Gulf Coastal region as a prolific source of petroleum, when, on Jan. 10, 1901, after several previous unsuccessful attempts by other operators, Captain A. F. Lucas brought , in Lucas No.1 at Spindletop, Tex., with an estimated initial flow of 40,000 to 75,000 bbl. daily, from a sand at 1120 to 1139 ft. (341 to 347 m.). Although the productive area of this pool covers only 250 acres (101 ha.), it has yielded approximately 45,000,000 bbl. of petroleum. l The Lucas well was epochal in that it demonstrated beyond question the possibilities of the so-called salt domes as favorable reservoirsfor the accumulation of oil. Although the value of the professional petroleum geologist in locating favorable drilling territory had not been recognized at that time, operators with a keen sense of judgment and practical turn of mind began an active investigation for salt domes. Several, which had been recognized for some time, were leased and an active drilling campaign instituted. Previous to the Lucas discovery, Savage Brothers attempted to develop the Sour Lake field, where several shallow wells were drilled in 1894-95. The results of these tests were not strongly encouraging. However, in 1901, after the successful test at Spindletop, J. M. Guffey et al., who had financed the Lucas well, began an active development at Sour Lake, Tex., where a large spring showed considerable lStaitistfcs 'ontotaI production complete tciJan.i, 1'917, oniy• W. G. MATTESON 437 sulphur water and oil. Although the Guffey interests found a pocket of gas at 822 ft. (250 m.) and a good oil sand at 1400 ft., this dome did not obtain much prominence until 1902, when Sharp Brothers brough.t in a 10,000-bbl. gusher. Small tracts of land, 40 by 50 ft.,near this well sold as high as $10,000 and derricks were built so close together that they often overlapped. Sour Lake, to date, has produced approximately 46,000,000 bbl. of oil and still has a daily output of12,000 to 15,000 bbl. About the time of the important developments at Sour Lake, interest Downloaded from http://onepetro.org/TRANS/article-pdf/59/01/435/2177032/spe-918435-g.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 was also being directed toward Jennings, La., the topography of this region being similar to that of Spindletop and gas having issued from the springs of the vicinity. The first well was drilled by the Heywood brothers for the Jennings Oil Co., and struck the pay sand at 1822 ft. (555 m.) in August, 1901. The well gushed oil and sand for several hours, but eventually clogged up. Jennings No.2, brought in by Hey- . wood brothers on June 28, 1902,2 was the first satisfactory well in the field. In 1904, the Chicago-Jennings No.2 gusher came in at 2000 bbl. Production from the deep 1900-ft. sand began in 1904. Bass & Bencken­ stein's No.1 came in at about 14,000 bbl. per 24 hr. and the Heywood Oil Co. No.1 yielded about 10,000 bbl. daily. A marked falling off. in production was noted in'1905, when many of the big wells went on the pump. Gushers again brought the pool into prominence in 1906, the year of maximum production. Since then there has been a gradual decline. Jennings has yielded to date about 40,000,000 bbl. of oil, but at present has a daily production of only 2000 bbl. The Saratoga dome just north of Sour Lake was next drilled, and came in a producer in 1902. Although credited with approximately 18,000,000 bbl. production to date, its present daily average is only about 2000 bbl. In October, 1903, the Batson pool, just to the west of Saratoga and Sour Lake, was opened with a 4000-bbl. well. The following year this dome produced 11,000,000 bbl. of oil and has yielded a total of about 28,000,000 bbl. Its present production is about 2000 bbl. daily. , The famous Humble pool next attracted the attention of the oil fraternity. A shallow Well was drilled in 1902, but terminated in a gas blowout. Some oil and gas was found between 1000 and 1200 ft. (304 and 36.5 m.). The real development at Humble dates from the drilling of a well by D. R. Beatty on Jan. 7, 1905, the D. R.Beatty No.1, which had a gusher production of 10,000 bbl. daily .. The Humble pool has proved to be one of the mos,t prolific and long lived of any in the Gulf Coast region, and at present, 13 years after its discovery, gusher wells of 8000 to 10,000 bbl. daily production are brought in. UIitil the recent activity at Goose Creek, Humble held the front rank in daily production for the Gulf Coast country, and, to date, has produced approxi- 2 G. D. Harris: Oil and Gas in Louisiana, U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin No. 429 l1910), 53. 438 OIL PROSPECTING IN THE GULF COAST COUNTRY mately 62,000,000 bbl. and has a present daily production of about 20,000 bbl. Early in 1905, shortly after the developments at Humble, Savage and Morrecal attracted attention to North Louisiana by drilling in their Townsite No.1, which proved to be the discovery well of the famous Caddo field. As soon as the value of the discovery was fully understood, a drilling campaign was inaugurated, resulting eventually in the extension of the field northward to Vivian and eastward to Houston, covering anDownloaded from http://onepetro.org/TRANS/article-pdf/59/01/435/2177032/spe-918435-g.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 area of 125 sq. miles (324 sq. kIn.). Caddo has ranked second only to Humble in the record of daily and total production, and the staying qualities of the wells. Since 1905, it has yielded 50,000,000 bbl. of oil and at present has a daily production of 16,000 to 18,000 bbl. Unlike the majority of pools in the Gulf Coast field, Caddo is not a salt dome structure. The next pool to achieve prominence was located at Vinton, La. Oil had been pumped from water 'wells only 40 ft. (12 m.) deep in this region, and when Spindle top was discovered, attention was immediately turned toward Vinton.