Other companies began work and the territory was rapidly leased and
tested. Naturally operations began near the round-house where oil had
first been shown to exist. From this as a center the drill moved out
in all directions until the limits of the field had been disclosed.
The later work has been along the northeast end of the territory in
Morgan county, where the oil seems to be shut out by reservoirs of
salt water. During the present summer (1900) the valuable pool in the
Oakfield district has been developed, though small wells had been
found there several years earlier. The principal farms are the Porter,
Longstreth, Donnelly, Monahan, McDonald and Grenen. The first well was
on the Porter farm and was finished early in 1900. Its production was
35 barrels the first day. The second well was on the Monahan farm. It
was completed soon after the Porter well and had an initial flow of 45
barrels in 24 hours. The next two wells were drilled on the Longstreth
farm, and both were fair producers. Early in the Spring a well was
completed on the Donnelly farm and flowed 125 barrels the first day.
Other wells on this farm are much smaller. Two wells on the Grenen
farm began flowing 675 and 90 barrels respectively. It is interesting
to note that the development of this, the richest part of the Corning
field, occurred late in the territory’s history. Possibly other pools
of equal richness may yet be discovered lying near the principal field.
An important step in the development of the field occurred on August
13th, 1893 when the Buckeye Pipe Line was completed. Before that the
oil was transported by tank cars. The oil which is brought to the tanks
partly by gravity and partly by suction, the latter being produced by
an 8 horse-power gas engine, is stored in two iron tanks, one of which
has a capacity of 30,000, and the other 28,000 barrels. From these
tanks the oil is forced to Elba, a distance of 34 miles, through a 4
inch line. This work is done by a 35 horse-power engine which gives a
pressure in the line of from 700 to 1000 pounds per square inch. The
rate at which the oil is transported varies with the temperature. In
the summer when the oil is warm, and hence thin, 128 barrels may be
pumped in one hour, but in the winter when the oil is cold and thick
the transportation may be restricted to 11 barrels for the same period.
When the pipe line was completed the production of the field was
about 500 barrels per day. It increased to 1300 barrels in 1896, but
since then has declined. At present it ranges from 800 to 900 barrels
per day. The total production of the field is shown by the following
letter:
The Buckeye Pipe Line Company—Macksburg Division.
Oil City, Pennsylvania, October 25th, 1900.
J. A. Bownocker, Esq., Columbus, Ohio:
Dear Sir—Your favor of October 18th to
Superintendent N. Moore, asking for the total
production by years of the Corning Field, has been
referred to me. Below please find the figures of oil
received by The Buckeye Pipe Line Company from the
Corning Field from August, 1893, to September, 1900:
Part of Year 1893 128,918.03 Bbls.
Year 1894 322,313.71 “
Year 1895 428,385.03 “
Year 1896 469,258.78 “
Year 1897 328,188.11 “
Year 1898 196,417.75 “
Year 1899 211,060.22 “
January 1st to July 31st, 1900 143,314.96 “
August, 1900 26,929.66 “
September, 1900 22,517.67 “
——————
Total 2,277,303.90 Bbls.
July 31st, 1900, completes the first seven years
production and thinking you might prefer to use the
even years, I have given you the figures for the year
1900 to July 31st in one lump and the oil taken from
that field for the months of August and September
separately.
Trusting this will answer your purposes, I remain
Yours truly,
J. R. CAMPBELL, Treasurer.
LEASES.—At first the operators paid no bonuses, but gave a royalty
of one-eighth of the oil to the land owners—a rate of compensation
that has been usually maintained. To this there is one exception
worthy of note. When the round-house well showed the existence of
oil, and operators began leasing the surrounding territory, Fredrick
Weaver, a thrifty German farmer residing a short distance east from
the round-house, quietly visited the oil fields of Washington,
Pennsylvania, and investigated the methods of leasing oil territory in
that field. When he returned home he demanded a royalty of one-fourth
the oil and a bonus of $200 for each of the eight wells which it was
proposed should be drilled on his farm of eighty acres, and since his
territory was regarded as very promising, these rather severe terms
were granted. However, after drilling six wells, and the territory
not meeting expectations, the contractors complained and Mr. Weaver
generously reduced the bonus. More recently a royalty of one-sixth the
oil has been received by holders of lands that were deemed especially
promising, and bonuses also have been received. The leases usually
required that a well be drilled in from thirty to sixty days, but
sometimes, especially in the least promising territory, six months were
allowed.
That the field was a monopoly for no one is shown by the following
list, which includes the chief operators of the district:
Corning Oil Company.
Denman & Thompson.
O’Connel Oil Company.
Brooks Oil Company.
Caldron & Snyder.
Sunday Creek Oil & Gas Company.
Perry County Oil Company.
W. B. Barker & Company.
Cleveland Oil Company.
Keystone Oil Company.
W. E. Detlor.
William Rosier.
J. H. Van Wormer.
Northeast Oil Company.
Becker Oil Company.
Allen, Sternberg & Company.
Bolivar Oil Company.
William McMullen.
A. Bulger & Company.
Corning Natural Gas Company.
L. D. Langmade.
Harrington Brothers.
Ohio Oil Company.
Church Oil Company.
Monroe Oil & Gas Company.
Weaver Brothers.
W. B. Irwin & Company.
George Best & Company.
Foster & Moran.
Fallen Rock Company.
Ohlviler & Chambers.
Mill Oil Company.
Hemlock Oil Company.
John Holden.
Wells & Foraker.
Longfellow & Stevens.
Russell Metzger.
McGee & Stewart.
Stratton & Mark.
National Oil Company.
GEOLOGY OF THE REGION.—The surface of the territory lies in the Lower
Productive and Lower Barren coal measures. The highest hills reach up
to or extend above the Ames or Crinoidal limestone. In fact along the
northeast extremity of the field the hills are capped by the limestones
which underlie the Pittsburgh coal. The deepest valley—that of Sunday
Creek—cuts through the Middle Kittanning coal, a short distance north
of Corning, but at this town the seam named is under cover, while the
Upper Freeport coal is at about drainage level.
The succession of strata under ground is shown by the following record
kept and furnished the Survey by Mr. G. W. Delong, Superintendent of
Schools, Corning. The well is located on lot 154 of the town just
named, and the top of the well lies at the base of the Mahoning
sandstone:
Thickness of Total
Stratum Thickness
Shale 25 feet 25 feet
Bastard Lime 15 “ 40 “
Sand 10 “ 50 “
Coal (No. 6) 10 “ 60 “
White Slate 65 “ 125 “
Sand 15 “ 140 “
White Slate 25 “ 165 “
Blue 10 “ 175 “
Sand 10 “ 185 “
Slate 50 “ 235 “
Shale 35 “ 270 “
Sand 30 “ 300 “
Black Shale 10 “ 310 “
Lime 25 “ 335 “
Shale with Concretions 100 “ 435 “
Slate 25 “ 460 “
Limestone(?) 30 “ 490 “
Shale 35 “ 525 “
Salt Sand 30 “ 555 “
White Slate 100 “ 655 “
Slate and Concretions 25 “ 680 “
Shale 15 “ 695 “
Little Salt Sand 20 “ 715 “
White Slate 100 “ 815 “
Slate and Concretions 100 “ 915 “
Brown Shale 40 “ 955 “
Black Shale 38 “ 993 “
Top Berea 993 “
Bottom of Berea 1008 “
The depth of the well as shown by the steel line is 1012½ feet. It
was drilled in the Fall of 1896, and was shot with twenty quarts of
nitro-glycerine. It began flowing thirty barrels per day, but the
production has diminished until at present it is producing only one
barrel per day. Below the Berea the Bedford shales are found in their
normal conditions.
THE OIL SAND.—This is in all cases the Berea. The sand has the light
gray color so common in this formation in other parts of the state.
It is moderately fine grained, but there is considerable variation in
this respect. Usually it is a pure quartz sand, but occasionally has
thin layers of dark shaly material running through it. In thickness
it shows considerable variation, but never disappears in this field.
The normal thickness is usually given as twenty feet and the maximum
reported is eighty feet. This depth was found on the Potts farm about
one and one-fourth miles northeast of Corning, and on the O’Farrell
farm about two miles east from the same town. In both cases a dark
gray shale, probably the Ohio, lay below. The Bedford on this theory
had been swept away before the Berea was deposited. In such abnormal
depths the additions always appear to be on the bottom, showing that
the surface of the underlying Bedford shale was quite uneven. Here, as
elsewhere in the state, the drill shows the upper surface of the Berea
to be uniform. It is worthy of note that the production of oil does
not vary as the thickness of the sand. In fact in this field the great
thicknesses are generally poor producers.
The “pay streak” or that containing the oil and gas ranges in thickness
from 3 to 8 feet, but very few of the wells attain the maximum figure.
Towards the margin of the productive field the “pay streak” thins, and
finally disappears. The top of the “pay” usually lies from 10 to 15
feet below the surface of the Berea. As a rule the “pay” is coarser
than other parts of the Berea, and generally the coarser the rock the
larger the well. Sometimes in the thick part of the Berea there are two
“pay streaks.”
THE WELLS.—The number of wells producing July 1, 1900, exceeded 600.
About 100 dry holes have been drilled and about an equal number of
wells have been abandoned, so that 800 is a fair approximation of the
total number of wells drilled in the field. As a rule a well has been
put down for each 8 to 10 acres of surface territory.
The wells have been cased through the salt sand, a depth of 555 feet in
the valley at Corning. The casing has almost invariably been 5⅝ inches,
inside measurement. The rocks comprising the underlying 160-180 feet,
and terminating with the “Little Salt Sand” have furnished some water
which has been disastrous to the wells. It reduced the gas pressure,
thus necessitating pumping the wells earlier than otherwise would have
been required, and perhaps prematurely destroying the life of the well.
Had the wells been cased through the “Little Salt Sand” time and money
would have been saved, and the production of the field would have been
larger.
The western side of the field is quite free from salt water. It is on
that side that the principal gas territory lies. On the eastern side of
the field the conditions are more variable. In Trimble township, Athens
county, the wells are free from water, while in Monroe township, Perry
county, salt water is found in the northeast corner, and in Morgan
county it is so abundant that operating is prevented. From this it
appears that the western side of the Corning field is free from salt
water, and that it is absent also on the eastern side at the southern
margin of the territory, but that it increases rapidly to the northeast.
While the production of the wells after being shot has varied greatly,
yet they have not furnished the great extremes that many other fields
have. Few, if any of the wells, have started better than 125 barrels
per day, and it has been estimated that the average for the entire
field has been 20 barrels.
The wells have sufficient gas pressure to flow them during the earlier
part of their lives, but later as the pressure diminishes they have to
be pumped. Since the eastern side of the field has salt water the wells
there have to be pumped earlier than those on the western side.
THE GAS WELLS.—The principal gas territory is that along Muddy Fork
in Sections 22 and 29 Trimble township, Athens county, the best wells
being found in the western half of the latter section on the lands of
the Hocking Coal and Railroad company. The largest well in this field
started at 3,000,000 cubic feet per day with a rock pressure of 400
pounds. It was drilled in the fall of 1897, and one year later was
producing 2,000,000 cubic feet per day, and still another year later
1,500,000 cubic feet. Of the other wells in this territory two started
at 2,000,000 feet each, two at 1,000,000 feet each, and three at
500,000 feet each. The decline in the smaller wells was not as rapid as
in the larger ones since the demands made on them were not as heavy.
Thus far no dry holes have been found in this territory. The reliance
of the community is on this field where 5,000 acres are leased in one
block.
Another district that has yielded considerable gas is that at Oakfield
about 3 miles north of Corning. These wells started at 2,000,000,
1,500,000, 500,000, and 250,000 cubic feet per day respectively. Two
of the smaller of these have been abandoned after having produced for
two years. The largest of these wells, now four years old, is producing
500,000 cubic feet per day, and the second largest, now three years
old, is producing the same amount. The wells in this field produce
considerable oil and by some are rated as oil wells rather than gas
ones.
Outside of these two places an occasional strip is found that produces
gas in paying quantities. Thus about one mile northeast of Corning
two wells were drilled, which combined produced 500,000 cubic feet
per day. They produced three years and were then abandoned. About two
miles north of Corning a good well was drilled on the Newberry farm. It
started at 1,500,000 cubic feet per day, had an initial rock pressure
of 400 pounds and lasted three years.
Another productive tract lies about 6 miles northeast of Corning on
the Finley, Devore and Stoneburner farms. Three wells were drilled on
the Finley farm, and started one at 1,500,000 and two at 250,000 cubic
feet, with an initial rock pressure of 400 pounds. These wells lasted
three years.
The operators of the wells have been much troubled with salt water
in the Muddy Fork field and with oil in the Oakfield territory. Salt
water is removed by “blowing” the wells. For this operation the wells
are closed for a short period, usually about 30 minutes, allowing the
gas pressure to increase; when this has become sufficiently strong the
well is opened at the top and the gas then blows the water from the
well. When the well has been cleansed in this manner it is closed and
the gas turned back into the mains. Sometimes, however, the weight of
the water is so great that the gas cannot drive it from the well in
the manner just stated, especially is this true with wells that have
been in use for a considerable period. Then an iron rod attached to a
long pole is let down through the water, is raised and lowered, and
the gas following the pole in its ascent finally drives the water from
the well. This method of cleaning is known as “agitating.” Finally the
pressure of the gas becomes so small that it cannot lift the water with
the help of “agitating,” and then the well is dead. In winter time each
well is cleaned every other day, and in the summer twice a week.
The gas wells in the Corning field are owned and operated by the
Corning Natural Gas Company. It supplies Jacksonville, Trimble,
Glouster, Murray City, New Straitsville, Shawnee, Hemlock, Corning,
Rendville, Moxahala, New Lexington, and several interior hamlets.
Almost the sole use of the fuel is for heat and light.
The company makes a rate of 20 cents per thousand feet by meter. Where
the meter is not used, the prices in winter are $2.00 per month for the
first fire; $1.50 for the second; $1.00 for the third; 75 cents for the
fourth, and all additional fires at the latter figure. In the summer a
charge of $1.50 for each cooking fire is made. For lights the charges
are 25 cents each for the first two and 15 cents for each additional
one.
The number of customers supplied by this company in 1900 was
approximately as follows:
Corning 300
Glouster 250
New Lexington 250
Shawnee 200
New Straitsville 150
Other places 350
——
Total 1500
In the Fall of 1899 the wells of the company produced 6,000,000 cubic
feet per day, but during cold weather when the demand for fuel was
great they dropped to 3,000,000 cubic feet, and the rock pressure which
was 300 pounds in the Fall was only 200 during the winter. On July 7th,
1900, the rock pressure of the wells in the Muddy Fork field ranged
from 170 to 280 pounds, indicating a considerable drop from that of the
preceding autumn. The company expects to drill four additional wells
during the ensuing fall (1900) in the Muddy Fork territory, and by so
doing expects to keep three wells closed, and thus maintain a good rock
pressure.