The Kevin courier. [volume], August 02, 1922, Image 1

About The Kevin courier. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1922

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
Covering Operations and Developments of Kevin -Sunburst Field Fully Each Week and Briefly All Oil News of Montana
Courier news
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KEVIN, Toole County, Mont,, Wednesday, August 2, 1922
.Volume 1, Number 14
$2.50 per Year
The Ohio Company's
-
Drilling Campbell No. 1 Well
In the Present Louis Well
immense flow of gas, which was first tapped at about 1,535
and continued to increase in force until 1,545 when the flow
was estimated at from 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 cubic feet.
The gas is said to be extremely dry and was of such force
that water, sand and even small particles of rocks
thrown out.. Further drilling will only be done in
To Deeper Sands Resumed
were
With Continued Small Showing of Oil, Operations Are
Discovery Well, After Water Has Been Cemented Off at
The Ohio company is making a rec
ord in sinking wells, the Barr being
the second to be drilled to what is be
lieved to be production depth and it
has two more, the Sinden well on sec
tion 1-35-2 west, and the Hannon,
Going Ahead. Drill Being in Very Hard Substance,
Says Report.
A visit to the Louis well Sunday#—---
evening revealed only small oil show
ings on the sump with drilling still,
continuing, in what was declared to
Below 2,100 Feet, Will be Sunk to a Depth Which
Campbell Considers Productive.
well is now estimated as making 250,
000 feet of gas and this is providing
ehe fuel for several boilers.
ÏT The drilling shows the Barr well to
be 20 feet higher, structurally, than is
• With a firm faith in his location
and theory of the structural condi
tions, Gordon Campbell, discoverer of
oil in the Kevin-Sunburst field, Mon
-<»■
Records Show
Fulton, East Kevin
section 26-36-2 west, already expect
ed in, which within the short time the
company came into the field is consid
ered a ci'editable record. In addition
there are four more holes being drilled
by this company and it is said they
have spotted eight more locations and
this is credited
be a very hard rock. The drill has
reached a depth of about 2,000 feet
and the gas pressure is strong. It
appears that the well is to be sunk to
the lower sands.
producer, three-quarters
of a mile west in section 34-36-2 west
day morning resumed drilling at the
No. 1 well in section 16-35-3 west.
The hole had reached better than 2,
100 feet some time ago when a big
flow of water was hit, it is said. This
has been cemented off and time al
lowed for it to set before drilling re
 Big Interest
May Prove Part
it is said. With the Sinden well in sec
tion 1-35-2
west, showing 80 feet
higher, there is a possibility, accord
Ohio and Other Companies Don't
Weaken on Field, But Are Baying
Much Additional Acreage, Record»
Show.
Fulton-McKnight Permit Section 1
34-2W, Being Drilled Jointly With
Gladys-Belle, Resumed Drilling Sat
urday Night After Undeiceaming.
ing to geologists, that the gas pres
sure here may be even greater, a
situation that is puzzling however,
Bat Masterson Sure
After encountering most encourag
ing showings somewhat below 1,000
feet, the Fulton well, being drilled
jointly by the Gladys-Belle and Ful
ton & McKnight, was underreamed
and casing set and drilling was to be
resumed Saturday night. The gas
showing here is said to have been one
of the strongest in the field and ac
cording to I. Delashmutt, geologist
and field manager for the Big West
Oil company, preparing to drill on lo
cation just northeast of the Fulton,
the latter well is at an interesting
stage and important developments
may be expected at any time.
The Big West company have tim
bers on the road, probably delayed on
account of the railroad strike, for a
light
the tools and equipment being already
on the g* ound, Mr. Delashmutt said
that it ought not to be long before the
Big West hole would be started. Its
location is the northwest of the north
west of section 6-34-1 west, where a
mdard derrick and most of
small hole was begun last year and
where now a real well is to be drilled.
Carter Company Comes
With Full Force of Men
Following the establishment of an
office by the Carter Oil company at
Shelby, its crew of field men, geolo
gists, scouts and office force began
arriving ;n that town in force last
week and it is understood the com
pany is to have a number in the field
from now on. The company is said to
be an active buyer of acreage, among
other deals made public being the
purchase of 160 acres of the Rocky
Ridge Realty company holdings two
miles south of the town of Sunburst.
The tract is described as the
NWÜ and the N 1 /» SW14 of 20-36-2
west. The Carter Oil has just pur
chased the R. K. West tract east of
Kevin. Transfer of 320 acres belong
ing to Horton G. Abell, the west half
of section 26-35-2 west, has been com
pleted by the Homestake Oil company
which is drilling the Abell place.
First Well Spudded
North of Boundary
Coutts, July 26.—Spudded in!
At 6:30 p. m. today the No. 1 well
of the Coutts-Sweet Grass Oil Co., on
the Quarantine reserve was spudded
in, and drilling on the Alberta side of
the big dome is now an actuality.
As the 17 inch bit pounded into the
ground to start its search for oil
cheers went up from the throats of
50 or 60 Coutts, Sweet Grass, Leth
bridge and Taber people present.
The spudding in of McLean No. 1
is the fir
the Boundary Dome, but it is not to
be the h
the field on the Quarantine pushing
work to comply with the government
regulations.
Accordj?.g to the laws of the Cana
dian government, lease holders must
spud in not later than August 1
which was Sunday.
It is thought the other six will spud,
in before the time limit. The Baalam
well.will probably be next. It is locat
ed in section 12.
real is
step ii the development of
for five more rigs are in
hustling being
by all the companies which are the
WcDonneil-Philips Syndicate, section
13; the Oil Lands Exploration Co.,
section 2; the Alberta Oils Ltd., of
Calgary, with two rigs in section 24
and 11.
sumed. There was also some delay
securing sufficient tools as the Camp
bell Syndicate No. 2 has been in oper
ation. It is reported that oil strata is
considered likely at about 2,200 feet
and the progress of the drilling will
be watched with interest. Unknown to
many the Campbell well has baled
considerable oil recently, The Courier
,
j
i
Î
learns from a reliable source.
Ice To Cool Sunburst
Two car loads of ice was shipped
from Great Falls has been shipped to
Sunburst by Joe Herring who will re
tail the precious stuff which makes
the lemonade and other drinks used
by the residents of the sun-named
town of such a temperature as to cool
the thirst of the most "het-up" oil
man as well as to preserve the food
for the many restaurants and hotels
of the booming oil camp.
Two Cars Per Minute
Lethbridge Herald: The writer
counted automobiles on the Leth
bridge-Great Falls auto highway
which runs directly through Coutts
Sweet Grass to Sunburst and Kevin,
one day last week, and found that the
average number of cars from 7 o'clock
in the morning until late in the eve
ning was on the scale of two per
minute passing a given point on the
highway, this including heavy hauling
trucks as well.
Rainbow Company Uses
Own Gas For Fuel Now
The Rainbow Oil company, drilling
its first well 80 rods northwest of the
Campbell discovery, hit a strong flow
of gas Saturday night at 1127 feet
and shut down Sunday to connect up
the gas to its boiler. The natural fuel
came just in time, as the last supply
of crude on hand was about exhausted.
Manager Thompson of the company
told The Courier that the gas sand
was reached within a foot of the
depth anticipated. The Rainbow, the
recent settlement giving them much
acreage, has been energetic in its op
erations, although delayed by much
minor trouble and by the lack of fuel
for a considerable time, and already
has its second well spotted and der
rick up. It is the first one expected to
be brought in in the west end.
North Dakota Concern
After Oil at Gilman
Gilman, July 27.—Another attempt
will be made to develop the oil fields
in this vicinity, and the work will be
undertaken by the Dakota Montana
Twelve Oil syndicate of Minot, N. D.
H. O. Aaberg, who was here last fall
investigating the field, is the manager
of the company.
The site of the first well has been
selected to be drilled on the W. H.
Warden ranch, on the north fork of
Sun river, five miles northwest of
here. Lumber has been hauled to the
location to build a derrick, and shacks
to house the men while drilling. The
site of the well will not be far from
the house on the ranch.
The company has secured leases on
a large body of land in that vicinity,
and also in other localities numbering
thousand acres. The well
be in the vicinity where the govern
ment geologist, Mr. Stebinger made
report and recommended drilling for
oil. A standard rig will be used in the
drilling, and it is expected to arrive
here almost any day now.
Second Well Has An Immense Gas Flow
► - • --- ; - *
Drilling Actively Continues
The second well drilled by the Ohio Oil company,
known as the Ohio-Barr well in the northwest of the
northwest of section 2-35-2 west, came in Sunday with an
•
as many new rigs
a vast amount of equipment is in the
yards at Sunburst for the Ohio, and
it would appear that dry holes or in
sufficient production is not to stop
the company from making a thorough
test of a wide area in the sector in
which it is operating.
A Great Falls
report quotes
Sickler, geologist associated with Ir
vine E. Stewart, as saying he esti
mated the flow at not less than 3,000,
000 feet. The best flows in the field
previously have been a fraction of
this amount. The Ohio-Sunburst-Riebe
Ringling Well Near
White Sulphur Paradox
When the Mid-Northeni spuds in
its proposed well on the Ringling
structure in Meagher county, probab
ly within the next 10 days, this com
pany will be drilling one of the high
est "oil wells in the world," from the
standpoint of altitude. It will be at
the other extreme from the famous
California well under the ocean »
short distance off the coast.
The altitude at the Ringling well
location is a little less than 7,000 feet.
Stratagraphically, this well will be
as low as any succesful oil well in
Montana. It starts in the Kootenai
formation, below the point which is
the source of production in the Cat
Creek field.
A rig is now being built and prep
arations for spudding in are prog
ressing rapidly, according to Mid
Northern officials in Billings.
Another test of the lower part of \
the Sweetgrass arch is to be made by j
the Keystone Oil syndicate of Great
Falls, in the Little Muddy creek dis
Another Well For Kevin
trict, it has become known as the re- who will drill out the acreage. A hole
suit of financial backing secured by must be drilled before December 1.
Development Activities
KEVIN-SUNBURST FIELD
3-36-2 west.
Ohio-Swayze No. 1, section 34-36-2
west.
Ohio-Sanden No. 1, section 1-35-2
Producing
Gordon Campbell-Kevin Syndicate
No. 1, NE NE 16-35-3W.
Sunburst Oil & Gas company No. 1,
SE SW 34-36-2W.
Drilling
Holding and Royalty, SE NE 21-,
35-3W.
Aloe Oil Syndicate No. 1, SE NW j
6-34-2-W.
Coe No. 1, SW NW, 4-36-2 west. :
Gladys Belle, NE NE 19*37-4 east.
A. E. Louis Corporation, NE SE
14-35-3W.
Rainbow No. 1 NW SE 9-35-3W.
Orchard No. 1, SE SE 9-35-3W.
Homestake No. 1, NE NW 3-35-2W.
Thi-ee-In-One Oil Syndicate No. 1,
SW SW 8-35-1W.
Troy-Sweet Grass Oil company No.
1, NE NW 28-34-1W.
Sunburst Oil & Gas company No. 2,
NE SE 5-35-2W.
California company No. 1, SE SE
10-35-3W. Shut down, 500.
Gladys-Belle-Fulton No. 1, NE NE
1-34-2W.
Gladys-Belle-Three-In-One No. 2,
NE SE 18-35-2W.
Goi'don Campbell-Kevin Syndicate
No. 2, Lincoln, SW SW 10-35-3W.
Ohio-Reibe No. 1, NW NE 3-35
2W.
T. S. Hogan,22-35- 2W.
Ohio-O'Hanna No. 1, section 26-36
2 west.
Ohio-Claire Stevenson No. 1, section
since the flow in the Barr is much
greater than that in the Troy-Sweet
grass in section 21-34-1 west, some
44)0 feet higher.
Oil men of the north fields, says
the Tribune, who are now swarming
about the drilling wells, were report
encouraged by the
showings of the Barr well and the
development today will draw the at
tention of the oil men of the entire
state. Drilling is expected to be slow
since it will be necessary to work in
a dry hole.
Make New Transfer
Rhoades Group Land
Transfer of the properties of the
Kevin-Sunburst Oil company from
Gordon Campbell to the former
Rhoades group has been completed in
Toole county by Roy E. Ayers, pres
ident of the Kevin-Sunburst company.
The Rhoades group has 6,400 acres
'S. ,200
described as follows;
the field,
acres in township
34-3
west;
in township 33-3 west;
2,280 acres
160 acres in township 34-2 west; 060
acres in township 36-2 west; 1,280
acres in township 36-2 west; 160 acres
in township 36-1 west; 360 acres in
township 37-2 west. A transfer was
made following completion of ab
stracts covering all the property.
the directors on their recent visit to
Spokane. It is understood that the
company has been furnished $50,000
by Spokane business men, who parti
cipate in the company's extensive
holdings.
A well is to be drilled, also, on the
Keystone permit in Kevin district,
This will be handled under a separate
contract, and negotiations are now
under way with a Wyoming operator
west.
Ohio-Barr
No. 1,
section 2-35-2
west.
Ohio-Davey No. 1, section 34-36-2
west.
Ohio-Davey No. 2, section
3-35-2
west.
Rice No. 1, NW NW 8-35-2W.
Homestake No. 2, 26-35-2W.
Black Magic Oil company, SW SE
16-35-3-W.
SW 35-36-3W.
S. G. K. Syndicate well No. 2, SW
Sunburst Oil & Gas-Suhr, SW SW
10-34-2W.
Location
O'Neil & Catlett, NE 15-35-3W.
Rainbow No. 2, NW NW 15-35-3W.
Sweet Grass Oil and Land No. 1,
SW SW 6-35-1W.
Producers Oil & Gas, SE SE, 4
36-2W.
Potlatch No. 1, SE SW 27-34-1W.
Big West No. 1,NW NW 6-34-1W.
California Co., SE SE 13-34-2W.
Potlatch No. 2, NW SW 28-34-1W.
Apex No. 1 SW SE 3-35-3W.
Mid-Northern, 9-35-2W.
Sunburst O. & G. Co., 10-34-2W.
Dawson-Merkle No. 1, NW14 NE%
9-35-2W.
Winnie & Richards, section 11-36-2
W.
,
S. C. K. Syndicate well No. S, NE •
SW, 26-35-3W. ______ j
Fowler Is New Field
Bat Masterson, Cat Creek promoter
who put over the Jackrabbit syndicate
is now in Salt Lake, predicting big
things for the Sweet Grass arch. He
has been in conference with Fowler
Oil company officials and announced
to the Salt Lake City Tribune that he
is preparing to operate in the north
country'. He said, in part:
"Unless all signs are misleading,
the well being drilled by the Fowler
Oil company will be a large producer.
The structure is one of great promise.
I expect to hear any day that the
Fowler well has been brought in. So
impressed am I with both the K'evin
and the Fowler domes that I am rnak-1
ing arrangements so that operations
can be started as soon as possible on
both of these structures by my
company."
Permit Validated
Validation has been virtually com
pleted on the Sunburst-Suhr well on
section 10-34-2 west the first 500 feet
being almost drilled at the time Ste
venson was there. On the Zimmerman
lease in section 23-35-2 west, the Sun
burst is placing a National machine
on the ground with the expectation of
spudding in within the next few days.
The Sunburst has spudded in on the
Boyce lease in section 23-36-2 west.
Oil men will watch this well with in
terest as it is the furthest north with
the exception of the U. C. Coe Drill
ing company well on section 4-36-2W. |
-
Molumby Syndicate
Takes Over Company
the
The Holding and Royalty well has
been taken over by a group of Great
Falls people organized under
name of Molumby Oil Syndicate Inc.,
and will be drilled on down from its
present depth of 500 feet, according
The
acres de
and
to report from Great Falls. This well
validated the Campbell permit,
company takes over 120
scribed as the SE^4 NE 14, 20;
the S% NW14, 21-35-3 west. The new
syndicate is composed of L. J. Mo
lumby, president; Fred Andretta, Dr.
J. M. Hardin, Dave Davidson, E.
Springer, Emmett Jordan, F. Dailey
of Helena, G. H. Bennett, W. B. Rose,
Los Angeles; Frank McDonald, Pete
Conran and E. A. Johnson.
Gas Power May Pump
Water To Gold Mines
Recent oil development in the
Sweet Grass hills by the Gladys Belle
company, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, when
a gas flow of 500,000 feet daily was
struck at a depth slightly less than
1600 feet, may have a bearing on the
development of gold claims in the
middle butte, in which a number of
Toole county people are said to be in
terested, says the Sweet Grass Ad
vocate.
These gold claims are waiting on a
supply of water for development and
gas is looked upon as a possible power
factor in supplying the water.
When Gold Butte was a rip-snort
ing town, the miner who lacked the
price of a drink would take his shovel
and pan and cross the road from the
old saloon and one panful of dirt
would yield enough gold to pay for
his drink. That was at the time
Barnes Arnold took $12,000 from the
sag on the upper end of Gold Butte
bar on a place 100 feet long and from
15 to 20 feet
wide, digging down
from two to three feet. They quit
when the water gave out. Jim Wall,
"It's a great life if you don't
weaken" seems to hold true in the oil
game as well as many other endeav
ors and if all those owners, buyers
and speculators interested in the Ke
vin-Sunburst field follow the example
set them by the big experienced oil
This is brought to mind sharply the
past week by the closing of the large
deal "by the California company which
includes the payment of *400 per acre
for some stuff near the Campbell
well, which by the way is the high
est price by quite a margin of any
sale in the entire field. And then fol
j lows additional large purchases by
the Ohio Oil company, some 1,760
acres in township 1 west, east of the
company's present operations, which
are reported to have been recorded.
One lease of record is on the east
half of section 14-35-1 west, 320 acres
given by Margaret Seymour.
Joseph Ehliuger has leased 32Ö
acres to the Ohio, described as the
SWY* NEV4, SE&, SE14 SW 1-4 of
section 2 and the NVa NE V*. of section
■1 west. This is south of the Gas
11
Ridge dome.
Anna K. Fischer lias given a lease
on 320 acres in the same district de
scribed as the EVi NWi4, 10; SE}4
SWV*, SV 2 SEVi of 3 and the W 1-2
SW14 and NE& SW14, 2-33-1 west.
A fourth lease taken by the Ohio
was given by G. W. Rankin, on 320
24-35-1 west,
Kenneth G. Luke
acres southwest the producers. It
is the SE% of 13 and the NE 14 of
has leased 480
acres to the Ohio, described as the
WA of 31-36-1 west and the NW& of
6-35-1 west.
The Carter Oil company continues
active, having taken over the third
block of acreage. George Coffey, Jr.
of Choteau has assigned leases on 640
acres of land, comprising all of sec
tion 4-34-1 west, two miles east of the
Fulton well, now drilling.
All the major companies continue
buying in the field. The Carter now
bas protection acreage two miles east
of the Fulton well, an ample foothold
in the field.
but not dangerous was the reward of
a driller who forgot he was in the pit
.^ r
Driller Burned
A singeing, which proved painful
of an oil well and started to smoke a
cigarette in the pit of the Ohio-Sun-
burst-Hannon well on section 26S6-2
west.
The
resulting explosion of gas
started a lively blaze that frightened
as much as it injured the driller and
was extinguished before it had done
any damage to the rig. The injuries
of the diiller were not sufficient to
cause a trip to the hospital.
who worked for Colonel Graham,
panned out three pans of dirt and
took $54 worth of coarse gold out.
Gold Butte is the central promontory
of the three high points of the Sweet
Grass hills. A lake lies south of the
butte from which the water may be
pumped with which to hydraulic the
gulch. It requires only gas enough to
develop 250 horse power which will
lift a flow of 200 inches of water 15D
feet, a distance of 4,000 feet. The
gold butte bar will produce more
wealth than did the famous Alder
gulch. It will take eight years to
wash it out. West Butte is said to
contain wonderful specimens of mines
but the main vein has not yet been
located. In East Butte are great de
posits of ii'on, estimated at millions,
of tons, also a great block of a million
or more of tons of the finest marble
in Montana.