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Chapter IX—Oil and Gas Production in Kansas

Introduction

The oil- and gas-producing districts of Kansas comprise the northern portion of the so-called Midcontinent field, a term which has come into common use as convenient geographic and commercial designation for the oil and gas territory of Kansas, Oklahoma and adjacent parts of Arkansas, northern Louisiana, and Texas (Plate XXIII). The Kansas portion of this large field, although the first in the region to show the existence of important deposits of oil and gas, has not been the largest producer, for some years having been surpassed many millions of barrels by Oklahoma. In recent months, however, with the discovery and development of new pools in Butler county, Kansas, and the accompanying decline in production of the large Oklahoma pools, the northern part of the Midcontinent field is again attracting wide notice. The relative proportion of the crude-oil output of Kansas is increasing to an important degree.

Plate XXIII—Location Map of Midcontinent Field.

Location Map of Midcontinent Field.

As shown in the accompanying maps of the field (Plates XXIII and XXIV), the chief producing districts in Kansas are located in the southeastern and south central portion of the state. A considerable area in southeast Kansas has long been known as productive oil and gas territory, the active wells being distributed in patches or spots of varying size, the location of which is controlled by the underground structure and character of the rocks. Most of these patches or "pools" have had a more or less important history as producers both of oil and of gas. The gas output has been the main supply for many years of towns and cities throughout all of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Pipe lines have been extended very greatly, and natural gas is one of the most important fuels in an increasingly large area. In most of the districts the development of crude oil has followed somewhat that of the gas. In the early history of some pools, when wells were drilled only for gas, the presence of oil in the wells was regarded as a hindrance. The old gas fields have been extensively redrilled in recent years and in very many cases have been found to contain important quantities of crude oil.

The petroleum is in most cases obtained from relatively shallow wells with small average individual production from the wells. The areas which have yielded the largest gross amount of oil and gas are Chautauqua, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, Allen, Franklin and Miami counties. Less important territory is found in Labette, Greenwood, Woodson, Anderson, Linn and Bourbon counties. In 1914 oil was discovered in the gas field near Augusta, and a short time later in an anticlinal structure just west of El Dorado. Development in this new area in Butler county has been very rapid, and now the center of the oil and gas industry of Kansas, if not that of the entire Midcontinent field, is centered here. The discovery of such large quantities of oil a considerable distance west of the territory previously defined as oil and gas lands has drawn attention to adjacent areas. In 1916 a shallow gas and oil field was developed in Cowley county near Arkansas City, and oil has been found in some deep drilling, but no accumulations comparable to those of Butler county have been discovered. The productive oil and gas areas of Kansas are thus essentially as defined a decade or more ago, with the exception of the new very important Butler county fields. Largely due to the present high market price of crude oil, activity is great throughout both the old and the new districts.

Topography. The country in which the oil and gas deposits of the state, as known at present, are located is a broad plain of moderate relief crossed in a general north-south direction by a series of more or less prominent escarpments or benches made by the outcrops of relatively resistant limestone formations. The rock strata are gently inclined to the west, so that each escarpment slopes downward on the west and successively higher escarpments appear from east to west. One of the most prominent of the escarpments is that produced by the flinty limestone beds at the base of the Permian. The "Flint Hills" area, which contains the highest land in central Kansas stretches from north to south from Chase or Morris counties to Cowley county. The valleys of the larger streams are wide and flat bottomed, being filled to various depths with sand and alluvium.

Geology. The oil- and gas-bearing rock of Kansas and the adjacent region belong chiefly to the Pennsylvanian system. The Pennsylvanian beds outcrop in a large area in eastern Kansas (geologic map, Plate I), the older divisions occurring farthest east and the younger being found in order to the west. The strata which appear at the surface in southeastern Kansas are deeply buried to the northwest. The outcrops of the various limestone members are traceable for distances of 50 to 300 miles. Three-fourths of the oil has come from sands in the Cherokee formation at the base of the Pennsylvanian, most of the productive areas of eastern Kansas and Oklahoma obtaining the largest amount of oil from this horizon. To the west the Cherokee is more and more deeply buried, but is still an important source of oil and gas. Higher formations are productive to a varying degree here. The Pennsylvanian rock divisions are described in the chapter on stratigraphy.

In southern Oklahoma, in the Healdton field, oil has been obtained from Ordovician strata. [Note: Personal communication, Sidney Powers. Fossils collected at horizon of production prove conclusively the Ordovician age of the rocks.] In parts of northeastern Oklahoma, possibly also southernmost Kansas in Chautauqua and Montgomery counties, oil and gas have been obtained from strata of probable upper Mississippian age. Some of the productive sands in the central western part of Oklahoma and Kansas are Permian in age. Seepages in the Cretaceous rocks are well known, but in no case is large production recorded from these beds not belonging to the Pennsylvanian. In Kansas none of the rocks below the Pennsylvanian have so far proved of any importance as oil and gas producers. It is possible, however, that either the Permian or Cretaceous may contain commercial deposits of these fuels. The distribution and geologic relations of the Kansas formations are described in some detail in a preceding chapter.

Structure. The major structural features of the rocks of Kansas have already been described briefly. The position of the rocks underground are of prime importance to the oil and gas producer, for structure not only determines the accumulation of the oil and gas in the rocks but also the depth to which wells must be drilled. The rocks of Kansas are in the form of a broad, shallow trough or pan, sloping westward in the east part of the state and eastward in the west (Plate XII), so that a given stratum which appears at the surface in eastern Kansas is buried several hundred or perhaps some thousands of feet in central Kansas, but reappears at the surface in eastern Colorado near the Rocky Mountains. The dip of the rocks along the Front Range in Colorado is much steeper than that of the same beds in eastern Kansas and Missouri (Plates XII and XIV). The surface of the land rises gradually from east to west, so that the west part of the shallow, sagging rock basin is more deeply buried than the east. The slope of the beds is not uniform in different parts of the basin, as shown by the accompanying structure-contour maps of the Mississippian limestone in eastern Kansas (Plate XXV) and of the Dakota sandstone in western Kansas (Plate XXVI), which indicate all the larger irregularities of structure. In places there are slight upward folds which locally complicate the structure.

Plate XXV—Structure map of eastern Kansas. The numbered black lines show the position of the top of the Mississippian limestone above and below sea level. If the rocks above the Mississippian are imagined to be removed and the area flooded by the sea, the 0-contour would represent the shore line. If the water were raised by 100-foot intervals the shore would advance southeast to successive higher contours. Also, if the water were lowered by 100-foot intervals the shore would retreat westward to successively lower contours. The depth of the Mississippian below the surface in many deep wells is indicated.

Structure map of eastern Kansas.

Plate XXVI—Structure map of western Kansas (after N. H. Darton). The numbered black lines show the elevation of the top of the Dakota sandstone above sea level. If the beds above the Dakota are imagined to be removed and the northwest part of the area flooded by water which stands 700 feet above sea level, the 700-foot contour line would represent the shore. If the water were raised by 100-foot interval, the successive shorelines would be represented in turn by the higher contour lines. The top of the Dakota inclines generally to the northeast, but there are local more or less pronounced irregularities. [Acrobat PDF version available.]

Structure map of western Kansas.

The depth of the Mississippian limestone is a very important consideration to drillers and operators in the Kansas oil and gas fields, since the top of the Mississippian is generally considered the lower limit of possible oil or gas, and stipulated as the limit of drilling in most drillers' contracts. The Mississippian consists of very hard, flinty limestone, which is extremely difficult to drill, and has characteristics which distinguish it readily from almost all of the limestones of the Pennsylvanian. It is therefore easily identified, and any driller who has had much experience in the Kansas fields is able to recognize it. Most of the well logs have reported correctly the depth of the Mississippian. The available records at the office of the State Geological Survey have been plotted, the figures indicating the depth at which the Mississippian limestone is reached. Inasmuch as the uneven surface of the ground is an important factor in the depth to the Mississippian, it was necessary to reduce all of the well records to the same datum, for which mean sea level was used. This was done by determining the elevation of the top of the well as closely as possible from topographic contour maps and bench marks. The lines were drawn connecting all points at the top of the Mississippian limestone of approximately the same elevation above or depression below mean sea level. These lines or structural contours, therefore, define the elevation and structure of the Mississippian limestone so far as known in Kansas.

Throughout eastern Kansas the Mississippian dips gently to the west at an angle almost identically that of the overlying Pennsylvanian strata. In the vicinity of Butler county, however, the Mississippian limestone dips much more steeply, dropping sharply within the space of a very few miles. This steep western dip of the Mississippian in this section is associated with a considerable thickening of the Cherokee shale with its included sand beds, a condition which has an important bearing on the producing fields of this region. Wells which have been drilled in Butler county have encountered many more sands and a much greater thickness of the Cherokee shale than would be expected. The structure map of the Mississippian shows the approximate depth at which the Mississippian may be expected in any given locality.

In the map showing the structure of western Kansas the most prominent and desirable key horizon is the Dakota sandstone, which outcrops in a considerable belt in the central part of the state and is encountered in many well borings farther west. The depth of the Dakota beneath the surface has been determined by well logs, and the structure contours drawn in a manner entirely similar to that employed in making the Mississippian map. [Note: The structure map of the Dakota was made by N. H. Darton (1905, Pl. 58).] The contours show an anticline of moderate prominence in the western part of Norton county, extending northward into Nebraska, and a dome of considerable height in Hamilton county, the crest of which is about six or eight miles southwest of Syracuse.

It is fully realized that there are many inaccuracies in the structure contour maps. These are partly due to errors in the well logs, partly to error in measurement and computation of surface elevations, and partly to insufficient data. However, the maps are, in general, fairly accurate.

Petroleum

According to official records, Kansas produced to the end of the year 1916 a grand total of 40,108,638 barrels of crude oil. [Note: The figures of oil and gas production in Kansas and the Midcontinent field are taken chiefly from reports of the U. S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources of the United States.] This is not an inconsiderable contribution to the petroleum supply of the country, but the most interesting fact with regard to the oil production of Kansas is the remarkable increase in the yield of the last two years. This is to be correlated especially with the discovery and development of the Butler county districts, which in recent months have surpassed the entire remaining portion of the state. The gross production of crude oil in Kansas from the beginning of development in 1889 is shown in the following table:

Petroleum production of Kansas for the years 1889 to 1916, inclusive.
Year Barrels Value
1889 500 $385
1890 1,200 925
1891 1,400 785
1892 5,000 2,500
1893 18,000 10,800
1894 40,000 19,200
1895 44,430 28,435
1896 113,571 71,549
1897 81,098 54,000
1898 71,980 176,000
1899 69,700 52,167
1900 74,714 79,035
1901 179,151 154,373
1902 331,749 292,464
1903 932.214 988.220
1904 4,250,779 $4,123,276
1905 3,750,250 2,250,150
1906 3,627,375 1,367,224
1907 2,409,521 965,134
1908 1,801,781 746,695
1909 1,263,764 491,633
1910 1,128,668 432,638
1911 1,278,819 608,756
1912 1,592,796 1,095,695
1913 2,375,029 2,248,283
1914 3,103,585 2,433,074
1915 2,823,487 1,702,891
1916 8,738,077 10,339,958
Total 40,108,638 $30.736.245

It will be observed that the production reported for the year 1916 more than doubles that of any preceding year and exceeds by 5,639,660 barrels, or 228 percent, the output of 1915. The average price for the oil at the wells in 1916 was $1.18 a barrel, making the total market value of the yield for that year $10,339,958. This total is in excess of the amount received for the Kansas oil of 1915 by $8,637,067, an increase of 507 percent.

The following table shows the production of the Kansas fields from 1913 to 1916, inclusive, by months:

Petroleum production of Kansas for the years 1913 to 1916, inclusive, by months.
Month 1913 1914 1915 1916
January 160,899 260,343 245,606 197,348
February 161,306 250,421 207,411 284,726
March 176,134 291,631 226,183 353,693
April 184,231 262,733 209,173 441,422
May 184,093 280,922 211,159 633,726
June 183,156 284,835 217,838 834,640
July 194,637 292,972 239,216 705,376
August 200,304 234,845 247,029 644,667
September 209,082 238,908 252,748 951,516
October 217,392 238,510 259,494 1,260,585
November 234,381 230,848 262,955 1,212,459
December 269,414 236.617 244,675 1,217,919
Total 2,375,029 3,103,585 2,823,487 8,738,077

The record of oil production in Kansas by weeks gives interesting information concerning the activity in the various fields. This record, from April, 1916, to October, 1917, is shown in the accompanying chart, Plate XXVII. The weekly production shown in the early part of 1916 indicates the average yield of crude oil in the state before the development of the west portion of the El Dorado field, Butler county. The sudden increases in October, 1916, and June, 1917, are due to the large production of new wells in this region.

The character of the Kansas oil fields is in part indicated by the statistics of wells drilled. Throughout the larger portion of the producing area, especially that located in the southeastern counties of the state, the wells are numerous but none have a large output. The average yield for each producing well is from 1 or 2 barrels a day to 25 barrels a day. In the Butler county fields, however, some of the wells are credited with a very large individual daily output, in the case of wells on the Trapshooter lease, Towanda township, which have been: drilled recently, amounting to more than 20,000 barrels a day. The drilling in of only a few of these wells with large production has had an easily perceptible effect on the amount of the total Kansas production.

In general the interest in development and activity in the fields is also shown by the number of new wells drilled. Field operations follow more or less closely the fluctuation of the market, periods of greatest activity accompanying times of highest crude oil prices. As reported for the years 1912 to 1916, inclusive (U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources of the United States, 1915, p. 651, and Press Bulletin, July, 1917.), 7,463 wells were drilled in Kansas, of which 6,256 were producing and 1,207 dry. The dry wells comprise about 17 percent of the total number drilled. Of the 3,624 wells put down in 1916, 3,142 were oil producing, 112 gas wells, and the 370 remaining dry, the dry wells averaging about 1 in 10. The following table is a summary of data concerning wells completed each year from 1904 to 1916, inclusive.

New wells completed in the Kansas fields, 1904 to 1916, inclusive.
Year Oil Gas Dry Total
new wells
completed
1904 (a) 2,418   364 2,782
1905 817 211 249 1,277
1906 366 262 151 779
1907 68 236 64 368
1908 72 367 127 566
1909 69 383 106 558
1910 85 261 82 428
1911 172 150 96 418
1912 536 253 160 949
1913 1,422 334 260 2,016
1914 1,753 317 270 2,340
1915 610 331 147 1,088
1916 3,142 112 370 3,624
Totals 11,530 3,255 2,408 17,193
(a) Includes gas wells.

New wells completed in the Kansas fields, 1904 to 1916, inclusive, by counties.
The data in this table, from Mineral Resources of the United States,
U. S. Geol. Survey are chiefly from trade journal sources.
County   1904a 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916b
Allen Oil 387 7   6 22 16 13 30 50 154 175 49 314
Gas   3 2 37 133 100 51 19 2 6 8 13 6
Dry 63 3   2 37 35 14 10 6 11 10 3 6
Total 450 13 2 45 192 151 78 59 58 171 193 65 326
Anderson Oil                     1    
Gas         9 1              
Dry                       4  
Total         9 1         1 4  
Bourbon Oil     8               1    
Gas     6                    
Dry     2                    
Total     16               1    
Butler Oil                     5 22 836
Gas                     24 34 35
Dry                       4 126
Total                     29 60 997
Chautauqua Oil 566 191 125 20 16 23 42 64 182 311 308 112 440
Gas   15 6 17 5 5 4 6 12 54 30 26 20
Dry 64 29 25 10 3 3 14 12 28 77 38 26 51
Total 630 235 156 47 24 31 60 82 222 442 376 164 511
Coffey Oil                     5 3  
Gas                     1    
Dry                     1    
Total                     7 3  
Cowley Oil                     3 2  
Gas                     6 12  
Dry                     8 4  
Total                     17 18  
Elk Oil   9 1     7              
Gas   3       2 1         3  
Dry   4 1         4     3 2  
Total   16 2     9 1 4     3 5  
Franklin Oil   55 63 9 1   1   18 54 163 71  
Gas   4 1 1   6 2     1 32 21  
Dry   4 8 6 1 1       3 30 22  
Total   63 72 16 2 7 3   18 58 225 114  
Labette Oil 31   1       1   2   8 19  
Gas     3     8 2 1   3 28 7  
Dry 1 1       3         18 3  
Total 32 1 4     11 3 1 2 3 54 29  
Linn Oil                     2    
Gas                          
Dry                          
Total                     2    
Miami Oil 84 197 25 5             131 33 217
Gas   17 5 3 6           13 4 2
Dry 13 32 8 2             42 15 56
Total 97 246 38 10 6           186 52 275
Montgomery Oil 715 104 60 21 1 5 16 60 202 602 691 201 778
Gas   89 88 31 79 100 56 36 116 173 137 129 34
Dry 113 40 21 4 17 22 7 22 47 92 75 49 48
Total 828 233 169 56 97 127 79 118 365 867 903 379 860
Neosho Oil 454 97 68 7 30 18 9 16 62 257 221 92 237
Gas   27 61 87 54 65 61 21 30 32 23 43 6
Dry 65 31 36 18 34 17 17 22 23 27 19 9 8
Total 519 155 165 112 118 100 87 59 115 316 263 144 251
Wilson Oil 170 36 7       1 2 18 40 27 6 63
Gas   24 48 47 66 89 80 65 86 54 12 13 3
Dry 41 16 26 10 21 24 27 27 52 45 20 4 2
Total 211 76 81 57 87 113 108 94 156 139 59 23 68
Woodson Oil 20               1 2 12    
Gas           2     3     23  
Dry 4               3 3 2 2  
Total 24         2     7 5 14 25  
Miscellaneous Oil   21 8   2   2   1 2      
Gas   167 42 13 15 5 4 1 4 11 3    
Dry   51 24 12 14 1 3   1 2 4    
Total   239 74 25 31 6 9 1 6 15 7    
(a) Includes gas wells.
(b) Data from trade journals.

Wells drilled and acreage held in Kansas for the years 1910 to 1915, inclusive
Year Wells Acreage
Wells
productive
Jan. 1
New wells
completed
Abandoned Average
daily
production
in bbls.
per well
Fee Lease Total
Oil Dry
1910 1,831 53 26 97 1.9 9,651 101,589 111,240
1911 1,787 164 25 194 1.9 10,031 110,199 120,230
1912 1,757 279 41 224 1.9 18,458 119,274 137,732
1913 1,812 1,336 87 94 2.0 20,566 182,438 203,004
1914 3,054 552 156 194 2.0 21,450 261,386 282,856
1915 3,460 469 158 256 1.7 36,338 68,206 104,544
1916 3,673 3,150 360          
1917 6,823              

The following is a statement of the total number of wells drilled and acreage held in various counties in Kansas for the years 1910 to 1915, inclusive:

Wells drilled and acreage held in Kansas for the years 1910 to 1916, inclusive, by counties. Compiled from records of U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources of the United States.

County Year Wells Acreage
Wells
productive
Jan. 1
New wells
completed
Abandoned Fee Lease Total
Oil Dry
Allen 1910 156 9 18 5 1,017 7,529 8,546
1911 160 46 11 36 613 8,465 9,078
1912 170 34 14 32 1,452 7,913 9,365
1913 172 142 9 5 1,126 13,117 14,243
1914 309 66 5 10 2,008 12,735 14,743
1915 365 50 32 28 2,941 16,773 19,714
1916 387            
Anderson 1915     4        
Butler 1914     1     60,1081 60,108
1915 1 19 4     104,060 104,060
1916 20            
Chase 1914   1          
1915 1            
Chautauqua 1910 785 34 3 45 4,125 30,447 34,572
1911 767 53 4 54 5,967 36,911 42,878
1912 766 106 19 61 10,600 47,982 58,582
1913 811 292 27 27 12,459 49,754 62,213
1914 1,076 193 25 36 9,154 44,691 53,845
1915 1,233 114 29 32 12,914 52,992 65,906
1916 1,315            
Clark 1915     1   10,000 7,000 17,000
Coffey 1910              
1911 2         240 240
1912 2         398 398
1913 2 1   2   158 158
1914 1 18       80 80
1915 19 4       1,195 1,195
1916 23            
Cowley 1913     2     10,622 10,622
1914   1       13,965 13,965
1915 1 1 6     20,354 20,354
1916 2            
Elk 1910              
1911 5     1   150 150
1912 4 2       150 150
1913 6         160 160
1914 6       160 160 320
1915 6 1 2     160 160
1916 7            
Ford 1916 1            
Franklin 1910 25         327 327
1911 25 1       77 77
1912 26     14   77 77
1913 12 47 2     1,137 1,137
1914 59 54 9   1,170 3,397 4,567
1915 113 31 5 6 1,290 4,761 6,051
1916 138            
Greenwood 1913   1       2,107 2,107
1914 1   8        
1915 1            
1916 1            
Labette 1911 1            
1912 1            
1913 1   2   60 3,000 3,060
1914 1 6 4   400 710 1,110
1915 7 3 3   60 4,200 4,260
1916 10            
Linn 1914 2            
1915 2            
1916 2            
Miami 1910 34            
1911 33     9 32 391 423
1912 24 3     30 388 418
1913 27 15 4 14 510 6,7337,243
1914 28 99 19 11 6131 20,125 20,738
1915 116 38 13 9 351 9,384 9,735
1916 145            
Montgomery 1910 450 8   27 324 30,015 30,339
1911 431 38 31 58 851 45,307 46,158
1912 411 101 2 68 3,548 51,684 55,232
1913 444 558 25 35 5,647 55,203 60,850
1914 967 127 54 60 5.301 67,271 72,572
1915 1,034 145 38 131 6,974 144,616 151,590
1916 1,048            
Neosho 1910 185 2 5 16 610 12,502 13,112
1911 170 26 1 13 1,050 3,798 4,848
1912 183 24 5 39 1,7781 3,860 5,638
1913 1681 244 15 7 724 24,823 25,547
1914 405 26 21 47 1,844 21,075 22,919
1915 384 53 18 23 1,660 25,052 26,712
1916 414            
Summer 1914     3        
1915     1        
Wilson 1910 196     3 3,572 20,398 23,970
1911 193   6 23 1,518 14,860 16,378
1912 170 9 1 10 1,050 6,822 7,872
1913 169 33   4 40 15,624 15,664
1914 198 7 5 28 800 15,989 16,789
1915 177 10 3 25 198 10,603 10,801
1916 162            
Woodson 1913   3 1        
1914 3 2 2 1   1,080 1,080
1915 4     2   42 42
1916 2            
(a) Includes Elk and Coffey counties.
(b) Included with Chautauqua county.

It is noteworthy that the number of wells drilled in different portions of the Kansas fields is by no means an indication of their relative importance. For example, both Chautauqua and Montgomery counties have several hundred more wells than Butler county, but the latter, although only recently developed, has probably already produced a larger quantity of oil. The oil-producing wells of Chautauqua and Montgomery counties have a small average output, while the yield from Butler county wells has been, on the average, large.

The average production of newly drilled wells for the first twentyfour hours after completion, and the total volume of the initial production of new wells in Kansas, are shown in the following tables:

Total and average initial daily production of
new wells in Kansas fields 1905-1916, in barrels
Year Total initial
production
Average
per well
1905 14,551 17.7
1906 5,761 15.7
1907 886 13.0
1908 1,159 16.1
1909 1,309 19.0
1910 1,897 22.3
1911 3,271 19.0
1912 7,245 13.5
1913 22,467 15.8
1914 18,932 10.8
1915 11,319 18.6
1916 949.264 79.0

Initial daily production of new wells completed in Kansas in 1915, in barrels, by counties
County Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total
Allen 25 40 5       35     65 95 235 500
Butler               90 25   300 2,905 3,320
Chautauqua 545 675 55 20   90 40 55 75 150 240 570 2,515
Coffey 5   5         10         20
Cowley 15       40               5
Franklin 25 20 20 15 25   40 20 50 70 125 210 620
Labette                   30 20 55 105
Linn                          
Miami     70   15     10 5 5 159 198 462
Montgomery 201 239 75 65 30 40 45 335 180 340 378 577 2,505
Neosho 17           65   35 130 600 335 1,182
Wilson 10     5       10     10   35
Totals 843 974 230 105 110 130 225 530 370 790 1,927 5,085 11,319

Plate XXVII—Weekly production of oil in Kansas, April, 1916, to October, 1917. The increase late in October. 1916, was due to the remarkable new wells in the Towanda district, El Dorado field, Butler county. The sudden increase in production in June, 1917, and the steady rise from July to October are due to the great development and remarkable flow of the new wells from this same district. (Data from trade journals.) [Acrobat PDF version available.]

Weekly production of oil in Kansas, April, 1916, to October, 1917.

Total and average initial daily production of new wells in Kansas, 1911-1915, in barrels, by counties
County Total initial production Average per well
1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915
Allen 353 632 2,960 1,896 500 11.8 12.6 19.2 10.8 10.2
Anderson       10         10.0  
Bourbon       5         5.0  
Butler       47 3,320       9.4 15.1
Chautauqua 1,355 2,963 7,358 5,379 2,515 21.2 16.3 23.7 17.5 22.5
Coffey       45 20       9.0 6.7
Cowley       150 55       50.0 27.5
Franklin   155 748 1,360 620   8.6 13.9 8.3 8.7
Labette   15   32 105   7.5   4.0 5.5
Linn       30         15.0  
Miami       920 462       7.0 14.0
Montgomery 1,300 2,522 5,871 6,262 2,505 21.7 12.5 9.8 9.1 12.5
Neosho 208 693 5,168 2,414 1,182 13.0 11.2 20.1 10.9 12.8
Wilson 35 255 342 268 35 27.5 14.2 8.6 9.9 5.8
Woodson   5 13 114     5.0 6.5 9.5  
Miscellaneous   5 7       5.0 3.5    
Totals and averages 3,271 7,245 22,467 18,932 11,319 19.0 13.5 15.8 10.8 18.56

Total initial daily production of new wells in Kansas, 1911-1915, by months, in barrels
Year Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total Monthly
average
1911 155 90 304 161 438 255 285 363 265 380 265 310 3,271 273
1912 65 173 213 390 352 714 834 940 507 842 1,185 1,030 7,245 604
1913 860 1,065 1,003 1,897 1,548 1,918 1,945 2,250 2,283 2,501 2,857 2,340 22,467 1,872
1914 2,077 2,196 1,950 2,083 2,411 2,178 1,820 1,395 1,006 700 501 615 18,932 1,078
1915 843 974 230 105 110 130 225 530 370 790 1,927 5,085 11,319 943

The following table shows the runs, shipments and stocks of the Prairie Oil and Gas Company, and the Prairie Pipe Line Company, October, 1916, to September, 1917, inclusive:

Runs, shipments and stocks of the Prairie Oil and Gas Co.
and the Prairie Pipe Line Co., October, 1916, to September, 1917,
inclusive. [From trade journals.]
Month Runs Shipments Stocks
1916—October 3,255,000 3,892,039 40,000,000
1916—November 3,360,000 3,691,269 39,500,000
1916—December 3,379,000 4,056,980 39,250,000
1917—January 3,410,000 4,068,530 39,200,000
1917—February 3,080,000 3,655,531 39,000,000
1917—March 3,565,000 4,172,346 38,400,000
1917—April 3,600,000 4,298,844 38,200,000
1917—May 3,937,000 4,248,116 37,900,000
1917—June 3,840,000 4,218,171 37,500,000
1917—July 4,185,000 4,746,857 37,000,000
1917—August 4,341,000 5,027,727 36,400,000
1917—September 4,950,000 4,967,840 35,600,000

The following table shows the runs, shipments and stocks of all Oklahoma and Kansas lines, some lines that do not make regular reports being estimated:

Runs, shipments and stocks of Oklahoma and Kansas,
October, 1916, to September, 1917, inclusive. [From trade journals.]
Month Runs Shipments Stocks
1916—October 8,961,457 10,090,854 82,551,658
1916—November 9,239,496 9,654,230 82,206,458
1916—December 9,150,214 9,904,340 81,974,458
1917—January 9,207,642 10,200,970 82,728,583
1917—February 8,335,853 9,079,425 82,428,693
1917—March 9,715,703 10,120,453 81,791,000
1917—April 9,796,636 10,313,411 80,988,802
1917—May 10,475,547 10,697,247 80,525,173
1917—June 10,098,048 10,561,027 80,218,516
1917—July 11,028,050 11,430,690 80,063,000
1917—August 11,032,811 11,799,592 81,127,000
1917—September 11,574,840 11,454,455 80,697,418

Natural Gas

Although natural gas was reported to be escaping {rom springs in many places in eastern Kansas as early as 1864, the first record of any attempt to utilize the gas was in 1882, when wells were drilled in Miami county about seven miles east of Paola and furnished gas in considerable quantity from a depth of about 300 feet. In 1886 the Paola Gas Company supplied the town of Paola with gas and had 42,240 feet of pipe laid. Southwest of Fort Scott, in Bourbon county, the Fort Scott Economy Fuel Company drilled four wells at about this time and obtained a good supply of gas from a depth of 275 to 295 feet. Gas seepages were reported at La Cygne and Mound City, in Linn county; Girard, Crawford county; Mound Valley, Labette county; Ottawa, Franklin county; but were not developed at this time. Before 1892 a number of the important gas fields were located and producing. In Montgomery county at Coffeyville and Cherryvale wells were producing 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 feet from a 600- to 700-foot sand. In 1893 the Iola field was developing rapidly.

The value of gas produced in Kansas increased 55 percent from 1900 to 1901, with an increase in the number of wells from 21:3 to 256. The wells had a production of from 2,000,000 cu. ft. to 8,000,000 cu ft. per day. The largest wells were located in Neosho, Allen and Montgomery counties. A sudden impetus was given to the development of natural gas in 1904, when the Caney and Independence gas fields in Montgomery county were discovered. The Caney field in the southwest part of the county contained wells yielding from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 cu. ft. The Independence field had an even larger production, some of the wells producing from 16,000,000 to 37,000,000 cu. ft.

From 1909 to 1912 Kansas ranked third among the states producing natural gas. There was a steady decrease in the production and in the pressure of many of the gas fields in the state, however, and in 1913 Kansas had dropped to fifth place. During this year there was a further decrease in gas production. In 1914 and 1915 the Augusta gas field in Butler county was opened. It contained wells with a capacity of 2,000,000 to 40,000,000 cu. ft. per day and caused a material increase in the total production of the state. This was, nevertheless, not even one-half the production of 1910.

Although the great demand for gas as a fuel in the industrial centers of eastern Kansas and western Missouri has kept up the search for gas, no new fields have been opened up since the Augusta field was discovered. Many of the older fields are entirely unable to supply the market. This shortage of gas, especially for city supply, has been the cause of the recent increase in price, and unless new production of large volume is found the price will not go back to its former figures.

Quantity of Natural Gas Produced
in Kansas in Cubic Feet.
Data from Mineral Resources of
the United States, U. S. Geol. Survey.
1906 69,322,633,000
1907 74,526,300,000
1908 80,740,264,000
1909 75,074,416,000
1910 59,380,157,000
1911 38,799,406,000
1912 28,068,370,000
1913 22,884,547,000
1914 22,627,507,000
1915 27,945,908,000

Record of natural gas industry in Kansas, 1897-1915.
Data from Mineral Resources of the United States, U. S. Geol. Survey.
Year Gas produced Gas consumed Wells
Number of
producers
Value Number of consumers Value New wells Total
number
of wells
productive
Dec 31
Domestic Industrial Gas Dry
1897 10 $105,700 3,956 20 $105,700 16 8 90
1898 29 174,640 6,186 44 174,640 34 18 121
1899 31 332,592 10,071 71 332,592 44 22 160
1900 32 356,900 9,703 65 356,900 54 15 209
1901 48 659,173 10,227 72 659,173 71 35 276
1902 80 824,431 13,488 91 824,431 144 63 404
1903 120 1,123,849 15,918 143 1,123,849 295 66 666
1904 190 1,517,643 27,204 298 1,517,643 378 135 1,029
1905 171 2,261,836 46,852 601 2,265,945 340 157 1,142
1906 130 4,010,986 79,270 990 4,023,566 331 99 1,495
1907 196 6,198,583 149,327 1,605 6,208,862 361 163 1,760
1908 212 7,691,587 168,855 1,162 7,691,587 403 208 1,917
1909 199 8,293,846 182,657 1,160 8.,356,076 452 214 2,138
1910 204 7,755,367 186,333 1,412 9,335,027 392 195 2,149
1911 232 4,854,534 199,523 907 9,493,701 301 152 2,033
1912 253 4,264,706 195,446 1,104 8,521,858 435 200 2,106
1913 305 3,288,394 195,131 950 6,983,802 506 253 2,297
1914 353 3,340,025 187,714 1,079 7,163,746 445 219 2,261
1915 371 4,037,011 201,133 1,446 8,174,289 554 194 2,443

Depth and rock pressure of wells in Kansas, 1906-1915, by counties
County Depth
(feet)
Pressure (pounds)
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915
Allen 600-1,500 40-400 10-300 5-300 5-300 15-350 5-351 10-300 5-260 6-240 5-300
Anderson 230-1,070 65-240 43-200 65-200 65-200 40-150 60-225 30-240 65-250 65-225 60-225
Bourbon 150-800 5-60 50 50 75 35-45 40 40 75 75 80
Butler 1,330-1,650   75-450 40-640 40-500 40-550 65-450 60-525 50-560 400-600 300-500
Chase 64-1,100   48-100 17-300 17-300 10-350 1-400 7-80 3-95 10-160 6-160
Chautauqua 300-1,700 75-320 50-280 50-260 60-500 40-500 25-250 50-300 35-410 40-210 25-425
Cowley 575-1,500 75-320 25-150 20-26              
Crawford 100-640 5-60 25-150 20-26 55-80 4-65 20-40 15-50 40-50 80-90 40-176
Douglas 350-450 150-180 60-230 5-170 40-180 10-100 30-120 10-280 20-60 10-180 20-610
Elk 500-1,400 80-290 10-300 100-215 40-200 100-225 100-225 100 90-100 75 40
Ellsworth 950-1,250             125-270 240-270 160-250 195-275
Franklin 160-720 70-75 20-225 20-260 20-200 75-210 50-220 3-260 1-500 50-210 112
Greenwood 350-400 80-290 75-450 40-640              
Johnson 130-950 150-180 60-230 5-170              
Labette 350-1,000 250-285 80-200 80-208 60-125 50-160 25-235 23-185 20-240 50-200 42-195
Linn 85-750 25-185 9-175 10-175 10-150 12-130 22-110 6-170 20-100 20-100 10-100
Miami 160-750 70-75 20-225 20-260 20-200 75-210 50-220 3-260 1-500 40-120 45-100
Montgomery 160-1,600 100-650 25-530 40-530 10-350 3-295 5-350 2-515 5-700 15-400 15-175
Morris 600                   250
Neosho 490-1,200 90-300 40-225 50-250 25-350 35-300 20-287 28-250 15-325 25-360 260
Wilson 250-1,300 135-400 70-395 50-395 25-400 12-400 20-380 15-380 15-285 12-350 30-475
Woodson 650-1,150   75-450 40-640           90-250 200
Wyandotte 271-800 135-400 175 160-198 150-250 50-200 40-250 40-125 30-125 85 15-75

The following cities and towns in Kansas are supplied wholly or in part with natural gas (In 1915. Data from Mineral Resources of the United States, 1915, Pl. II, pp. 1008-1009, U. S. Geol. Survey.):

Altamont
Altoona
Arkansas City
Atchison
Atlanta
Augusta
Baldwin City
Bartlett
Bassett
Baxter Springs
Belle Plaine
Benedict
Bentley
Bonner Springs
Bronson
Buffalo
Buffville
Burden
Burlington
Burrton
Cambridge
Caney
Carlyle
Chanute
Chautauqua Springs
Cherokee
Cherryvale
Chetopa
Coffeyville
Colony
Columbus
Cottonwood Falls
Coyville
Deerfield
Derby
Douglass
Earleton
Edgerton
Edna
Edwardsville
El Dorado
Elk City
Elk Falls
Elm
Elmdale
Elsmore
Empire City
Emporia
Erie
Eudora
Eureka
Fairhaven
Fall River
Fort Scott
Fredonia
Galena
Gardner
Garnett
Gas
Greeley
Grenola
Hackney
Halstead
Havana
Haven
Hepler
Howard
Humboldt
Hunnewell
Hutchinson
Independence
Iola
Jefferson
Kansas City
Labette
La Harpe
Lawrence
Leavenworth
Lenexa
Liberty
Merriam
Moline
Moran
Mound City
Mound Valley
Mount Hope
Mulvane
Neodesoa
New Albany
New Salem
Newton
Niotaze
North Altoona
Olathe
Osawatomie
Oswego
Ottawa
Oxford
Paola
Parsons
Peru
Pittsburg
Pleasanton
Princeton
Rantoul
Richmond
Roper
Rose
Savonburg
Scammon
Scipio
Sedan
Sedgwick
Shawnee
Spring Hill
Stanley
Strong
Sycamore
Thayer
Tonganoxie
Topeka
Turner
Tyro
Udall
Valley Center
Vilas
Weir
Welda
Wellington
Wellsville
Wichita
Winfield
Yates Center

Casinghead Gasoline. Plants for the extraction of the gasoline content of the natural gas have been installed in some parts of the Kansas fields, but to the present this industry is largely restricted to Chautauqua county. Three plants were in operation in 1914 and 1915. This important product from natural gas is receiving more attention each year. The gasoline content of the natural gas used in the Kansas plants ranges from 0.5 to 2 gallons to the thousand cubic feet. [Northrup, J. D., Natural gas: U. S. Geol. Survey, Mineral Resources of the United States, 1914, Pt. II, p. 809, 1915; 1915, Pt. II, p. 1006, 1916.]


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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Placed on web Aug. 10, 2018; originally published 1917.
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