In 1963 the KGS Geoscience Data Library was called the Oil and Gas Records Division with Dr. Edwin D. Goebel and Dr. Paul L. Hilpman, Division Co-Heads. Margaret O. Oros and Douglas L. Beene were the other geologists in the office. Later, as the Survey expanded, reorganized and regrouped, the office was headed by geologists Margaret O. Oros, Earl L. Bahnmaier, Shirley E. Paul, Dr. David Collins, and Thomas McClain. Today the office is within the Technical Information Services Section with Joe Ritt as Assistant Director of TIS.
In 1963 the Oil and Gas Division was in three adjoining offices on the second floor of Lindley Hall at the University of Kansas. The office was moved to West Campus, to a building now occupied by the Endowment Association, while Moore Hall was being constructed. In 1973, the Survey moved into Moore Hall but the oil and gas records were not moved immediately because the rolling files (stacks) for the electric log collection had not yet been installed in 201 Moore. In 1982, the oil and gas industry funded Hambleton Hall, adjoining Moore and Parker halls, to alleviate space problems. The Oil and Gas Records office was moved to new quarters in room 326 Hambleton. Room 201 Moore remains as part of the office and houses the ever-expanding electric log files.
The Survey had branch offices in Pittsburg (1948-1963) and Wichita. George E. Abernathy was the first geologist in the Pittsburg office, followed by A. L. Hornbaker (transferred to Lawrence in 1958) and Douglas Beene (1956-1963). When the branch office was closed in October 1963, Beene also transferred to Lawrence. All the Pittsburg office records were sent to the Survey's Wichita branch office, including records such as driller's logs. William Hess was the geologist/manager in the Wichita office and when he left for military service, Robert Dilts became the manager. Larry Skelton presently is manager of the Wichita Well Sample Library. The Survey, as mandated by the Kansas Legislature, is the official repository for the state's oil and gas records.
Through the years, drilling records and data have been donated to the Survey from individuals and companies, and these records have helped fill gaps in the datasets. The Survey is very fortunate for and appreciative of these donations because the data help to provide more complete data coverage. When oil and gas drilling began to develop in western Kansas, drilling records were submitted with more regularity so that data coverage is more complete in the western ranges.
If you are interested in any of our datasets or would like to donate records to our collection, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Abernathy's List of Driller's Logs in Southeastern Kansas - A list of wells compiled by George E. Abernathy, geologist, in the Survey's Pittsburg office. The index covers nine southeast Kansas counties (Allen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, Woodson and part of Chautauqua and Elk counties).
Anaconda Test Holes - (See Eagle-Picher) - Wells drilled by Anaconda in the Tri-State area (the southeastern part of Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma). The wells were drilled for minerals other than petroleum, such as lead or zinc.
Completion Reports - (a.k.a. driller's logs, C-10 and ACO-1 forms) - The data consist of lease, operator, and well information on oil and gas wells in Kansas. The Survey receives completion reports from the Conservation Division of the Kansas Corporation Commission in Wichita.
Cores - Cores from wells drilled in Kansas are housed at the core facility adjacent to Parker Hall.
Cumulative Gas Field - Cumulative gas field production compilation for years 1966 to 1992. An office copy is available in the Data Library and a copy may be purchased from the Publications Sales office.
Cumulative Oil Field - Cumulative oil field production compilation for years 1965 to 1992. An office copy is available in the Data Library and a copy may be purchased from the Publications Sales office.
Dipmeter Survey Reports - Miscellaneous reports on dipmeter surveys in Kansas.
Drill Stem Tests - Miscellaneous drill stem tests (DST) for Kansas.
Dwights's Production Database (Gas) - The Survey subscribes to the Natural Gas Well Production Histories by Dwight's EnergyData, Inc., Richardson, Texas. The biannual reports, a one-line summary of active and inactive gas wells, date from January 1953 to the present (copyrighted).
Eagle-Picher Test Holes - Records donated by the Eagle-Picher Company include miscellaneous well information. Wells were drilled for minerals other than petroleum, such as lead and zinc.
Eastern Kansas Shallow Stripper Reports - The Eastern Kansas Shallow Stripper Reports, previously published by Vance Rowe and now by Petroleum Information (P.I.), are oil production reports for eastern Kansas counties. The Vance Rowe reports date from 1953 to 1973. P. I. supplies the data from January 1974 to the present.
Electric Logs - Electric logs of Kansas wells are filed by the operators with the Kansas Corporation and sent to the Survey for permanent storage. The public may obtain copies of electric logs for a nominal fee by contacting the Data Library.
Enhanced Oil-Recovery Questionnaires and Data - Data for secondary recovery for oil and gas reservoirs in Kansas.
Herndon Maps - Copyrighted maps with wells with data on county, legal description, type of well, company name, lease name and number, date formation tops, elevations, and total depth. The Herndon Maps are updated biannually, in June and December.
Independent Oil and Gas Service (Redtops Newsletters) - Newsletters typically contain news on the latest drilling, summaries of first reports, wildcat completions, pool completions, nomenclature news, drilling reports, intents to drill listings, new locations of completed wells, and other oil and gas news relevant to Kansas.
Intents to Drill - Monthly listings of notices of intent to drill from the Kansas Corporation Commission, date from 1956 to the present, listing API number, DWR number, operator name, contractor, type, depth, SC, ALT, lease name and well number, start date, location (S-T-R and spot), county, expiration date, and license number.
Kansas Brine Analyses - Report listing chemical analyses of Kansas oil-field brines by stratigraphic formation. Compiled from industry sources and available for purchase at the Publications Sales office.
Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) Reports - Reports from the KCC which contain tabulations of well production allowables by producer and lease name and field summaries by operator names. Report listings: Beauchamp, South etc., Panoma Council Grove, Hugoton Gas Reports, Table "B" Oil Reports, Borchers NW, etc.
Kansas Crude Production Report (April 1974 - Present) - Biannual report from Petroleum Information Corp., Denver. The Vance Rowe reports, predecessor to P. I., date back to 1944.
Kansas Report - Newsletters typically contain news on the latest drilling, plugging, first summary report, completions, and important statewide information. This report is published by Petroleum Information.
Kansas Precambrian Wells - Compilation of Kansas wells drilled into Precambrian rocks. Computer printout may be purchased from the Publications Sales office.
Microfiche Electric Logs - Up-to-date microfiche of electric logs held in the KGS Electric Log Library. Microfiche are also available for townships in Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma that border Kansas.
Microfilm Electric Logs - Discontinued microfilm copies of selected logs held in the KGS Electric Log Library. Customers may obtain microfilm copies for a nominal fee by contacting the Data Library.
Mid-Continent Region Report - Newsletters typically contain news on the latest drilling, oil and gas hearings, and an activity report for the states of Kansas, eastern Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, northern Arkansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, eastern New Mexico and southeast Colorado. This report is published by Petroleum Information.
Nomenclature Cards - Cards showing changes or corrections as designated by the Kansas Geological Society Nomenclature Committee. Information on the cards give the county name; field name; field S-T-R description (area encompassed by the field); and the field's discovery well giving operator, lease name and number, spot location, section-township-range location, discovery date, production formation zone of the discovery well, and, if applicable, abandoned date and revived date of the field.
Nomenclature Minutes - Minutes record the Kansas Geological Society Nomenclature Committee's decisions on status of individual wells (i.e., a well designated as a wildcat for new discoveries, and extension of a field, or an additional pay zone, etc.) and fields (new field discoveries, revivals, extensions, new pay zones, combined, or abandoned).
Oil and Gas Fields in Kansas (Maps) - Maps produced by the KGS showing locations of Kansas oil and gas producing fields. The data are updated regularly so that a current version may be published on demand. The maps are available in 1:500,000 scale without field names and 12 1:250,000 scale with field names. The map is available for purchase at the Publications Sales office.
Oil and Gas Production Reports - Oil and gas production reports are available in computer printout and floppy disk format for the years 1965 to 1992. Prior to this date, the Survey published an annual production report.
Out-of-State Completion Cards - Petroleum Information Corp. sends the Survey some out-of-state cards for townships in Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma that border Kansas.
Phillips Petroleum Corehole - Shothole Drill Logs - Drillhole data, donated by the Phillips Petroleum Company, covering various areas of Kansas. Data include: county, T-R-S, surface elevation, formation tops, and total depth. Oil/Gas Pipeline Maps - Published maps showing oil, gas and product. The maps may be purchased from the Publications Sales office.
Pipeline Reports - These are reports dating from 1944 up to more recent times. Plugged Well Reports - Kansas Corporation Commission reports from 1953 to present contain license number, operator, lease name, well number, total depth, spot location, S-T-R, county, date classification, and API number. Reports may be purchased from the Publications Sales office.
Sample Log County Index - An index of stratigraphic logs (sample logs) of Kansas counties is kept in the Data Library. The index was compiled by the Kansas Geological Society, Wichita, and sent to the Kansas Geological Society Office Manager in 1969 and brought up-to-date.
Secondary Recovery Operations - Vance Rowe reports from 1958 to 1973 and Petroleum Information reports - 1974 to present.
Strip Logs - Approximately 90,000 logs of wells also known as sample, Davies, and stratigraphic logs.
Type Logs - Published by the Kansas Geological Society in 1966, type logs may be ordered from the Society in Wichita. The geographic area covered was Kansas western counties. Good quality electric logs were selected for counties that were good examples, a prototype or a standard, for a lithologic reference of the county or area. There are a few eastern Kansas prototype logs also shelved alongside the western type logs, but coverage of the eastern counties is not as complete. The eastern logs were compiled by Survey geologists and are not official.
Wichita Well Sample Library - Houses cutting samples from approximately 130,000 wells' rotary-cutting samples that the public may study.