THE CUBA REVIEW 19 



It may be scon, therefore, tliat the numerous indications of petroleum discovered, together 

 with the serious efforts now being made to find petroleum in commercial ciuantities, justify the 

 assertion that within a short time this countr\' will figure as one of the great jjetroleum pro- 

 ducers of the Western Hemisphere. 



Since gas was" found at the I'^lvira, the name of the old Tropical well, many companies 

 have been formed with the object of registering claims and boring f(jr oil. In 1915, when oil 

 was discovered on the Santiago property, speculation assumed considerable proportion, and 

 up to the present, 50 companies have been formed and large amounts of stock issued, with the 

 consequent doubt and mistrust on the part of the public. 



This, however, is not surprising, since the same thing has happened in other countries 

 where mineral oil has been discovered. In the United States, for example, when petroleum was 

 discovered in 18S0, in a well near Titusville, which produced 1,500 quarts daily, 317 companies 

 were inmiediately organized, representing a capital of §200,000,000. .\il the region between 

 Titusville and Oil City was drilled. 



In Cuba, although on a smaller scale, and in spite of the difficulties created by the world 

 war, some fifteen companies are drilling and many wells have been sunk without definite 

 results, due perhaps to inadequate machinery, inefficient workmen and to lack of knowledge 

 of the geology of the districts. 



Another cause that has prevented finding jietroleum in commercial quantities is the fact 

 that most companies have limited their respective wells to a depth of 1,000 feet. In very few 

 cases have thej' reached 3,000 feet, and many have been opened in districts, the geology of 

 which, little or nothing was known. Hence the greater part of them can be justly cla.ssified 

 as "wildcats." 



WELLS DRILLED. — In regard to drillings made in recent years, the following may be 

 said: 



In the provinces of Oriente and Camaguey no indications of petroleum have been found. 

 We will, therefore, review the work done in the other provinces. In the city of Santa Clara a 

 well was drilled near the railway line, varying in depth from 700 to 2,500 feet, passing through 

 a mass of asphalt seven feet in thickness, but no petroleum was found. 



In the San Juan claim of Motembo, three wells were drilled many years ago; the first, 

 950 feet, where a little naphtha was found at depths of 295 and 764 feet. In the second, 30 

 meters distant from the first, naphtha was found on reaching 590 feet. In the third, naphtha 

 was met at depths of 295 and 764 feet. The rocks encountered were principally of serpentine 

 and diorite. 



In 1906 the Cuban American Oil Companj- drilled a well of 1,350 feet near well Xo. 1 in 

 San Juan, but in 1911 the work was abandoned. The three wells yielded gas and naphtha at 

 various levels, one of them producing 90 gallons of naphtha a daj'. In 1915 one of the three 

 wells produced enough gas for use in the kitchen of the farm, and well No. 3 yielded 10 gallons 

 of naphtha daily, according to Mr. E. de Golyer, expert in petroleum. 



In Anton Diaz, near La Esperanza in Santa Clara Province, a well was drilled in 1904, 

 reaching a depth of 1392 feet, and a second well in the year 1905 was bored down to a depth of 

 743 feet. 



In the Province of Matanzas the Cuban Oil Company drilled a well on the Menendez farm 

 in 1915, reaching a depth of 2,385 feet, without obtaining any results. 



In the claim of Fehcidad of Lucas Alverez, before referred to, the original owners drilled 

 five wells, one of which produced 100,000 gallons at a depth of 500 feet and then failed. 



In Sabanilla de la Palma, near the Strau.ss well belonging to the Cardenas-Sabanilla Pe- 

 troleum Company, the Cuban Oil and IMining Corporation is drilling a well which has already 

 reached a depth of 1,036 feet. On reaching 120 feet a layer of asphalt four feet in thickness 

 was penetrated and petroleum was found in small quantities at two other levels. At 1,037 feet 

 they found petroleum of a higher grade than in its above levels. The company plans drilling 

 to a depth of 4,000 feet if necessary, with the idea of finding richer deposits. 



A few months ago work was begun on the grant called America, west of the City of Matan- 

 zas, in a district whose geological formation is analogous to that of Bacuranao, in the province 

 of Havana, and signs of petroleum have been found. 



