PETROLEUM RESOURCES 

 AND INDUSTRIES OF 

 THE PACIFIC COAST 



BY RALPH ARNOLD 



Consulting Geologist and Petroleum 

 Engineer, Los Angeles 



GENERAL Statement: In 1914 the United States 

 produced 292,000,000 barrels of oil, or about 

 two-thirds of the world's production. Cali- 

 fornia ranks first of all the states in the Union in 

 the production and value of petroleum, the total 

 output in 1914 being approximately 103,000,000 bar- 

 rels, or a little more than 38 per cent of the total 

 produced in the United States. Oil stands first in 

 value in the State's mineral products, the output in 

 1914 being valued at about $50,000,000, as against 

 $20,406,958 for gold, its nearest competitor. 



The proved area of oil-producing territory in 

 California aggregates from 100,000 to 125,000 acres, 

 depending on the conservatism of the estimate. This 

 last figure practically represents the possible acre- 

 age, as it does not seem probable that any more large 

 districts will be discovered. For that reason, further 

 development doubtless will be carried on within the 

 limits of the proved fields or along the line of minor 

 extensions of the same. Assuming the possible pro- 

 ductive area confined to the present districts, Cali- 

 fornia is still destined, according to the most con- 

 servative estimates, to hold premier place among 

 the oil-producing states of the Union for many 

 years. 



With the exception of a negligible quantity of 

 oil carrying some parafline, all of the oil from the 

 California fields has an asphalt base. This is in 

 direct contrast to the oils of Pennsylvania and most 

 of the eastern states, which are practically all of 

 paraffine base. The gravity of the commercial crude 

 oil ranges from 10° to 36*^ Beaume (1.000 to 0.8433 

 specific gravity). 



The wells vary in depth from 200 to over 5700 

 feet, the average probably being about 1500 to 1800 

 feet. There are now 5826 producing wells within 

 the State, yielding a total daily average of 263,503 

 barrels in November, 1914, or a daily average per 

 well of 45.2 barrels. This average is verj^ high as 

 compared with the daily average of the eastern 

 wells, especially those in the older fields. The 

 length of life of' the wells varies from 10 to 25 or 30 



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