63 



OCCURRENCE OF OIL AND GAS IN EASTERN 

 ILLINOIS. 



,H. FOSTRR Baix. 



The year just closed was a very prosperous one in the petroleum 

 fields of Illinois. The area was extended rapidly to the southeast, 

 many gaps were filled in, new and lower sands were tapped, 

 additional pipe- lines were laid, a new refinery was built and the 

 output was phenomenal. 



At the close of 1906 the number of producing wells was esti- 

 mated at 4,185, and 532 dry holes were known to have been 

 drilled. The total number of producing wells January i, 1908, 

 may be estimated at 9,772, with 1,260 dry holes. At this rate 

 88 per cent, of the holes put down have proved productive de- 

 spite the fact that the outlines of the field are at many points yet 

 to be determined. 



The first oil was shipped from this field in June, 1905, and the 

 shipment for that year, all of which went out in tank cars, 

 amount to 156,502 barrels. In 1906 a pipe-line was extended 

 into the territory, and the shipments as reported by the Ohio 

 Oil Co., were 4,385,470 barrels. 



There are now collecting mains extending from north to south 

 throughout the field and four 8-in. lines (or an equivalent) from 

 Martinsville, the central pumping plant, eastward across In- 

 diana. A new line has recently been put in service nmning west- 

 ward to a large refinery built this year near Alton, Illinois, by 

 the Standard Oil Co. 



The pipe-line runs for 1907, given through the courtesy of the 

 Ohio Oil Company, were as follows : 



