790 Subsurface Geologic Methods 



Conclusions 



The magnitude of the unrecovered oil in the United States has never 

 received the attention which it deserves and, therefore, is an unknown quan- 

 tity. Some 64 billion barrels of oil have been discovered in this country 

 since the completion of the first commercial well in Venango County, Penn- 

 sylvania, in 1859. Consequently, the conclusion cannot be escaped that the 

 United States has been supplied abundantly with oil, and it seems equally 

 certain, from the author's studies and observations, that a great deal of oil 

 will not be recovered by common production methods that have been in 

 use for a period of time which now is approaching one century. However, 

 it should be recognized that effective oil-recovery techniques, just like 

 the conservation of soil and forest resources, have not always been known, 

 and their development has taken place over a period of many years. Like- 

 wise, for years the price received for crude oil has been in no way com- 

 mensurate with the value of the product and has not permitted, in many in- 

 stances, a normal replacement of produced reserves. As a consequence, in 

 many producing areas it has not been profitable in the past to apply 

 methods for increasing oil recovery, even though the techniques for so 

 doing have been known and have been applied successfully in certain parts 

 of the country for over half a century. 



