viii. a, 5 Pratt and Smith: Petroleum Resources 351 



PETROLEUM AT BAHAY 



The strongest seep in the Bondoc field is, perhaps, that at 

 Bahay, the drilling site of the Bahay Valley Oil Company on 

 Bahay River. Bahay River is about 15 meters in width at this 

 point, and the oil appears at numerous places over the whole 

 surface of the stream throughout a length of 50 meters. It 

 comes up spontaneously, accompanied by bubbles of inflammable 

 gas, and forms an extensive surface film. An unusual cloudiness 

 in the water is commonly attributed to the presence of the oil. 

 The river bed is covered by pebbles and small bowlders of lime- 

 stone eroded from the Lower limestone which is exposed several 

 hundred meters upstream, and the oil is trapped beneath the 

 larger rocks and escapes to the surface after the temporary 

 reservoirs which these afford are filled. The elevation of the 

 seeps above sea level is about 50 meters. 



The formation is concealed within the area covered by the 

 seeps. Fossiliferous sandy clays, believed to represent the Can- 

 guinsa sandstone, were observed upstream — about 300 meters 

 south of the seep. The structural relations of this outcrop 

 could not be determined since no planes of stratification are 

 discernible. North of the seeps — approximately 150 meters 

 downstream — imperfectly bedded shale occurs, dipping to the 

 east-northeast at an angle of 55°. This shale is sandy, blue to 

 black in color, and contains carbonized impressions of leaves and 

 broken plant stems. From the position and dip of this shale 

 it appears that the seeps are probably in the eastern limb of 

 the anticline and from the relations elsewhere it is evident that 

 they are very close to the axis. 



Two wells have been drilled near the seeps. The first well, 

 Bahay 1, is located a few meters west of the river bank opposite 

 the point where the seeps are most numerous. It was drilled 

 by hand in 1906 under the direction of Mr. E. W. McDaniel, 

 managing director for the Tayabas Mutual Oil Association. It 

 is cased with 4-inch pipe, and reached a depth of 38.7 meters. 

 A record of this well is not available, but the following data 

 appeared in the Far Eastern Review: 17 



The first oil sand occurred at a depth of 62 feet and continued through 

 six feet to a depth of 68 feet. From this strata using the mud bailer as a 

 pump, 46 gallons of crude oil of an excellent quality was secured in one day's 

 work, * * *. Owing to the crumbling nature of the formation above 



" hoc. cit. 



