NATURAL GAS. 
63 
to-day is the adequate recognition of the dominating factors in the 
natural gas conservation problem, which are: 
1. Mandatory pooling of field operations, coupled with an adequate 
market price. 
2. Education of the natural gas producers, and of the public, 
coupled with national constructive legislation. Any legislation, of 
course, to be of value to the public must be so framed as to stimulate 
production and the constant search for new supplies. 
EFFECT OF GOVERNMENTAL OPPOSITION TO UNIFIED CONTROL. 
The present governmental attitude in preventing unity of action 
in the gas field causes a decrease in the life of the leaseholds, stimu- 
lates waste, and increases the cost of the gas to the public. Gas 
field operating conditions should be regarded as a natural monopoly, 
so that in the development of the field one company, or one “ operat- 
ing pool,” could space the wells properly, and drain the field only at 
the rate of its safe working capacity, thereby greatly increasing and 
strengthening the life of the field. 
POOLING OF FIELD OPERATIONS MANDATORY IF WASTE IS TO BE REDUCED. 
The economic fallacy of competition between untilities is now 
thoroughly established. Competition, either as a guarantor of good 
service or regulator of rates, has failed. The doctrine that the public 
is served best by a legalized and regulated monopoly has become 
a fixed part of American public utility jurisprudence, and ought to 
be applied to the mining operations in the natural gas field. 
The maximum usefulness could be derived from a pool of oil or gas by its 
being controlled by one competent management, as under such conditions it 
could be developed with the least waste and at the smallest cost. However, 
rarely is a pool under one control ; ordinarily a pool is divided among many 
owners. To get the best results the operators should act in unison for the pro- 
tection of their common sources of supply and for their mutual benefit. To 
make cooperation among the producers in a field effective it seems necessary 
for them to organize with some central authority that can furnish protection 
against carelessness, inefficient, or even deliberately negligent acts of indi- 
viduals. The center of this organization should be supplied with all the data 
affecting the common interests, which could be kept confidential if necessary, 
and from this information concerning conditions in the field general policies 
for development and operation could be outlined. That would work to the 
best interests of all concerned. 
There is no business to-day in which, by its very nature, there is more need 
for cooperation than among the oil and gas operators, yet they have been able 
to do practically nothing by themselves. Nearly all attempts at cooperation 
among oil and gas producers have failed, primarily because there was no au- 
thority to compel the observance of the will of the majority by individuals who 
did not choose to follow the policies laid down . 1 
1 Underground Wastes in Oil and Gas Fields and Methods of Prevention. Technical 
Paper 130, U. S. Bureau of Mines, pp. 4, 5, by W. F. McMurray and J. O. Lewis. 
