60 
OIL AND GAS; OHIO, WEST VIRGINIA, PENNSYLVANIA. 
by the dry holes (Nos. 380, 442, 417, 1200, and 1201, the records of 
none of which could be obtained) and by the presence of salt water 
in the Fifth sand in the row of wells to the north has been considered 
sufficient by the operators to condemn this country. The record 
shows that the Fifth sand in well No. 443 is “ shelly,” and it is pos¬ 
sible that this territory is condemned because of poor sand in the 
Fourth and Fifth. Otherwise, if the sands are good, this area is not 
sufficiently tested, and a well put down a little less than half a mile 
due southeast of well No. 380 would have a good show of getting oil 
in any sand below the Gantz, and especially in the Fourth and Fifth 
sands. Should a test here show oil a detailed map on a large scale 
would probably be worth many times its cost. 
In the bottom of the Finney trough to the east and south of 
Coffeys Crossing, the Fourth sand carries the greater amount of oil, 
though the Fifth is usually a good producer. In all the productive 
territory of the Fourth, it appears to carry very much less salt water 
than either the Gordon or the Fifth sand. Along the crooked bottom 
of the trough south west ward from Coffeys Crossing, the Fifth sand 
soon becomes the prominent oil-bearing bed. At- Avell No. 544 this 
sand is 22 feet thick, carrying two streaks of coarse pebbly pay sand, 
2 and 5 feet thick, with gas above. This well yielded 353 barrels of 
oil in the first twenty-four hours, and is still a good producer. In 
this area the Fourth sand carries gas, the Gordon salt water, and the 
Gordon Stray in many wells both gas and oil. The records of wells 
Nos. 489 and 499 were not obtained, and for this reason the structure 
of the small area surrounding them in which no wells are shown on 
the map (PI. XIII, pocket) is to be taken with some allowance, though 
it is not far from correct. In this area the Gordon is doubtless filled 
with salt water, but there is no structural reason whv both the Fourth 
and Fifth sands should not be productive. If these sands are good 
within the area, there are probably portions of them which contain 
oil. 
Between well No. 554 and the west edge of the shallow basin east 
of Coffeys Crossing, the Fifth sand does not seem to carry much salt 
water, probably because the bottom of the trough pitches so steeply 
that the water has drained down into the next basin to the southwest. 
At dry hole No. 885 the Fifth sand is completely saturated, and it is 
likely to be found in that condition at all points within the basin 
below the 480-foot contour. Above this line around the sides of the 
basin there is a possibility of the sand carrying more or less oil. 
Southward from well No. 544 the productive belt seems to lie prin¬ 
cipally between the 540-foot and 590-foot contours, the oil coming 
from the Gordon Stray and Fifth sands, but mostly from the Fifth. 
It will be noted that a line of dry holes (records of which could not 
