18 RECORD OF DEEP WELL DRILLING FOR 1904. [bull. 264. 
VALUE OF RECORDS TO OWNERS OF OIL AND GAS WELLS. 
The statements which have been made in regard to the benelit of 
accurate records to drillers for oil and gas apply with added force to 
the owners of wells, for the ultimate cost of the wells must, in nearly 
every instance, fall upon them rather than upon the drillers or con- 
tractors. The structure, as determining the most favorable points 
for drilling, the depth of the producing rock, the character of the 
materials to be penetrated, the available water supplies, the casing 
required to shut off undesirable water and to support "cave" rock, 
and the supply obtainable are all of the greatest importance in deter- 
mining the success or failure of a well. As has been pointed out, 
this information is best afforded by records of adjacent wells, and the 
operator will practically always make inquiries in regard to adjacent 
wells before beginning his own. Frequently these wells will be found 
to have been drilled many years ago and the reeords lost. It is to 
prevent such loss and. instead, to make the information permanently 
available that the work of collecting records and samples has been 
undertaken by the Survey. 
VALUE OF RECORDS TO DRILLERS OR OWNERS OF WATER 
WELLS. 
In the same way that records arc of value to oil and gas operators 
they are of benefit to drillers or owners of water wells. The question 
of the depth of the water-bearing rock, for instance, is of even greater 
importance than that of the oil or gas sands, because of the relatively 
low value of the water as compared with oil or gas. With crude 
petroleum at $1.50 a barrel a supply of only a few barrels a day will 
give a profit on the investment required for a well of 2,000 or more 
feet deep, while many hundred barrels of water are required to make 
even a much shallower well profitable. Moreover, for many manufac- 
turing uses the supply must reach a certain minimum, representing the 
amount needed for the processes involved, in order to be of any value 
whatever, while oil, if present in quantities greater than a mere show, 
can generalh T be successfully utilized. 
The great importance of obtaining water supplies at a moderate 
depth will be seen when it is remembered that among the competitors 
of any manufacturing establishment there will always be some who 
will be able to obtain abundant supplies of the best quality at almost 
no cost above that of pumping. In such instances the success or fail- 
ure of an enterprise may depend on obtaining good water at a slight 
depth. The character of the material to be penetrated and the amount 
of casing are prominent items in the cost and, therefore, largely deter- 
mine the success or failure of a well. Other elements, such as head. 
