1s NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
the water will pass more rapidly than through the remaining parts 
of the sand. When this is the case only a partial recovery of oil can 
be expected but efforts to remedy this condition have met with par- 
tial success and it is hoped that further experience with sands of 
this character will develop a successful method of obtaining a larger 
percentage of oil. The use of packers in water wells for shutting 
off the water from loose streaks of sand has been very successful. 
In many wells it is not necessary to use them at all, but it is always 
best to test a well for loose streaks of sand to determine whether or 
not packers can be dispensed with. 
In depth most of the wells of the New York oil fields vary from 
around 800 feet to over 2000 feet, the deeper wells for the most part 
being located on the higher elevations of the hills. The deeper wells 
of course have the greatest hydrostatic pressure and theoretically 
at least will drive the water faster and farther than under similar 
conditions in a shallow well. Practical results indicate that the 
theory is sound and the adding of more pressure to the shallow wells 
is advocated. One advantage of adding more pressure is that fewer 
wells need to be drilled, the saving in the drilling being more than 
the cost of producing the additional pressure. Further consideration 
of the relative merits and costs of obtaining sufficient pressure, which 
will give the best practical results, is under way and has already been 
given some attention by several of the oil producers. 
The amount of oil that remains in the oil sand after flooding is 
completed has not yet been satisfactorily determined. The many fac- 
tors which enter into this problem make its solution difficult. A 
study of drill cores would give some valuable information and sev- 
eral of the operators are contemplating putting in a core-drilling 
machine for the purpose of obtaining cores. A study of samples of 
the sand from wells that have been completely flooded out is also 
desirable as well as sands that have been cross flooded. It is hoped 
that some interesting facts can be obtained from a study of the 
samples of sands from the various flood wells. 
Most of the important oil sands of southwestern New York do not 
contain water. Most of the water that has been reported is found 
on the borders of the field. Owing to the absence of water, the oil 
is found in the lower parts of the sand. Such structures as anticlines 
or synclines are rather difficult to determine on account of the low 
dip, but oil is sometimes found in synclines. The structure has been 
made out in only a few instances and it would appear that while the 
dip is large enough to affect accumulation, it does not seem to have 
effect on direction of flooding. 
