Drilling in Illinois and Indiana increased by 42 per cent in 1946 as compared with 1945 and production increased by 212 per cent. The increase in drilling was due in part to the expiration of many 10-year leases and in part to greater availability of materials and manpower. There was little deep testing in 1946 and nearly all of the new wells produced from sandstones and limestones of the Mississippian system.

The rate of drilling in 1947 will probably decline from the high level of 1946 but will probably be higher than that of 1945. It seems likely that there will be increased test drilling of pre-Mississippian strata, especially of the Silurian in the western marginal area of the Illinois basin.

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