ABSTRACT
The total number of wells drilled in West Virginia in 1953 reported to February 11, 1954, was 712, an increase of 11, or 1.57 per cent. Permits to drill or deepen totaled 712, or 58 more than in 1952, or an increase of 8.87 per cent. Abandoned during the year were 211 gas wells and 340 oil wells, or a total of 551 wells. Wells completed were: gas, 451; oil, 50; oil and gas, 24; storage, brine, water injection, and pressure wells, 43; dry holes, 144; total, 712. Compared with 1952, gas wells decreased 4, or 0.89 per cent; oil wells decreased 10, or 16.67 per cent; oil and gas wells decreased 3, or 11.11 per cent; storage and other wells increased 17, or 65.38 per cent; dry holes increased 11, or 8.27 per cent. Depth of wells completed ranged from 345 to 8,508 feet, compared with 75 to 8,175 feet in 1952. Total footage drilled (1,959,449 feet) decreased 85,372 feet, or 4.66 per cent under 1952 (2,044,821 feet). The average depth of wells (2,738 feet) decreased 179 feet, or 6.14 per cent. The total initial daily open flow of the gas wells was 393,780 MCF, a decrease of 17,362 MCF, or 4.22 per cent. The size of the gas wells ranged from 12 to 22,247 MCF, compared with 10 to 19,000 MCF in 1952. The total daily initial oil was 598¼ barrels, 183 ¾ barrels less than in 1952, or 23.50 per cent. The size of the oil wells ranged from ¾ barrel to 90 barrels daily, compared with ¼ to 80 barrels in 1952. The number of wells drilling or unreported if completed at the end of the year was 269, 4 more than in 1952, an increase of 1.51 per cent. Letters were sent to 171 operators regarding 331 wells not reported. Rephes were received from 93 operators regarding 226 wells, leaving 78 operators unheard from regarding 105 wells. The average size of gas wells was 850 MCF, compared with 878 MCF in 1952, or a 3.19 per cent decrease. The average size of the oil wells was 9.2 barrels, compared with 10.7 barrels in 1952, a decrease of 14 per cent. Preliminary estimates of production for 1953: gas, 180,000,000 MCF compared with 172,300,000 MCF estimated for 1952, or an increase of 4.4 per cent; oil, 3,000,000 barrels, an increase of 399,000 barrels over the 1952 estimate, or 15.3 per cent due mainly to water flooding. The estimated number of producing wells at the end of 1953: gas, 13,769; oil, 12,955. Table gives statistics by counties.
