Mist gas field: drilling heats up in Oregon
Until 1979, no commerical amounts of gas had been found in Oregon. There had been scattered wildcatting attempts since the 1940s, but with the exception of one oil field which produced for 4 yr no significant pools were discovered. However, one area in the northwest corner of the state approx. 45 miles west of Mt. St. Helens, showed some promise. Texaco found permeable potential reservoir rocks near the town of Mist, Ore., in 1947. Ten years later geologists field-mapped the area and found potential oil and gas formations, but no wells were drilled. By 1975, a shortfall or natural gas had developed in N.W. Oregon. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., which manufactured nitrogen-based products in the St. Helens areas, faced a continued curtailment of its operations if a new supply of gas could not be found. Reichhold leased approx. 80,000 acres in N.W. Oregon for the purpose of exploration. Reichhold drilled dry holes in 1975. Two years later Reichhold acted as operator on the first well drilled near Mist, Oregon. Columbia County No. 1 was drilled to 3105 ft. Five feet in the top of the Clark and Wilson sands contained gas underlain by saltwater sand. Analysis of sidewall cores confirmed the general range of permeabilities that Texaco has found in this sand.
- OSTI ID:
- 6766466
- Journal Information:
- Drilling; (United States), Vol. 42:8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Geothermal gradient and Btu studies of Mist gas field, Columbia County, Oregon
West Coast