Elk hills: oil for national defense

Journal Article · Mon Aug 15 04:00:00 EDT 1966 · Calif. Oil World Pet. Ind.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6760392

Rintoul, B

If there should suddenly be a demand for oil for national defense one of the nation's largest oil fields, the Elk Hills (San Joaquin Valley) Field, would be called upon. By law, the U.S. Navy controls the exploration, development, and rate of production from the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1, which blankets the boundaries of the field. Since the first oil well was completed at Elk Hills in 1919, the field has produced more than 273 million bbl of oil. Productive oil and gas zones include dry gas zones of Pliocene age between 1,500 and 2,500 ft; shallow oil sands of Pliocene age from 2,000-5,000 ft; the Stevens sands of Upper Miocene age from 6,000-8,000 ft; and the Carneros zone of Lower Miocene age at 9,000 ft. Remaining to be produced are an estimated 225 million bbl in the shallow Pliocene sands, an estimated 680 million bbl in the Stevens sands, and an estimated 17 million bbl in the Carneros zone. Still to be explored at Elk Hills are deeper horizons that offer hope for more oil. There are 3 interesting targets: the Phacoides sands of Lower Miocene age, the Oceanic sands of Oligocene age, and the Point of Rocks sands of Eocene age.

• OSTI ID: 6760392
• Journal Information: Calif. Oil World Pet. Ind.; (United States), Journal Name: Calif. Oil World Pet. Ind.; (United States) Vol. 59:14; ISSN COWPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
CALIFORNIA
CENOZOIC ERA
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLORATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NORTH AMERICA
OIL FIELDS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTIVITY
RESOURCES
TERTIARY PERIOD
USA
WELLS
WESTERN REGION