History & Geology

• HISTORY OF OIL PRODUCTION IN OKLAHOMA

  • The first recorded oil well in what is now Oklahoma was completed in 1859. The well was accidental; the men were seeking salt water;
  • Active exploration began to take place in the 1880s.
  • April 15, 1897, a shot of nitro-glycerine brought in the Nellie Johnstone No. 1, the first commercial well in Oklahoma.
  • In the early 1900s Oklahoma had not received statehood. An oil boom started, bringing federal scrutiny.
  • Oklahoma received statehood in 1907.
  • The oil riches ignited a mineral rush that would ebb and flow across the twin territories and the state for more than thirty years.
  • The Oklahoma oil fields are part of the huge Mid-Continent Oil Region that stretches from central Texas across Oklahoma to eastern Kansas.
  • More than 8 billion barrels of crude were pumped from the various pools of the Mid-Continent Region from 1900 to 1935.

  • Oklahoma was a consistent leader in production within the Mid-Continent Region. For twenty–two years between 1900 and 1935 it ranked first among Mid-Continent Region states in production, and for nine years it was second.
  • Oil fields were pumped indiscriminately and without proper management.
  • In 1930, the Wild Mary Sudik blowout gushed oil at a rate of 3,000 barrels per hour for 11 days before it was brought under control.
  • In the sixties and seventies, Oklahoma enjoyed unprecedented wealth as oil prices rose.
  • In the eighties and nineties, gas production began to take hold. Most companies focused on natural gas production.
  • Increased oil prices earlier this decade brought increasing interest in primary and secondary oil production.
  • The oil price collapse in 2008 brought numerous opportunities for well-capitalised companies across Oklahoma.
  • In November 2009, Armadillo Energy Inc. began operations in northeast Oklahoma.

• GEOLOGICAL SUMMARY

  Armadillo Energy Inc. works in Oklahoma, primarily in Washington, Nowata, and Rogers Counties. These counties are located in the northeast part of the state, north of the city of Tulsa.

  

  To the north, the Cherokee platform merges with the Cherokee basin of southeast Kansas, an area where some of the first commercial oil discoveries for the mid-continent region were made in the late 1800s. In the northern part of the Cherokee platform, as in the Cherokee basin, production emphasis is on the Cherokee sandstone reservoirs. Farther south, the greater part of production comes from the Pennsylvanian reservoirs.

  

  The reservoir rock typical to the region is the Bartlesville sandstone. It is known as a fluvial dominated deltaic system; which means that it is the result of an ancient river delta. The depth of the oil reservoir is about 350 to 800 feet. Local structure is not important in controlling accumulation of oil, but regional structure and variations in thickness (lenticularity) are crucial in determining where the oil is found. Other sandstone reservoirs of interest in the area are the Peru and the Red Fork.