First Oil Well to be Opened on Beeler Farm
17 Carloads of Machinery Expected to Arrive Next Week for Campbellsville Drilling
Company Plans to Sink First Well to Depth of 5,000 to 8,000 Feet
Within a few days, Giles County will witness the start of efforts to extract oil from some of its prime land as the Standard Oil Company of California breaks ground on the E. W. Beeler farm in the Campbellsville community, located 18 miles north of Pulaski. This will be the site for drilling a well that has already been designated as the E. W. Beeler Well No. 1.
The announcement of the company’s selection of the site for the well was made Thursday night by R. W. Killen, landman with the California company, who has been in Giles County since August overseeing the leasing of 50,000 acres of land in both the northern and southern parts of the county.
Killen also announced that the Loffland Brothers Drilling Company had been awarded the contract for drilling the well. He stated that the machinery and equipment will be shipped by train to Giles County early next week, where it will be unloaded either at Lynnville or Ethridge, with the final location to be determined later this week.
The general excitement surrounding the start of prospecting in this uncharted territory is expected to be amplified as citizens of the area witness the unloading of the 17 train cars carrying the heavy equipment and see trucks lined up to transport the equipment to the construction site.
Upon the arrival of the equipment, trained crews will begin the “rigging up” process, including the assembly of a 126-foot derrick. This task is expected to take two to three weeks before drilling can commence.
Although the rig will be capable of drilling to 15,000 feet, Killen stated that the well will likely be drilled to granite, a variable depth expected to range between 5,000 and 8,000 feet. This depth cannot be precisely determined due to the lack of prior drilling information in the area.
With power supplied by four Diesel engines, drilling will proceed continuously, operating 24 hours a day with eight-hour shifts. Eighteen experienced workers will make up the drilling crews, with six men working each shift under the supervision of trained personnel.
While the time required to reach the target depth will depend on the condition and nature of the soil encountered, Killen estimated that it could take between two and four months to complete the drilling.
Labeling the well as a “wildcat well,” Killen explained that the term “wildcat” refers to wells developed based on surface geological studies. Since this well falls into that classification, it is impossible to predict with any accuracy what type of ground will be encountered below the surface or what the outcome of the drilling will be.
In the event that the well proves successful, landowners in the county can expect substantial profits, and business in general will likely experience an upward trend due to the resultant population increase.
A SHORT TIME LATER……………
DRILLING BEGINS
PULASKI, Tenn.– The slender steel frame of a derrick has risen above the countryside as drilling begins in the quest for oil on the E. W. Beeler farm in the Campbellsville community, located about 18 miles north of here.
The well is being drilled for the California Company, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company. The California Company holds oil leases on approximately 50,000 acres of Giles County land.
