CONTROLLING WELLS The test of a good oil man is his ability 'to bring in a well" under control. Gushers (see Fig. 41, page 107) sound interesting to the general public, but are the bane of an oil man. The loss of pro duction resulting from an uncontrolled flow of oil means a serious monetary loss, not only of oil, but sometimes loss due to damages to crops nearby, such as orange and lemon trees in California, corn fields and cotton fields in Oklahoma, and cotton fields in Louis iana and Texas. Such damage is generally unnecessary.
The careful operator prides himself on "bringing in a well" with out getting a drop of oil on the derrick floor. This can be done by good operators.
The uncontrolled flow of the Spindletop gushers resulted in the loss of millions of barrels of oil. The famous Lake View No. 1, near Maricopa, California, was the cause of a tremendous expense and but little profit for the men who owned it. Much of its 60,000 bbls. per day went to waste in the early stages of
production.
Sometimes a driller may penetrate an oil sand without expect ing it, but if the proper safeguards are used on a drilling well there is no excuse for a wild flow of oil.
On a standard cable rig the old-style oil saver can be used when drilling into an oil sand. A new control head, called the Heggem head, gives excellent results. This control head is quite simple (see Fig. 42, page 108). It consists of a revolving valve that can be closed quickly if the well starts to flow.
With the rotary or circulator systems of drilling, a gusher can be readily brought in under control.
If oil is struck and the well tends to flow, the hole can n be quickly pumped full of mud fluid, and the flow checked. The column of mud will hold back the oil until arrangements can be made to complete the well properly.