Although prospect (test) drilling is still the only way to prove the presence or absence of commercial quantities of oil beneath the surface, careful study by a geologist of all available information may indicate the most favorable places for testing. Since oil and gas migrate to the highest parts of the porous rock zones, the geologist tries to find these high places even though they may be several hundred feet underground. Sometimes dipping rocks can be seen in outcrops, and several geophysical methods have been used to indicate where such high places may occur underground. At other times, high places are found by studying with a microscope samples of rocks collected from wells already drilled in the surrounding area. The geologist notes the type and order of the formations which have been drilled. Many holes have been drilled based on such information. Whether or not the test drilling is successful as a producing well, small samples of cuttings of the rock being drilled are collected and saved to be studied at a later time. Various instruments are also put down into the hole to record temperatures, pressures, electrical properties, and other characteristics of the rocks. This type of information, when carefully plotted on maps, serves to locate new areas for test drilling. HOW MUCH OIL CAN BE OBTAINED FROM AN OIL POOL? There is no way to tell before a hole is drilled whether or not oil will be found, how much oil is present, or what will be the best way to get it to the surface. Where subsurface pressures are great enough, oil may flow to the surface. Generally speaking, about one-third of the oil actually present in the rocks can be pumped before the well becomes uneconomical to operate. This is called primary production. Oil operators have learned that by pumping water or gas down some wells into the oil-bearing formation, another third of the oil may be forced out through neighboring wells. This is called secondary production. Experiments that use steam or that burn some of the oil underground in an oil-bearing formation are attempts to recover the remaining third. These methods using heat are often referred to as tertiary production methods. WHAT IS THE “BIGGEST” OIL WELL ON RECORD IN ILLINOIS? Illinois’ largest well, near Centralia, flowed 12,000 barrels of oil in a 24-hour period. Most Illinois oil wells, however, have to be pumped, and the majority of them are now producing 10 barrels or less a day. The deepest producing well, 5,354 feet, was drilled in 1960 in Wayne County, near Fairfield. In the same year the deepest oil test was drilled to a depth of 8,616 feet and was stopped in granite. This test is located in Fayette County near Beecher City and has its oil production from a zone over 4,000 feet above the bottom of the hole. HOW MUCH OIL IS PRODUCED IN ILLINOIS AND HOW VALUABLE IS IT?