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Las diagrammas auivants iliustrant la mAthoda. n 32 X 1 2 .. 3 ^v. {y 1 ■i^Ai^ 6 p ii M ( N .• gasp:^' oil beg-io: CA^ISr^DA^ E^ST. \, ■,':-i>- 1 lulled >■ ' -7 lUS' U' } ■f* JO 900348 ■^"•/ ..... t GASPE OIL REGION, CANADA EAST. •- ■ !■■■.', ' I. / ' M. : Gaspe is a ^eaport on the southern side of the Gulf i>f St. Lawrence. It has a fine harbor, open at all seasons of the year, and is a free port of entry- for imports ^ exports. Transportation wiU be entirely by ^ater, and, conse- quently, very cheap. Oil from this place ca\ be dehvered 2 '^ny of the seaports of the world at muclJ less expense than from any other oil territory yet discovereii ; all the oil producmg districts so far known and developed, being situ- ated m remote inland localities, and the cost of transporta, tion thence being ahnost equal tbthe cost of the 6il at the wells. As the cost oii transportation must always form a heavy burden on so bulky an article in comparison to its value, It is obvious that oil in a region geographicaUy so well situated as Gasp6, where sea-going vessels may receive their cargoes at the very mouths of wells, a thousand miles nearer to European ports than any other oil district, must com- mand a monopoly in foreign markets. Oil from Gasp6 can be delivered in the port of Liverpool at SIX dollars per barrel less than from any other oU district • which may be seen by the following comparative statements : gaspA , ' Cost of transportation and o^her charges on a barrel " of oil to Liverpool : Cost of empty barrel *1 fin Xl a r tage, ^haadHflg, &o. .tvtt^. .' 1 .' .' .' ' .' ':^r~rr . 1 W Freight to Liverpool : i go ♦8 80 V j-t^V. <«(!» I- fe ^ ■ .'■■,■■ . •» ■ ■■■/■ PENNSYLVANIA. Coat of transportation, and other charges on ^barrel of oil to' Liverpool Cost of empty barrel / . . $3 00 - Freight to Pittsburg /. , .. 2 00 Expenses at Pittsburg , , / 20 . Freight to Philadelphia •' . .\ . • ,. 1 36 Expenses at Philadelphia 20 Freight to New York 50 Expenses at New York , 20 Revenue tax ^ i OO Shipping expenses at New York 30 Freight to Liverpool 1 16 $10 51 Apart from this great saving in the item of transporta- tion, which of itself is a large profit, Gasp^ has many ad- vantages which merit consideration. Labor, available on the spot, is cheap, timber for all purposes abundant ; coal, which in the oil regions of Pennsylvania costs from seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel, may be obtained at Gadp6 at ten cents per bushel ; and barrels can be paade on the spot at one dollar and sixty cents instead of the three dollars and twenty-five cents paid elsewhere. Scientific and practical men agree that the Gasp6 oil region promises fully to equal the Pennsylvania region in productiveness, the geological formation being the same or rather more favorable ; there is, therefore, no reason why large fiowis^ wells may not be obtained. But let it be as- sumed that small wells only are obtained at Gaspd, say wells of twenty barrels each, these being almost a certainty in oil regions. Taking the usual number of working days, and "^ra^oii at the low price oTfbxif dollars in gold p®f battel, a" single well would give a net income of twenty thousand dol- -.it-^ lars in gold ver annum. Many such wells would not be necessary to secure a large revenue to a company formed to work them. This calculation cannot be regarded as based upon an over-estim^te of either p^duction or price, and in that respect it differs widely from the vague statements which appear in connection with many projects now before the public ; for the comparison already presented exhibits the fact that the cost of one barrel of oil delivered in Liverpool, from the wells of Pennsylvania, nearly equals the price of three barrels from the Gaspji district. The Gaspii oil is of a dkrk greenish color, with very little odor, and its gravity is greater than that of Pennsylvania The following reports enter fully into the subject and con- tain convincing proofs of the existence of oil in largo quanti- ties, and the facilities for working and exporting which the Gasp6 oil region possesses in a degree that must render it superior to competition. ■ . \ I ..' / M'^-.i^' JtJ.J i A 4 « c. / i. EXTRACTS PROM REPORTS ON TEE C3-EOLOC3--Sr OF OAIVTAJDA. Sir Wm. E. Logan, government geolagist for the prov^ ince of Canada, in his Report of a Geological Survey of Canada, published by government in 1863, describes the limestone and sandstone rocks of thl^region, w>ich are the true petroleum-bearing formation. > * In Sir Wm. E. Logan's Report, above mentioned, on pa-e 402, he says: ^ ' ^^^ "There is still to be descnbed the greenstone dyke, con- neoted with the southern anticlinalT at Tar Point This dyke IS of a dark-grey color, weathering to a rusiy-red, and It IS traversed by numerous horizontal and vertical joii^ts and abounds in lame ^nd small druses, presenting botryoi-' dal surfaces BOflie«fs, and, at others, incrusted with crys- tal of quartz anl^c^alcite. These cavities are fiUed with petroleum ; this, in some instances, has hardened to the con- sistency of pitch. The peculiar odor of this substance, which has given the name of Tar Point to the locality, may be perceived at k distance of fifty yards. J'* J' "« " Two petroleum springs occur along the line of this anti- clinal. - One of these is on the sou^h side ot the St. John Biver, about half a mi/e above Douglastown. Here the oil oozes^fram tiiB Bted and shingte of the beacfi,^^^^ globu es, rising tlirough the water at high tide. Portions of the oil, are sa;d to have been observed, under similar condi. mm 8 f . tions, as far as the extremity of the firpt marshy island, a" distance of three fourths of a mile above ; and they may probably extend much' farther in the same direction. ' - " The second spring was observed about two hundred yards up a small branch of the Silver BVook^ which is a tributary . of the Southwest Arm, felling into it about six or seven* miles from Qasp6 Basin. The orifice of the spring was not* seen ; but the oil, which is not observed higher up on the brook, here collects on the' surface of quiet pools, as a thick film. \ .'i „ I " The rock adjoining the dyke, and underlying both of these springs, is sandstone ; but it is ne*' improbable that here, as in Western Canada^ the source of the oil may be in the more fopsiliferons rocks beneath ; so that we may hope to find other springs of it, not only along the line of twenty miles, just indicated, but still farther along this and other undulatioQS in the sa'me region ; where borings and wells may furnish more abundant supplies of petroleum." Again, on page 521, he says : " In describing these rocks on page 402, the springs of petroleum on the St. John's Eiver and on Silver Brook have already been described, as well as the occurrence of the oil in the cavities of an amygdaloidal greenstone^dyke at Tar Point. Other localities of petroleum have since been noticed ifl that vicinity, at' the entrance to GaBp6 B^sin, and also near the northeast comer of the Douglastown lagooh. About a mile and a half td the southeast of Gasp6 Basin, and on - the line of the northern anticlinal, is found a layer of min- eral pitch or drie^T)itumen, about an inch in thickness, lying beneath the surface of vegetable mould, while the soil for some distance to the. eastward is saturated with petroleum." Again he says, on pfige 788 : ^il. A mile to the eastward, at Sandy Beach; oil is said t(/occiir ; and again at Haldimandtdwn, where it rises- through the mud on the shore. These three localities are upon the sandstone, and on the line of the northern anticli- nal which passes a little to the north of the Silver Brook Oil bpnng. Farther to the southeast, on the line ofUthe south- ern anticlinal, and ab;)ut two miles west of Tar Point; which takes Its name from the petroleum found there, another oil ' Bpnng ,8 said to be found, three quarters of a mile south of .Seal Cove. On the south side of the Douglastown Lagoon and about a mile ^^est of the village, oiLrises in small quan- |t^ tvom thB niM on the beack. . ^^thp to ^he le^ ward, oil iH Raid t(y occur on the second fork of the Vox Traces of it have also ht^nn observed . ,-< . r * 10 I brook near St. George's Cove, on the northeast side of Ga8p6 Bay." On page 883, ho says : " On the south side of York River, about five miles above, the northwest comer of York township, a mass belonging to the Gasp6 limestones comes to the surface, presenting a sharp anticlinal form. The rock is strongly bitumino\i8, giving in- dications of petroleum. In the York River, just above Keg Brook, the limestone at the summit of the formation is divided into thick beds, of which some ar?^ dark gray, weath- ering reddish-brown, and containing petroleum." Further extracts might be made from the Report of Sir Wm. E. Logan, showing more interesting discoveries of sur- face indications, but it is believed unnecessary to multiply them ; all of the localities given are in the immediate vicin- ity of Gasp6 Basin, and all conversant with the boring of Oil Wells and the discoveries of Petroleum, will acknowl- edge that these surface indications have never been sur- passed, and warrant the belief that wells sunk to a proper depth must be highly remunerative. ■■■!^: > \ > REPORT OP • CHARLES ROBB, ESQ., MINING ENGINEER, ON THE C3--A.si»E roob: oix. itEca-ioisri 5^1 53^T. Francis Xavier Street, . . MoNTRBAL, April 19, 1865. Gentlemen : In compliance with the request with which you have honored me, I herewith suhmit such information as I have obtained from actual personal observation, and from other reliable sources, respecting the rock oil region of Qa8p6, in Ganada East. . . ^^. I have^^ during the present season, visited the reghon re- » ferred to," for the purpose of selecting and securing lands for oil-boring purposes. I have no hesitation in saying that the lands secured by m» are the most valuable in the district for the purpose referred to, having been selected either from actual discoveries and indications of oil found on them, or from certain geological and topographical features which experience has proved to bo , useful as a guide to the best selection. The oil-bearing rock of Gasp6 is a limestone belonging„to the Lower Helderberg group of the New York state geolo- gists, and lying at the base of the Devonian system^ or about the same geological horizon as the oil region oT Enniskillen, in Canada West. It is much disturbed and fissured, and covered vdth a sandstone formation, which gervea to confine the oil within the fissiircs until tapped by artificial means. Occasionally it is found exuding through small crevices in the overlying sapdstone, forming natural oil-springs, of which a , *» '■': ''**"■ *;i.*iS, i^ii.».'i«jiii«a&v!* 12 considerable number, as well as several saline and sulphur- ous springs, are known to exist in the district. The limestonp above described is very copiously charged with organic remains, and the petroleum owes its origin, in all probability, to the slow subterranean decomposition and bitumenization of organic matter, both animal and vegetable, which has been deposited with the other materials of which thg rocks are composed. The resulting fluid and gaseous matters, floating on the surface of the water which permeates the strata, will naturally accumulate along the summit 5f the anticlinal axes or convex folds of the strata, penetrating the fissures and cracks, which will there also be most numerous and important. The investigations of the geologists have re- vealed the existence of four such folds or anticlinal lines in the oil-bearing rocks of Gasp6. The importance and value of these lines of anticlinal axis consist, as already explained, in the fact (first pointed out by Dr. T. S. Hunt, of the Canadian Geological Survey) that it is along these lines that the greatest accumulation of oil may always be expected. Being thopoughly satisfied of the truth of this principle, I have selected the land accordingly, for the most part, and it is highly satisfactory to find that all the discoveries of oil throughout the region, whether fully authenticated or only reported, occur on or very near to the lines refen*ed to. The rocks are, for the most part, very lightly covered with earth and clay, so that the lines of anti- clinal axis will be easily discovered on the ground, and thus a sure guide to the most favorable places for boring will IKadily be found. The country is, for the most part, rugged and mountain- ous, the mountain chains — reaching to the height of about fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea — alternating with great valleys, holding considerable rivers and arms of the sea. Numerous transverse valleys also occur, affording cx- |., j^; JenHivfl flatH at many polo ta. The lines of anticlinal aiis— where the oil-bearing limestone is not only brought nearest I I : to the surface, but is in the most favorable condition other- ;'iu^:ilk-ii. -..,.■;. 13 wise for oil-boring— cut the mountain ranges and the valleys obliquely, and will afford, at many points not difficult of die- coveiy, favorable spots where the sandstone covering will be of moderate thickness. Independently of all theory, the fact of the existence of the petroleum over a large tract of country in this district is abundantly proved, not obly by the appearance of the lime- stone rock itself which is everywhere found to be highly im- pregnated with oil, but by the number of places widely apart from each other, at which the oil forces itself to the surface. The most important of these have been described by Sir Wm. Logan in his published report, extracts from which will accompany the present. The localSons of these and of several others which have been either observed by or reported to me, during my recent visit, are all included among the lands which have been selected and secured Previous to my visit to this oil-bearing region, having been much occupied in investigating^ those of other parts of the country, I had oftrefully^ studied its nature' and conditions and had thus been led to form a very favorable opinion of it. I am aware, also, from frequent conversations with various officers of the Geological Commission that it has always been regarded by them as a highly promising field of operations in oil-bormg. My recent visit has amply confirmed and strengthened the favorable impressions I had thus far been led to form, and I entertain a strong conviction that it is destined to prove a great oil-producing country, and will yield a rich reward to those capitalists who will undertake its development upon an adequate scale. The lands referred to in this report are all situated in the surveyed and settled part of this district, and are in the immediate vicinity of the magnificent harbor of Gaspd Bay and traversed for the most part by good roads. The facilities for shipment are thus unequalled, and as ~Ga»p6 i«;h ii^pm^ofmiy IheTequTslFe machinery can bo imported, and provisions and goods of all sorts procured at a ch^ap rate. The c^trjr is thickly settled with an in- ■' M mi r^\ 14 dustrious and intelligent class of population who will be willing to work at a moderate rate of remuneration. Agri- cultural produce of all kinds is raised in the district, and wood for fuel, and for the requisite machinery, &c., is abundant. The climate is remarkably healthy and favorable for work-^ ing at all seasons, being neither so hot in summer nor so cold in winter as in most other parts of the province. In case it were thought desirable to use coals instead of wood for fuel to the drilling engines, a supply could always be obtained cheaply and expeditiously from Nova Scotia or Cape Breton which are at no great distance from Gasp6 Bay. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient servant, Charles Robb, Mining Engineer. i i!^t, '...yii^i. l(«i mj.ii»i.iij! ' ^* ■%?';,• REPORT OP PROFESSOE EO^EET BELL, {Laie of the Geological Survey of Oancda,) ON THB 'O-A.SI'E Oir, ItEGH03Sr_ Kingston, Uth April, 1865. Gentlemen : I bog to acknowledge the receipt of your ' letter giving the location of certain oil lands in Gaspd. I liave colored in the blocks, which you indicated, upon a town- ship map of Ga8p6, and find that they agree with the parts of the territory which I describtd some time ago as the most promising localities. They are situated (geologically) upon the three main anticlinals of the Gaspd oil regions, and em- brace the best portion of the largest tract upon which petro- leum has been found. The lots ranging from Cape Haldimand to'the entrance of Gasp6 Basin (Sandy Beach range), as well as those of the Uartmouth River range, are located upon the Haldimand or the most northern anticlinal. Petroleum comes to the surface on several of these lots. First (beginning towards the east) on the Haldimand town plot, at the northeast angle of the JJouglastown Lagoon, where it oozes through the mud and shmglo on the beach (see General Report of Geological Sur- voy of Canada, 1863, page 789). Next it'occurs on some of the lots south of the junction of Sandy Beach with the main shore. The next locality to the westward, is Adams' oil spring ^ ^esontfiem part ofLotB, York. This spring is^siSmS the valley of a brook, running into Gaspfi Basin, which iL about a mile and a half to the westward. The petroleum i '11 P 1 t^*ii 'iHitAA' K^^'^l.iikJ! It 1^, i^J^^l 4 J t f^ il ^,ii:- 16 was observed upon the surface of the water, and in the soil for some distance, both up and down the valley of the brook. At the time of my visit to this spot, in the spring of 1862, the ground was very wet and partly frozen, but the roots of a large upturned tree were observed to be covered with lumps of pitch which had resulted from the drying up of the petro- leum in past years. The bed from which this ;pitch was de- rived is. covered with a foot or more of loam and vegetable mould, specimens of which may be seen in the museum of the Geological Survey. This locality is considered a particularly promising one, both from the abundant natural evidences of petroleum which it affords, and its close proximity to the splendid harhor of Gasp6 Basin. In the event of oil being struck by boring here, there is every probability — in fact almost a certainty — of its being obtained, anywhere along the brook on the anticlinal, either below or above the oil springs. The Gasp6 sandstone fomtetion belongs to the Devonian system, and immediately overlying the great oil-bearing lime- stone formation of Ga8p6, is the uppermost or surface rock at all the above-mentioned localities. The Dartmouth range of lots is situated on the westward continuation of the same anticlinal. The Gasp6 limestones in this part of the anticlinal comes to the surface in several places on the Dartmouth range, and between the northwest and southwest arms of Gasp6 Bay. Some of the limestones of*" these exposures contains nodules of chert and abundance of fossils, in both of these respects resembling the oil-bearing (" corniferous") limestone of Western Canada. When engaged in making a topographical survey of the Dartmouth, I observed oil floating on the surface of the water at a "jam" in one of the by-cjiannels near the mouth of the river, and called attention of the rest of the party to the fact, as we could not then be certain that it was actually but the subsequent discovery of petroleum in the vicinity removes the doubt as to its true nature. AH the other lands / Pp^x .k»ttt';i', . ,^;. *, , i.-.*-y^if*rt.. \ t: which yqu mention, with the exqeption of the second fork on the St. John river, are situated on the, second anticlinal, which, from the fact of its terminating on the coast at Tar Point, has been called the T^ar Point anticlinal. I shall refer to these lands in their order, beginning at the last as be- fore. Tar Point was so named, when the country was first set- tled, from the fact that native tar and petroleum occur in the rocks there ; and their odor, filling the air in the neighbor- hood, cannot fail to be perceived even at a considerable dis- tance. (For particulars of this locality, see. General Report of the Geological Survey, 1863, pages 402 and 403.) The anticlinal runs inland in a west-northwesterly direction, nearly parallel to the Haldimand anticlii^l. The long known oil springs to the south side of Douglastown Lagoon, and at Silver Brook, as well as others more Tecently discov- ered, lie on its course. The lots which you mention at Seal Cove, are situated upon this anticlinal, and the petroleum of the brooks must come from its central portion or axis. V From the geological arrangements of the strata, it is to be inferred, that should a reseiToir of petroleum be tapped at this place, the oil will flow readily from the wells, owing to the hydrostatical pressure. The lots in the raifges behind Douglastown, as well as those of the first and second ranges of York, are very favor- ably situated on the run of the anticlinal. The petroleum springs along the beach of the south side of Douglastown Lagoon, lie in the strike of the strata between^ these two blocks of land ; and, from what is stated at page 403 of the General Report of the Survey, it appears" that petroleum has be^ observed oozing from the mud and shingle of the beach as faiP up as the extren^ty of the first marshy island f at the moutU of the St. John ^ver. It is also stated in the \ same place^ that these indications of petroleum " may prob- ably extend inuch farther in the same direction." In regard 7t(Jthe~1ot8 in the second rai^ of Gasp6 Bay~ south, it is to bo inferred from their close conq|ctioil with IJ • ttiM-^ ''^4<^'%^iM'^S^^h| \ 18 the Silver Brook oil spring, situated on the same anticlinal, and in the strike o£ 4.he strata upon these lots, that the cir- cumstances are such as to favor the opinion that oil will be found by boring in the most encouraging places in this area. The locality, on the second fork of the St. John river, at which petroleum was found by settlers froiQ another part of the township, is situated upon a different anticlinal from the others. It is called the Point Peter Anticlinal, and. is the third in order from the north. It runs quite parallel to the Tar Point Anticlinal.* The prevalence of free petroleum in the limestones of this part of the oil district, and other con- siderations, appear to warrant the sinking of wells on this block. The place is easily reached, either by the road from the southwest arm of Gasp6 Bay, or by fallowing the valley of the St. John river. \ GENERAL RE&TARES. 1 The Gaspd limestones '^from which the petroleum appears \io be mainly derived) is 2,000^ieet and upwards in thickness. !lft\is generally of a; dark gray color, in both thick and thin beds, sometimes traversed by strings of calc-spar, and often holds nodules of chert. The latter afe frequently abundant in the limestones of other petroleum regions. This limestone formation has a wide geographical range in the peninsula of Gasp6, but the portion which is most remarkable for afford- ing petroleum, occurs in the region lying to the southward and westward of Gasp6 Bay. The limestone in this tract, when broken, has almost always an unmistakable odor of rock oil. When a newly fractured fragment is thrown into water the oil rises from it to the surface, forming a thin greasy scum. When a crack, druse, or cavity of any kind occurs in the bed of the rock, it is generally found to contain more or less pet^roleum. The sandstone which overlies the lime- atOn%feottghottt» great -part of ita distributio^Ja Also sometimes found to be saturated with free petroleum. The 19 petroleum from the natural springs in Ga8p6 is of excel- lent quality, IS of a greenish brown color, and has but little odor. The springs at Silver Brook and Douglastown were de- . scnbed by Sir W. Logkn twenty years ago (see Keport for 1044) ; but the time of their first discovery is unknown The county of Gaspe, beingfar removed, and in a manner isolated, 18 but httle known to the majority of Canadians. This cir- cumstance, and the want of capital coupled with enterprise, appears to have been the chief re^ons which have hitherto retarded the development of. these oil lands. There is, prob- ably, no oil region in North America so well situated for shipping petroleum to market as that of Gasp6. The harbor of Ga8p6 and Gasp6 Basin are all that could be de- sired m the way of secure accommodation for vessels of all classes. From the knowledge of the GaSp6 Peninsula and its ge- ology, acquired during three seasons spent there in making geological surveys and explorations, under the direction of our provincial geologist, Sir Wm. E. Logan, I am confident that, when properly tested, those portions of the country which I have already indicated will prove highly productive of petroleum; and this opinion is also entertained by gen- tlemen from the Pennsylvanian oil region, whom I met with in Ga8p6 m 1862. These lands could not have been more judiciously selected, and there is a great advantage in having Hhem scattered ovef a wide area, since future experience may prove some portions of the oil district to be much more productive than others. In the foregoing remarks I have not entered into the sub- jW5t of roads, nvers, wharves, the supply of labor, the price of provisions, &c., in Gaflp6 ; Imt, should you require it, I shall probably be able to furnish you with any ioformation you may wish for in regard to these matters. Your ob edien t servant. Robert Bell, C.'E., F. G. 8., Prof, of Chemistry and Natural History J^ Queen's Unin^aity. ■% •1 ^.e* A ,-i.('i *.^..,rtJo \s % I ^^