Bellevue's Two-Million Foot Gasser

You may recall an article in this column a couple of months ago about discovering the first big oil-producing well in Bossier Parish found at Bellevue. The papers described it as a ‘wonder’ well because, at the time of its discovery in late 1921, it was the shallowest producing oil well in the Southwest. The Bellevue oil field is about 3 miles southeast of the hamlet of Bellevue. Perhaps Bellevue field got its name due to its proximity to Bellevue.

The following article appeared in The Bossier Banner on this day in 1922 came the announcement, along with a bit of editorial banter, that the name ‘Bellevue Filed’ is official.

“Under the ‘44 Gravity’ heading the editor of the oil field page of the Shreveport Times says in Sunday’s issue of the paper:

“‘Editor Scanland, of the Bossier Banner, and other champions of Old Belleview, should feel satisfied. They have been contending that the new Bossier sensation be known as the Belleview field, and the Standard Oil Company et als have solemnly and officially named it so.”

“We are much obliged to you, friends, and to Editor Dolph Frantz and Friend McLendon, your neighbors of the Journal. It only took a little publicity and a bit of co-operation on the part of you fellows and one or two other Shreveport friends to turn the trick. We are now plumb satisfied—except that you boys on the Times’ staff won’t spell “Bellevue” as it is here spelled. Without reference to the Banner’s files back in the 50’s and 60’s, we know that we are right on this score. If you’ll make it “vue” instead of “view” all of us will be “rigged up” right and we won’t have a thing to fuss about—until we can dig up something else.”

That week was full of exciting announcements about Bellevue Field, including news of its tenth producing oil well. Bellevue Field made the front page of The Times. The headline read, “2,000,000 Foot Gasser At 374 Is Bellevue’s Latest.”

“The sensational Bellevue shallow oil field in Bossier parish, the shallowest producing district in the world, has sprung another sensation, hailed by operators in that territory as of greater importance than a duplication of Roy’s 10,000-barrel, 405-foot well of a week ago. Roy & Company’s No. 9 Railroad Lands Company blew in Friday afternoon with 2,000,000 feet of gas from 374 feet and solved the field’s fuel problem. Of such importance is a gas well in the field that Roy remarked in repeating his driller’s report: ‘I’m afraid it will go to oil.’

“The sand in No. 9 was barely scratched when the well blew in. It had previously been fitted with a 125-pound gate valve, evidently, in anticipation of getting gas as a gauge had also been provided, and when closed in the gauge showed 110 pounds within a half minute. How much higher it would have gone is not known as it was opened again immediately for fear the light gate would blow off, and is running wild until a heavier valve can be hauled through the mud to the well.

“The latest well in Bellevue, ranking with the discovery well and the big producers completed since, and overshadowing them in some respects, is in the northeast corner of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 15-19-11. The Humble Oil & Refining Company’s No. 1 Bliss & Wethersby is an offset across the section line to the north.”

Within a month, Bellevue Field boasted a total of 21 wells in production, only four months since the discovery of the sensational wonder well. News of new oil and gas wells in Bellevue Field and in Bossier Parish appeared in the papers for years. Today, Bellevue Field is known as Bellevue Oil & Gas Field and is still a valuable producer.

By: Amy Robertson

Bossier Parish Enters American Oil Boom

Lucas Gusher, Spindletop Hill, Texas, 1901 

Did you know that Louisiana is among the top ten producers of crude oil in the United States? The beginning of the American oil industry came when on Jan. 10, 1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, produced an enormous gusher of crude oil, coating the landscape for hundreds of feet. News of the Lucas Gusher was heard around the world and ignited "oil fever." Oil prospecting became a big business. People were anxious to make similar discoveries and investors began shelling out tons of money searching for oil.

In 1909, the first oil well that struck oil in this parish was located at Oakland Plantation. Though it was deemed a success because the goal was to find oil and that they did, they felt the vein they struck was too small and decided against extracting it. The oil well was relocated and led to the discovery of natural gas in that section, a common occurrence when prospecting for oil. Nonetheless, the news of striking oil was received with joy throughout the parish and fueled the desire to find more oil here.

R.O. Roy, 1938
Owner of R.O. Roy & Company

Prospectors drilled many discovery wells all over the Parish in hopes of finding "black gold." The first big producer was a shallow pool located at Bellevue that was discovered by R. O. Roy and his associates on Nov. 14, 1921. They put down about a half dozen deep wells and nine shallow wells in their search for the hidden pool of oil. According to the newspaper report, "It was one of the shallow wells that 'brought in the bacon.'"

Bellevue Field oil wells, Bossier Parish, early 1900s
Written on the photo: Nacatoch sand well at 305 feet,
Flowing 1200 barrels a day. 

It was described as a 'wonder' well, because it was the shallowest producing oil well in the Southwest. They reached the pool of oil at a depth of only 397-feet and 10-inches. Before that, the shallowest well was 625 feet deep near Houston, TX. With only a two-inch pipe for the oil to flow through, the well produced at least 60 barrels per hour, approximately 1,500 barrels per day. Had they used the standard four-inch pipe, the daily output would have been upwards of 6,000 barrels.

According to an article by W.S. Ingram published in The Shreveport Times in 1926, "it was the Bellevue shallow field that wrote a new chapter into oil history of the United States." He also stated that "Other wells quickly followed, what was believed the world's shallowest hole flowing 400 barrels from 289 feet, and one of the largest, flowing 3,500 barrels from 336 feet. The total production of this shallow field for the first six months being pipeline runs of 103,700 barrels. The production of this marvelous field for the year ending October 1, 1925, totaled (official figures) 1,327,068 barrels. For the same period there were 32 completions, three being gassers, and 12 producers with initial production of 3,623 barrels.

"This wonder field became the talk of the country and because of the unheard of depth at which the initial production of 1,500 barrels through a two-inch pipe, was obtained, most people were inclined to discount reports of the production. But a visit to the jungle where the holes were located soon convinced the most skeptical. The hole was drilled with a light rotary rig, the table being not more than 30 inches in diameter and the derrick only 38 feet high 'watch charm rigs' as they were termed by a Texas operator. But this field has produced millions of dollars of oil, has caused to be constructed physical property worth millions more and brought Bossier parish and north Louisiana into the limelight of the oil and gas world."

By: Amy Robertson