Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Possibility By PATTY SHAUGIINESSY Gamecock Staff Writer The possibility is fair that oil and nQtnrnl dnc rocAriroc nvicf nff South Carolina coast based on test results of the federal government, state geologist Norman Olsen says. Olsen and Dr. William Abbott of the State Development Board spoke in a symposium sponsored by USC's Marine Affairs Study Team (MAST) last Tuesday in the Gambrell Hall auditorium. The topic was "Oil and Natural Gas Potential in the South Atlantic Area." THREE THINGS are necessary to find offshore oil, Olsen said. There first must be structural traps of a non-porous material such as clay, source rock and about 5,000 feet of burial "as a rule of thumb," said Olsen. To determine if these conditions are present, oil companies and the government conduct continental offshore stratographic tests. Research of this type is done before the lease or sale of land, Abbott said. Ships travel along the coast searching for potential petroleum traps. They then dig holes 500 to 1,000 feet deep to determine if the sediment is porous or non-porous. A cross section is then made to determine what is underwater, and "using all this information you can put together a pretty fair picture of what the offshore looks like," Abbott said. Several layers of rock are located in drilling areas, and Olsen said the best rock to find oil reserves in is Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks which date from 100 million years ago. "T11K BEST potential for oil and gas for South Carolina is underneath a portion of the Blake Plateau Trough, but production problems will hold that up," said Olsen. Production has not been (n.-i itticu yci su iar oui, ne said, but finding oil isn't that hard. Abbott spent two weeks on a research ship from Global Marine. The vessel was the Glomar Conception used for drilling in fairly quiet coastal areas, he said. im Imu-howjm ivibii unut?- pw is fair that ] South Carolina and Georgia were the only coastal states with geologic representatives on the Glomar Conception. Olsen said Abbott and Alan-John Zupan were members from the state geologic survey who went on the ship. They worked as crew members for the two weeks they were aboard. That was the first time the federal government has made any type of effort to work with a geologic group, said Olsen. Research shows oil reserves may exist in three places on the southeast coast: the Blake Plateau Trough, the Southeast Georgia Emabayment, and the Cape Fear Arch, Olsen said. The Cape Fear Arch is located off Wilmington, N.C., and the Georgia Embayment begins off Brunswick, Ga. and reaches up to off the Charleston shore. The Blake Plateau is the most likely location for oil reserves, fllspn CniH hofiaiicn thupa io m/?/> w?ww-? UM1VI) WWUUOV/ VIIV/1 V 10 I11UI C than 20,000 feet of sediment there. The trough is located from 100 to 250 miles off the S.C. and Ga. coasts. "IF THE CONDITIONS are favorable to oil there will also be far more natural gas which is highly desirable to the oil companies," he said. Production from offshore drilling could produce about one hillinn harrolc nf aII f 1-%~ ~ 1 VIO VTA VII U1IU till CU trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Olsen said. He said that the amount is not as great as it seems at first glance because "it takes many hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of gas a day to keep a residential area running." The secondary social, political and economic impacts for South Carolina have not been studied by the governor's office, Olsen said, but a study has been conducted by the Trident Chamber of Commerce ? 1 iii v^ndi icaiun, i>?ui cnusiur ano Berkley Counties. Olsen said, "There is going to be one unified statement going out of the governor's office," and they will try to influence the orderly development of reserves in the area. MOST OF THE drilling done on the South East coast will take place f now If10% I je ROT uxmm | petroleum e: in federal waters, Olsen said, and the drilling may create jobs for those who need them. He also said South Carolina can hope for a prorated share of the royalties from the drilling. 11) o r I J oiuuen He Knows I Vote for I-., _ SL W m 1 SUV LARGI B ? with p TH 629 Main St. xists off S.C Land drilling for oil and natural gas has been conducted since 1920. The first test was done in Sum merville, and the last drill site was in Aiken County in 1958. Eleven tests were made in that time, and (TK( for t Body Pri low to Get T1 Doug Kott HIEE18 ER $PE< UDWK1SIR purchase of any sar URS.-ntl.-S4 FREE DELIVERY . coast "not one in 11 tests have had any commercial gains of oil or gas," Olsen said. "On land, even in commercial zones, our possibilities of finding oil and gas are poor," he added. 5TTI esident lie Job Done i April 7 9 :ial IRAUOHT IV4WIV.II *T. 771-4098