Near the city of Santa Clara there is a petroleum field known as the Sandalina, samples of which were analyzed by H. M. Stokes in 1890, which he reported to be quite similar to the crude petroleum of Russia. In the neighborhood of Sagua and Caibarien, in the northern part of Santa Clara Province, petroleum fields have recently been discovered, and others in the southern part of the Province of Matanzas.
Large deposits of asphalt, of varying grades and densities, have been found at intervals along the north coast of the Province of Pinar del Rio. From the harbor of Mariel a narrow gauge road has been built back to mines some six miles distant, over which, up to the beginning of the European War, asphalt was brought to the waterside and loaded directly into sailing vessels, bound for the United States and Europe. Other deposits have been found at La Esperanza and Cayo Jabos, a little further west along the same coast, and in the estimation of some well informed engineers this Pinar del Rio coast furnishes the most promising field for petroleum prospecting of all in Cuba.
As a result of the petroleum excitement, brought about by reports of surface indications and of the success of the Union Oil Company’s drillings, many claims have been registered for both asphalt and petroleum within recent years. Up to the last day of December, 1917, 215 claims were filed in the Bureau of Mines, covering an area of about 25,000 acres. In the same time 88 claims, scattered throughout the various Provinces, were registered for oil, comprising a total area of about 40,000 acres.
This scramble for oil lands has resulted in the formation of some fifty different companies, most of which have issued large amounts of stock, and many of which will properly come under the head of “wildcat” adventures. This, however, has happened in other countries under similar circumstances; notably in the United States.
In the fall of 1918 some 15 companies were drilling for oil, most of which yielded very little results. This was due in some instances to inadequate machinery, and in others to inefficient workmen, together with absolute lack of any definite knowledge of the district in which they were working. In addition to this, nearly all of the wells drilled have either found oil or stopped at a depth of 1000 feet. In only a few instances have wells been sunk to a depth of 3000 feet, and most of these were in a section where almost nothing was known of the geology of the country.
In Sabanilla de la Palma, the Cuban Oil and Mining Corporation drilled to a depth of 1036 feet. On reaching the 120-foot level, they penetrated a layer of asphalt four feet in thickness, and found petroleum in small quantities at two other levels. At 1037 feet they met petroleum of a higher grade, and are planning to sink the well to a depth of 4000 feet with the idea of finding still richer deposits.
About two kilometers west of Caimito de Guayabal, near the western boundary of Havana Province, Shaler Williams has drilled several wells, one to a depth of 1800 feet, which produced oil and gas, but in small quantities. The gas has furnished him light and power on his farm for several years.
Since 1914 the Union Oil Company has been successfully exploiting the Santiago claim near Bacuranao, some 12 miles east of Havana. During 1917 and 1918, this company drilled ten wells with varying results. One of these reached a depth of 700 feet, producing three or four barrels of excellent petroleum per day, but was afterwards abandoned. Wells 2 and 3 were abandoned at a depth of only a few hundred feet on account of striking rock too difficult to penetrate. Well No. 4, at a depth of 560 feet, produced oil at the rate of 10 to 15 barrels per day. No. 5 yielded 400 barrels per day. No. 6 was abandoned at 1912 feet without showing any oil. No. 7 yielded petroleum at 1000 feet, but only in small quantities. No. 8, at 1009 feet, produces a good supply of oil. No. 9, at the same depth, also produces oil, while No. 10, sunk to a depth of 1012 feet, produced a little oil at 272 and 1000 feet. These ten wells have all been drilled in a restricted area measuring about 300 meters each way.
The crude petroleum of the Union Oil Company’s wells is of a superior quality, analysis showing 13% gasoline and 30% of illuminating oil. Between December, 1916, and June, 1918, these wells produced 1,740,051 gallons of crude. This oil is at present sold to the West Indian Refining Company at the rate of 12¢ per gallon.
Just north of the Union Oil Company’s wells are what are known as the Jorge Wells, where the Cuban Petroleum Company have been drilling for oil since 1917. They sank one well to 840 feet, which at first produced 25 barrels a day, but afterwards dropped to two barrels a day, although producing a great quantity of gas. Well No. 2 of this company, sunk to 111 feet, was abandoned. Well No. 3 produced 210 barrels the first day, but afterwards dwindled to an average of 100 barrels a day. In the month of June, 1918, 3,385 barrels of oil were produced, together with a large amount of gas, that is consumed for fuel in the two furnaces of the company. All of this petroleum is sold to the West Indian Refining Company, of Havana.