Indiana Gas Boom - Decline

Decline

Wasteful practices rapidly depleted the gas field. By the turn of the century, output from the wells began to decline. Some flambeaus had been burning for nearly two decades; slowly their flames became shorter and weaker. Modern experts estimate that as much as 90% of the natural gas was wasted in flambeau displays. By 1903 factories' and towns' need for alternate sources of energy led to creation of numerous coal-burning electric plants.

Oil lasted a few years longer, but inexperience in the early oil drilling industry led to problems. Producers were unaware of the relation between the pressure provided by natural gas and the ability to pump oil from wells. The pressure began to decline rapidly towards the turn of century. In 1895 the pressure was at 164 psi, in 1897 it was 191 psi, in 1898 173 psi. As the pressure decreased to around 150 psi, oil began to move into the upper part of the field, but since the natural gas had been released and pressure dropped between 130 psi, there was no way to pump out the remaining oil in the field.

Oil production in Indiana peaked in 1905 with over 11 million barrels (1,700,000 m3) pumped that year. By 1910 the once abundant resources had slowed to a trickle. By then new industry had moved into the state, and decline of the gas industry did not have a major negative impact. The availability of cheap energy had drawn so much new industry that Indiana had become one of the leading industrial states. The economy of northern Indiana continued to flourish until the Great Depression began in the following decade. In total, over 1 trillion cubic feet (28 km3) of natural gas and 105 million barrels (16,700,000 m3) of oil are estimated to have been extracted from the field.

Smaller pockets of natural gas exist in Indiana at depths that could not be reached in the boom era. The state still had a small natural gas producing industry in 2008, but residents and industry consume about twice as much natural gas as the state produces. In 2005 there were 338 active natural gas wells on the Trenton Field. In 2006 Indiana produced more than 290 million cubic feet (8,200,000 m3) of natural gas. This made it the 24th largest producing state, far below the major producers.

It is estimated that only 10% of the oil was drilled from the Trenton Field, and approximately 900 million barrels (140,000,000 m3) may remain. Because of the size of the field, pumping gas back into the well to increase pressure, as is commonly done in smaller fields, is impossible. Because of the depth and limitations of hydraulic pumps, it was never cost effective to use them to extract oil. It was not until the 1990s that efficient methods of artificial lift were discovered. This has allowed some of the oil to extracted, but at far higher cost than when sufficient natural gas is present.