Nevada Strike

In the desertlike copper-and-cattle country of east-central Nevada, Shell Oil last week struck oil, the first well in the state. Thus, after years of search and 75 dry holes, Nevada was on its way to becoming the 29th oil-producing state. In a four-hour production test, Shell's Eagle Springs No. 1 gave up only 30 bbls. of commercial-grade oil. But geologists talked enthusiastically of a big pool down below, and there was an oil rush on in the state.

Shell had played its strike carefully, but oilmen got a hint that something was in the wind even before the announcement. When the company started drilling last month 60 miles southwest of Ely, anyone could wander around and look to his heart's content. But after ten days of drilling, Shell suddenly changed its mind. It put up a sign warning away visitors and built a fence around the operation. But by the time the well was brought in, at 6,433 ft, shrewd Nevadans were already trickling into Reno's land office, snapping up oil-and-gas leases on the federal land around the well at 50-c- an acre.

Shell wants to go deeper and drill other wells around Eagle Springs' perimeter before it claims a big field. But Nevada was already in the grip of an oil fever. By week's end, some 2,000,000 acres had been filed on, bringing more than $1,000,000 into Reno's land office.

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