Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field

Attracted international attention by size and engineering achievements. During 1948 four widely dispersed wells penetrated the Canyon Reef Formation at depth of 6,500 feet. Soon more than 2,000 wells defined gigantic fields which contained an estimated four billion barrels of oil. This rapid drilling involved thousands of people--contractors, drillers, engineers, geologists, lawyers, office workers, roughnecks, roustabouts, suppliers. Oil companies poured $300,000,000 into the operations. By 1951 engineers saw that only 20% of Canyon Reef oil could be produced in competitive operations, but recovery could be doubled by pressure maintenance in unitization. Successful formation of Diamond "M", Sacroc, Sharon Ridge Canyon, and Cogdell Units and initiation of fluid injection were events of immense significance. The programs showed by 1955 that free American enterprise can work out voluntarily the most modern and efficient conservation procedures. Thus Scurry County--with a petroleum industry dating from shallow wells in 1923--has become a pioneer in oil history, and is assured a high level, stable economy for many future decades. (1967)

Scurry County's Canyon Reef Oil Field is a historical marker in Snyder, Scurry County, dedicated in 1967. It is one of 60 historical markers documented in Scurry County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 63 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7167, -100.9180 near Snyder. The nearest cataloged historic site is County's First Law Men (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Scurry County Courthouse, Company G, and Home County of Famous Frontiersman J. Wright Mooar.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5415004622. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.