Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Elmer N. Beachy Oil Well Maryland's First


October 20, 1949 "American Oil & Gas Historical Society"
The first commercially successful natural gas well in Maryland is drilled by the Cumberland Allegheny Gas Company in the town of Mountain Lake Park, Garrett County -- the westernmost county in the state. The Elmer N. Beachy well produces almost 500 Mcf of natural gas a day.
The wildcat discovery prompts a rush of competing companies and indiscriminate, high-density drilling (an average of nine wells per acre), which depletes the field. Twenty of 29 wells drilled within the town produce natural gas, but overall production from the field (7.5 miles by .75 miles) is minimal. By 1962 it becomes part of a storage area for the Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation. No oil has yet been found in Maryland. Click here for article.