Oil Wells-Moab District P.6

Shafer #1 on fire. Cane Creek, San Juan County, Utah. Courtesy: George T. Hansen. Hyland Oil Co. FRANK SHAFER NO.1 OIL WELL. The 1920's featured considerable activity in oil prospecting and drilling along the Colorado River below Moab. On April 11, 1925 the Midwest Exploration Co. and the Utah Southern Oil Co. began drilling the Frank Shafer No. 1 oil well about 18 miles down the Colorado River from the present Highway 163 bridge. The well's 84 foot tall derrick was located on a narrow bottom along the river's right bank about 75 feet inland from the water. There was no road to the site and supplies were transported on a barge operated by the Moab Garage Co. On the morning of December 8, 1925, driller E. F. Linde encountered considerable gas flow at a depth of 2028 feet and became apprehensive and stopped drilling. At 6:15 while he and other crew members were eating their breakfast they heard an explosion and saw the well gush oil and catch fire. Flames shot some three hundred feet above the derrick which was destroyed by the fire. The Moab Garage barge was summoned from Moab to bring fire fighting equipment and the flaming 10 inch diameter oil gusher through the smoke. (Photo courtesy of Cord Hinton). By John Hoffman