This report is confined to the Upper Gulf Coast of Texas; it does not include, as in past years, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana.

Wildcat drilling increased 13 per cent over 1943. Discoveries increased in number from 11 in 1943 to 17 in 1944. Their over-all quality was poor and their effect on production rates and reserves with be small.

Production increased 27 per cent over 1943. The increase is attributed principally to routine drilling in partially developed fields with the resulting extensions, new sands, and new structural reservoirs rather than to increased allowables for previously completed wells, as was the case in 1943. Consequently, field wells completed in 1944 increased 75 per cent in number over 1943.

Most of the exploratory tests in 1944 were drilled on subsurface prospects, the majority of which were localized by geophysical methods. Geophysics has had its greatest success in the Upper Gulf Coast of Texas and is an indispensable aid in determining geologic structure. Geophysical exploration showed a gain in crew-weeks of 7 per cent over 1943 with most of this gain occurring in the Wilcox trend.

One new geologic trend, the Woodbine sand, was opened to exploration in the north-central part of the district.