Total oil production in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee in 1974 was 41 million bbl, down 8.9% from 1973. Tennessee had a 275% increase; all the other states had decreases. Gas production in Kentucky was 69.7 Bcf, about the same as in 1973. Gas production in the other states is not significant. A total of 1,964 oil and gas tests was drilled in 1974, up 28.9% from 1973. Exploratory tests totaled 658, up 16.5%; of these, 125 (19%) were successful.

Tennessee had 135 oil and gas tests in 1974, up 37.7% from 1973. Exploratory tests were up 28.8%. Total footage drilled was 214,877, of which 140,343 ft was exploratory. Most of the drilling was in Morgan, Scott, and Fentress Counties, where the primary objective was the Lower Mississippian Ft. Payne carbonate rock. Successful exploratory wells in 1974 included 10 new fields, 4 new-pool wildcat discoveries, 1 deeper pool discovery, and 13 extensions. Indian Creek field in Morgan County was the most significant discovery in 1974. Almost all production from this field is from the Ft. Payne; primary reserves are estimated at more than 1 million bbl. Two deep tests, a 6,334-ft basement test in DeKalb County, and a 3,995-ft test in the Copper Ridge Dolomite in Smith County, were drilled in 1974; both were unsuccessful. Several majors reportedly are leasing large blocks in eastern Tennessee. Leasing also continued in the area of Morgan, Scott, and Fentress Counties. Crude oil production in Tennessee in 1974 was 768,700 bbl, up from 205,000 bbl in 1973.

Illinois had 795 oil and gas tests in 1974, up 43% from 1973. Exploratory tests were up 12.8%. Total footage drilled in oil and gas tests and service wells was 2,023,761, up 39.9%. Six new fields, 16 extensions, 3 new-pool wildcats, 5 deeper oil pools, and 2 shallower oil pools were discovered. None of the discoveries adds significantly to reserves. About 75% of the 103 new-field wildcat tests drilled were on the shelf area west and northwest of the deep Fairfield basin. Sixty-five of the new-field wildcats tested Devonian or deeper strata. One of the outstanding features of 1974 activity was the large number of wells testing the Mississippian Ullin Limestone (Valmeyeran). For example, Clay City Consolidated field, which had only 3 Ullin producers at the end of 1973, had 43 Ullin test in 1974, of which 14 were completed in the Ullin. Indications are strong that several deep tests will be drilled in Illinois in 1975, with "Trenton" and deeper strata as their objective. Activity south of the Rough Creek lineament is expected to increase in 1975. Crude oil production in Illinois in 1974 was 27,554,000 bbl, a decline of 10.2%.

Indiana had 376 exploratory and development tests in 1974, up 57.3% from 1973. Twenty-nine more exploratory wells were drilled in 1974 than in 1973. Successful exploratory percentage increased from 10.1% in 1973 to 14.1% in 1974. With a few exceptions, all of the drilling activity in 1974 was in the Illinois basin part of Indiana. Exploratory successes included 7 new fields, 14 new pools, and 3 extensions. Three of the 1974 discoveries were on structures that exhibit anomalies which suggest buried Silurian reefs. Sizable undrilled blocks exist in the areas of expectable reefs, and continued testing of these areas is assured. Because of higher crude prices, many old fields which had become uneconomic probably will receive remedial action. Some attempts at tertiary recovery also are ant cipated. Estimated crude oil production in 1974 is 4,950,000 bbl, a decline of 6.8%.

A total of 658 oil and gas tests was drilled in Kentucky in 1974, up 4.3% from 1973. Of 184 exploratory tests drilled, 44 (23.9%) were successful. The exploratory successes included 7 fields, 25 extensions, 4 deeper pools, and 8 shallower pools. A Cambrian test in Stephens field, Elliott County, was drilled to TD 9,473 ft and completed as a 500 Mcf gas producer in the Ordovician Wells Creek Formation at 4,875 ft. Among unsuccessful deep exploratory tests in 1974 were a Precambrian test drilled to TD 13,035 ft in Big Sandy field, Floyd County; 2 Knox tests a little more than TD 6,000 ft, 1 in Breckinridge County and 1 in Johnson County; and a 7,608-ft Antietam test in Morgan County. The last 3 wells are new-field wildcats. At year-end a scheduled Cambrian test was drilling in Webster C unty, and Texas Gas was scheduled to complete a Grayson County test to a depth in excess of 13,000 ft.