522 MINERALS YEARBOOK

Morehouse, Ouachita, and Union Parishes, 90,266,883,000 cubic feet;
Richland, Richiland Parish, 81,244,039,000 cubic feet; Sugar Creek,
Claiborne Parish, 3,833,401,000 cubic feet; Rodessa, Caddo Parish,
1,272,839,000 cubic feet; and all others, 17,383,712,000 cubic feet.
 The production reported for 1932 represents a decline of 14.6 percent from
the output of the preceding year. An important part of the decline may be
contributed to the Louisiana carbon-black plants, which used 40 billion cubic
feet of natural gas for carbon-black manufacturing during 1932, or 11 bfflion
less than the 51 billion consumed during 1931. The new Jackson (Miss.), gas
field has contributed an additional supply to the pipeline extending to Birmingham
and Atlanta and has lessened somewhat the demand for Louisiana gas to serve
this line. Until the discovery of the Jacksoii gas field the Monroe and Richiand
fields supplied the demand for both domestic and industrial consumption in
the area served by this pipe line. A mild winter in Louisiana and the adjoining
Gulf coast area was partly responsible for the decline in local consumption,
while an extremely cold winter in northern Arkansas and Missouri resulted
in heavier demands on the 522-mile pipe line to St. Louis and intermediate
points. It is reported that approximately 131 billion cubic feet of gas were
put into pipe lines and transported to Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama,
and Tennessee for industrial and domestic consumption.
 *The production of natural gas in the State is confined to northern Louisiana.
The major producing fields are Monroe, Richiand, Sugar Creek, Rodessa, Waskom,
and Pine Island. Innumerable smaller fields are scattered throughout the
area. The Monroe field, in Morehouse, Ouachita, and Union Parishes, comprises
approximately 227,000 acres and was originally estimated to have a potential
of
3,768 billion cubic feet. At the close of 1932 the field had produced a total
of 1,392 billion cubic feet. According to the 1932 regage there were 850
producing wells in the field with a total open-flow capacity of 4~ billion
cubic feet daily. Although 25 wells were drilled in the three parishes during
the year little new production was added to the Monroe field, as the wells
were drilled in widely separated areas in search of production apart from
the Monroe field. Only 14 wells were abandoned during 1932, indicating that
the field is withstanding water encroachment.
 The Richiand gas field, discovered in 1926, has been the second largest
gas field in the State. At the close of. the year it comprised 27,000 acres,
with 239 producing wells capable of delivering 3,340,-
029,000 cubic feet daily. The Richiand field had only three new drffling
operations in 1932, while 30 permits were issued to abandon and pull casing.
It is reported that much of the field's reserve was destroyed by numerous
craters and that water encroachment is noticeable in the outer wells and
those near the crater areas.
 Sugar Creek and Rodessa, the next largest fields in the State, are very
similar. Both are producing from the Trinity horizon and are exceedingly
rich in gasoline. Heavy withdrawals are not being made from these fields
because of insufficient gasoline-plant capacity. The limits of the fields
have not been defined. Sugar Creek is producing from a depth of 4,300 to
4,400 feet, while Rodessa is producing from 5,600 to 5,700 feet. The latter
field added a 62~ mfflion cubic foot well to its production during 1932.
While many of the less outstand-