558 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967 Source:New Mexico Oil & Gas Engineering Committee.
Annual Report 1967. V. 1—2, 661 pp. 
 
fracturing could increase recoverable gas reserves in the Pictured Cliffs
formation by 10 trillion cubic feet, 300 trillion for the Nation. Cost of
the project was estimated at approximately $4.7 million, with El Paso Natural
Gas Co. paying 40 percent and the remainder being shared by other companies,
the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Mines. Final
evaluation of the success of the project was not expected before mid- 
1968. 
 
 Natural Gas Liquids.—The annual report of the New Mexico Oil &
Gas Engineering Committee 6 tabulated production at the 36 natural gas liquids
extraction plants (gasoline plants) as 31.5 million barrels. Of the 997.1
billion cubic feet of raw gas processed at the plants, 886.5 billion cubic
feet were returned as dry gas to pipelines for marketing. Output of the plants
included 12.1 million barrels of natural gasoline, 4.0 million barrels of
butane, 5.1 million barrels of propane, and 10.3 million barrels of composite
liquids. The 30 plants in southeastern New Mexico yielded most (69 percent)
of the liquids output. 
 Reserves of natural gas liquids were reported by API and AGA to be 555.7
million barrels, down slightly from the estimate made for 1966. Of the total
reserves, 61 percent was credited to the San Juan basin, the balance to the
Permian basin. Again New Mexico ranked third in the Nation in reserves of
natural gas liquids. 
 In March, Skelly Oil Co. completed modernization and expansion of its two
gasoline plants at Eunice. Daily recovery 
capacity of the plants was increased from 250,000 to 350,000 gallons of natural
gas liquids. 
 At a cost of $3 million, Northern Natural Gas Co. converted the Hobbs plant
to a refrigeration process; new equipment included three 1,620-horsepower
compressors, heat exchangers, chillers, and scrubbers. The modifications
were reportedly to increase plant efficiency to allow recovery of 98 percent
of the propane and all of the butane and natural gasoline. 
 At yearend Phillips Petroleum Co. and El Paso Natural Gas Co. were completing
a multimillion dollar project for processing and transporting natural gas
in Lea County. In the Lusk field, Phillips was building a new $2 million
gasoline plant with a daily processing capacity of 60 million cubic feet
of gas; the extracted natural gasoline was to be refined into finished gasoline
at Phillips refineries in Texas. The residue gas from the plant was to be
sold to El Paso which, in turn, was constructing a $3.95 million, 49-mile,
20-inch gas pipeline to receive the gas. The gas was to be purchased from
Phillips for 16.66 cents per thousand cubic feet for dry gas and 14.51 cents
for casinghead gas. 
 
 Pctroleum.—Output of crude petroleum reached a new high for the fourth
successive year, a slight increase over the production of 1966. New Mexko
continued to be ranked sixth in the Nation in oil production. 
 
6 Work cited in footnote 4, v. 1, pp. 
406; v. 2, pp. 126—127. 
399— 
 
Table 5.—Crude petroleum production, by counties 
(Thousand 42-gallon barrels) 
County 1966 1967 Principal fields (those producing more than 1 million  
    barrels) in 1967, in order of production 
Chaves 5,883 6,402 Caprock, Cato. 
Eddy 18,380 18,797 Empire, Loco Hills, Grayburg, Lusk. 
Lea 84,064 84,613 Vacuum, Monument, Hobbs, Justis, Bagley, Denton, Malja

    mar, Pearl, Crossroads, Lovington, Langlie, Inbe, Eunice. 
McKinley 204 312 
Rio Arriba 1,365 1,343 Toclto. 
Roosevelt 4,508 5,258 Chaveroo. 
Sandoval 7 4 
San Juan 9,743 9,415 Horseshoe. 
 Total 124,154 126,144