Print this pageDetailed accounts of the discovery, development and demise of the Broad Ripple Field are contained within the Annual Reports of the State Geologist from 1896 to 1908, the 1922 Indiana Handbook, and records of the Ohio (Standard) Oil Company, with 1939-40 newspaper accounts and completion reports available for the Broad Ripple South Field. Broad Ripple is a scenic old fanning community cum trendy entertainment and residential district in north-central Indianapolis. Development patterns near the White River give some field areas a semi-rural character, with many drilling locations and one plugged well casing identifiable. The Broad Ripple Field was discovered in 1888 when local farmers began drilling domestic-use gas wells. Oil shows led to a local "boom" from 1896-1906 (and 1918-19?) culminating in the completion of at least 68 oil and gas wells (1500 MCF IP reported) in a 2200+ acre area. Gas was piped downtown and into Broad Ripple. Initial oil production rates up to 150 BOD attracted the interest of Standard Oil who drilled a 300 BOD well, and many smaller wells. Total field production was at least 235,000 BO with a peak of 102,087 BO in 1898. Many of the wells or leases have gas-oil-water contacts, production decline curve and other reservoir data, and portions of the field interior have closely spaced structural data. Residential subdivision platting and declining production led to all wells being plugged by 1908, apparently without the field having been fully delineated. A dry step out drilled in 1940 was the finale. The smaller South Field may have been wildcatted as early as 1918. Five wells were drilled 1939-40, and 1950, apparently being non-commercial. Structure mapping shows that the fields are related to a southwest plunging anticlinal structure and regional faulting, with local closure, dolomite porosity, and fracturing on the extreme southwest flank of the giant Trenton Field. An aero-magnetic low overlies the productive area, along with a bedrock high.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90926©1999 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana