Information Circular 61

Conversion of the Ohio oil- and gas-well township-location maps to a geographical information system: history and methodology

by James McDonald, Lawrence H. Wickstrom, Christian D. Steck, and Joseph G. Wells
34 p., 24 figures, 2005
 
Price: $9.25 (plus sales tax and shipping)

Follow this link to view a non printable pdf file.

Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has become the de-facto standard by which map-based data and graphics are managed. This new publication documents the Ohio Division of Geological Survey’s project to convert manually maintained oil-and-gas-well maps and records into an integrated digital data-management system using GIS technology.
 
Maps and data associated with oil-and-gas wells represent one of the largest datasets at the Ohio Division of Geological Survey. Since 1860, it is estimated that more than 267,000 oil-and-gas wells have been drilled in Ohio. The Ohio Division of Geological Survey has been maintaining information on the oil-and-gas wells in the state since the late 1800s, and producing/maintaining detailed oil-and-gas-well location maps since the late 1950s. By the 1990s, these maps and records had become brittle and difficult to read, and very labor-intensive to maintain. As this information is critical for oil-and-gas exploration and development, land-use planning, and environmental assessments and remediation, a more effective system for maintaining the information was urgently needed.
 
In 1995, a program was initiated to modernize the procedures for maintaining and updating oil-and-gas-well records using GIS technology. This report tells the history of how the original paper and mylar oil-and-gas-welllocation maps and well-card records were created, and describes the program by which these records were converted for electronic distribution as digital files and print-on-demand products from the division’s Geologic Records Center.)