Information Circular 107


PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN FLORIDA:
 RESPONSE TO PUBLIC CONCERN FOR SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENTS
 By Jacqueline M. Lloyd, P.G. 74
 and
 Joan M. Ragland, P.G. 298


 INTRODUCTION

 Florida currently produces oil from two areas
(Figures 1 and 2). One is in south Florida, the
other is in the western panhandle area. The
south Florida area includes 14 oil fields; the
western panhandle area includes seven.
 South Florida production began with Florida's
first oil discovery at Sunniland field in September,
1943 (Gunter, 1949) (Figure 1). The south
Florida fields are oriented along a northwest-
southeast trend through Lee, Hendry, Collier,
and Dade counties (Figure 1). The trend is the
Sunniland trend and is approximately 12-miles
wide by 145-miles long and happens to lie within
some of south Florida's most sensitive wetland
environments.
 Production in the western panhandle began
with the discovery of Jay field in June, 1970
(Babcock, 1972). Although Jay field straddles the
Escambia River, most of the field is within less
sensitive upland environments (Figure 2). Even
though ecological and environmental concerns
affected development at Jay field (Oil and Gas
Journal, 1972), most of Florida's environmental
regulations have evolved in response to
development in south Florida.


 PHASE I: ENCOURAGING EXPLORATION
 AND PETROLEUM LEGISLATION
 Early Exploration

 The years 1900 to 1939 were characterized by
sporadic, shallow wildcat exploration in Florida.
Florida's "first phase" (1900 to 1945) policies
concerning petroleum exploration somewhat
parallels this same period. Until Florida's first
commercial oil field discovery in 1943, emphasis


was on encouraging exploration. The only
petroleum legislation passed prior to this
discovery was the reward bill, which was passed
in 1941. Attempts to pass petroleum
conservation legislation began after the state's
first deep oil test was drilled in 1939. These
attempts were not successful until 1945. The
attempt to pass this legislation and the history
leading up to the passage of the conservation
law in 1945 are described in detail by Fields
(1959). The following discussion of this history is
summarized from his report.
 The first test for oil in Florida was in 1900 at
Pensacola in Escambia County (Gunter, 1949).
This well was drilled to only 1320 feet. An
additional 79 exploratory wells were drilled
between 1900 and 1939; however, many of
these were very shallow and may have been
more "promotional" than serious oil tests (Gunter,
1949). In 1939, the first significant deep oil test
was completed near Pinecrest, in Monroe
County, at a depth of 10,006 feet (Gunter, 1949).
Information yielded by this deep test drew the
attention of major oil companies to Florida and
marked the beginning of more "serious" oil
exploration in Florida.


 Early Legislation

 The interest shown by these major oil
companies prompted the first attempt to pass
conservation legislation in Florida in 1939. The
bill was supported by the petroleum industry and
proposed to make "waste" in production, storage,
and transportation of oil or gas unlawful. The bill
briefly:
 1. Prohibited waste of oil and gas.
 2. Defined waste.
 3. Set up the State Board of Conservation.