World-Famous “Wild Mary Sudik”
“Clever equipment” controlled a 1930 Oklahoma City gusher featured in newsreels.
The Oklahoma geyser of “black gold” in 1930 was ideal for newsreels as the worst of the Great Depression loomed. NBC Radio rushed to cover the struggle to control the “Wild Mary Sudik” blow-out and gusher in the Oklahoma City oilfield. Within a week, repeated attempts to contain the well were making headlines.
The Mary Sudik No. 1 well erupted after striking a high-pressure formation about 6,500 feet beneath the Sudik farm. The Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company’s well flowed for 11 days before being brought under control.
The well produced an astonishing 20,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of natural gas a day — too much for the drilling technologies of the day. Efforts to tame “Wild Mary” became a public sensation. (more…)
