Petroleum

by Albert Lidgett

TYPICAL LIQUID FUEL BURNERS

THE KERMODE STEAM BURNER

KERMODE’S AIR JET BURNER

In the steam burner, the oil enters through B, the valve G giving it a whirling motion. The steam goes round the cone A. F is the air cone, the amount of air being adjusted by the openings D by means of a perforated strap E. In the air jet burner the oil enters at A. The previously heated air enters at the branches B and C, and as the air passes C it meets the oil as it passes the control valve operated by E.

But it is on land, as well as on sea, that we find fuel oil rapidly making headway, for, as far back as 1889, hundreds of the Russian locomotives went over to the burning of a petroleum residue. This was the first practical application of fuel oil for railway haulage. To-day, nearly 50,000,000 barrels of fuel oil are consumed annually by the various railroads in the United States, and, according to the official figures I have of the total mileage of fuel oil for the past twelve months, the United States oil-burning locomotives did journeys aggregating over 145,000,000 miles. Mr. Hall, of the American International Railway Fuel Association, is responsible for the statement that, owing to the fact that the steaming capacity of the engines is materially increased, a locomotive running on fuel oil can haul a load of considerably greater tonnage and at a much increased speed than would be possible with a coal-fired engine. Many Continental railways use fuel oil rather than coal; the Roumanian and Austrian State Railways, the Western Railway of France, the Paris and Orleans Railway, being a few of the principal.

So far as England is concerned, the use of fuel oil has not made great headway, for the reason that, while on the one hand, the majority of our great railway systems pass through the coal-producing fields, there has, on the other hand, until recently been an absence of organization for the supply of fuel oil. The Great Eastern Railway many years ago successfully ran oil-fired locomotives.

It is evident that oil fuel will be increasingly used in the future for locomotive purposes, and at the time of writing—December, 1919—the L. and N.W. Railway are carrying out experiments on express engines, with a view to being able to some extent to discard coal.

In our industrial life of to-day there are a vast number of instances where fuel oil is rapidly displacing coal: the oil-fired furnace has been brought to a stage of perfection, and is being extensively and increasingly employed both in this country and abroad in regard to metallurgical and industrial processes. Without going into detail respecting the numerous spheres in which the new fuel finds profitable employment it is safe to say that these are being extended every year.

OIL FUEL FOR MARINE PURPOSES

Arrangement of heaters, filters and pumps for burning oil fuel for marine purposes. The installation is that of the Wallsend-Howden pressure system.

A wealth of inventive effort has been bestowed in the perfection of the burners employed to consume fuel oil. Leaving aside for the moment the principles governing the use of oil in the internal combustion engines of the Diesel or semi-Diesel type, fuel oil used for the production of power is introduced into the furnace in the form of a spray, this being accomplished by atomizing the oil in its passage through a specially designed burner. Of these burners, there are numerous makes upon the market, each of which possesses its own characteristics and advantages. The one feature common to all fuel oil burners is the arrangement for atomizing the oil fuel into a fine spray, so that each particle of fuel shall receive sufficient oxygen to ensure its complete combustion. Theoretically, it requires about 14 lb. of air to effect the combustion of 1 lb. of oil, and on the thorough combustion of the fuel oil depends the efficiency of the furnace. There are three distinct methods by which the atomization is brought about, and each of these means possesses its advantages and limitations. By one method, the fuel oil is atomized by the use of steam; by the second method, compressed air is used; while a third system—that of applying pressure to the oil supply itself—is sometimes adopted. Steam is the method usually employed for stationary boilers and locomotives, for it is the simplest to manipulate, and does not call for the employment of auxiliary apparatus in the shape of air compressors or oil pumps, but most industrial oil furnaces work on compressed air, which gives exceptionally good results. There is no doubt that, with the use of compressed air, say admitted at a pressure of 80 lb., a saving in fuel oil is shown over using steam at similar pressure, but the cost of the compressing plant, which must be taken into consideration, is sufficient to wipe out the greater part of this advantage.

THE “SCARAB” OIL BURNER

With respect to the use of the fuel oil direct under pressure, this system generally involves the heating of the fuel oil, as well as its filtration, the fuel being supplied under pressure by means of pumps. The system is extensively employed at the present time on marine boilers operating with forced or induced draught, and, in this connection, the Wallsend system stands pre-eminent.

Since writing the first edition of this little volume considerable advance has been made in connection with the use of oil fuel for general power-raising purposes, and much of this expansion has been consequent upon the introduction of a new burner—the “Scarab”—which is here illustrated. It is the invention of Lieut.-Col. Macdonald, and is the outcome of the war. When the Lieut.-Colonel was on service in Mesopotamia, he recognized the possibilities of oil fuel, for while wood and coal were being transported from India at great cost, oil was running to waste on the neighbouring fields of the Anglo Persian Oil Company. The Lieut.-Colonel therefore introduced a method of cooking by oil fuel, and immediately on his return to England he carried out experiments which led to the introduction of the “Scarab” burner. It is a simple contrivance, and is practically fool-proof, since there are really no parts to get out of order. The oil fuel flows through a tube by gravity, while another tube carries air compressed to about 10 lbs. pressure. The oil and air meet some inches distant from the mouth of the burner, and the combustion of the fuel, which is turned into a finely atomised spray, is complete. Experiments have been made with the burner for domestic purposes, and it has been adopted already in several London hotels for cooking purposes, though its general application is practically unlimited.

CHAPTER VII
PETROLEUM AS A LIGHTING AND COOKING AGENT

From times immemorial, petroleum has been utilized as a lighting agent. Fifteen hundred years ago we have records of its use in the Far Eastern countries, and in the seventh century one of the Emperors of Japan ordered that his temples should be illuminated by the sacred oil light. And from that long distant date to the present times, petroleum has played a not insignificant part in the provision of artificial light throughout the world. For centuries, petroleum, as a means of artificial light, had the field to itself, and, though the Ancients consumed large quantities for lighting purposes, the apparatus used for burning the oil were of a most primitive type, giving results which to-day would be considered far from satisfactory.

About the middle of the last century, when the petroleum industry was making steady advance in several European countries, and a little later, when the United States entered upon its era of oil progress, there was marked development in the use of oil for lighting purposes. The more modern oil lamp was introduced, and it is worthy of record that in one year alone over fifty patents were taken out in the United States for oil lamp improvements. The Germans, too, were not behind in this respect; in fact, it is very largely due to the numerous German improvements that the general governing principles of present-day oil lamps became so popular.

There is no doubt that the ordinary oil lamp has often been, and still is, unjustifiably condemned for certain defects which are not inherent in it. It necessarily demands attention if it is to give a satisfactory light, but, unfortunately, this attention is not adequately bestowed upon it, and complaints are the result. I have frequently argued that, just as it is possible with inattention to make the most improved pattern of oil lamp operate unsatisfactorily, so is it possible, with a little care and common sense, to get a really good and satisfactory light from the cheapest oil lamp obtainable.

In days gone by, the quality of the oil was, in many cases, unsuitable for burning in the ordinary lamps; its lighting power was very inferior, and it gave off a distinctly unpleasant smell. To-day, however, the illuminating oil sold throughout the world is a first-class article, and its flash-point has been so raised that it can be used freely without there being any suggestion of its lack of safety. One still hears of the “dangerous” paraffin lamp, but, to all intents and purposes, whatever danger was attendant upon the use of oil lamps has long ago departed, though, of course, care must always be exercised, a remark which naturally applies to every illuminant. It is not within my province to give a series of hints to the ordinary user of illuminating oil, but it is well to draw attention to a point which is frequently overlooked: that is, to see that lamps should be kept well filled. It has been established that the light from an oil lamp is greatly affected by the quantity of oil in the reservoir. An increase of 20 per cent. can be secured in the illuminating power of the lamp if only the oil is kept to a good level in the container. This is due to the assistance given to the capillary action of the wick by the higher level.

The advent of gas, and, at a later period, electric current, for illuminating purposes has, to an extent, restricted the use of oil as an illuminant, yet the reader will be surprised to learn that at least 2,000,000 oil lamps are nightly lighted throughout Great Britain. The inhabitants of the majority of our villages have to fall back upon oil lamps after nightfall, and even in remote spots where enterprising gas companies have laid gas mains large numbers still keep faith with oil, no doubt by reason of its cheapness in normal times.

The greatest improvement made in regard to oil lighting has been in connection with the introduction of the incandescent mantle. As a result of this innovation, several elaborate designs of lamps have been placed on the market, and to-day oil is frequently used in large residences in preference to the more modern illuminants. This is due, without doubt, to the fact that oil light is particularly soft, and, while giving a great illuminating power when consumed under the best conditions, lacks that dazzling brilliancy which causes injury to the eyes.

One of the earliest methods of utilizing petroleum under an incandescent mantle was the Kitson system, according to which illuminating oil is compressed to about 50 lb. per square inch in a suitable vessel, forced through a soft brass tube of very small bore into a heating chamber, and, subsequently, through a needle orifice to a Bunsen burner. The Kitson system, which has found many adherents in the United Kingdom and abroad, is particularly adapted for lighthouse illumination, and in such cases where large units are essential. It is interesting to record the fact that for some time one of London’s main West-end thoroughfares was illuminated by incandescent oil lamps, and, though they are now superseded, no tangible reason was given as to why these highly economical means of illumination were ever removed.

Space forbids my referring to the various designs of oil lamps on the English market to-day: they may be counted by their hundreds, while still a larger number of those which have either been unsuccessful or have found no sale may be found in the records of the Patent Office.

During comparatively recent times, devices have been brought forward whereby remarkably good results have been achieved by the use of gaseous vapour for portable lamps. In these cases, motor spirit is vapourized and used under an incandescent mantle. The best known of these lamps is the “Petrolite.” In this lamp, a porous stone is impregnated with suitable hydrocarbons—motor spirit—and a current of air is introduced, the necessary draught being provided by the use of a fairly long chimney. The great advantage of the “Petrolite” lamp is that of its perfect safety, for if by any chance the lamp becomes overturned and the chimney displaced or broken, the draught ceases, and with it, the generation of the inflammable vapour; the lamp, therefore, immediately going out.

But while this method of utilizing motor spirit for illuminating purposes has been adopted to a very large extent by means of portable lamps, a greater field has been developed both in this and other countries in connection with the domestic and industrial use of petrol air-gas for lighting purposes. These apparatus in the main possess but slight differences. The essential principle of each is that motor spirit is carburetted and then, in the form of an oil gas, conducted through pipes in the same manner as coal gas is burned, to the rooms in which it is required. The carburetted air-gas is automatically produced, and the small cost at which these automatic plants can be supplied has rendered this system of lighting deservedly popular. Its great economy also is an important point, for 1 gallon of motor spirit will yield almost 30 cubic feet of vapour. This vapour, in order to form a lighting agent, is mixed to the extent of over 98 per cent. air and less than 2 per cent. petrol vapour, so that 1 gallon of motor spirit will produce, approximately, 1,500 cubic feet of air-gas. The plants, which are usually worked by a small hot-air engine (or, alternately, by the use of weights), supply only the demand created, and their control is automatic perfection.

THE ANGLO-AMERICAN OIL COMPANY’S OIL COOKER

To-day, petroleum plays quite an important part in heating arrangements, and several stoves are upon the market which burn the ordinary illuminating oil. The prettily designed heating stoves of the “Perfection” or “Reform” make are largely in use, the efficacy and economy of these being responsible for their popularity. Various makes of oil cookers are also in large demand. These range from the small variety like the “Primus” stove, which burns illuminating oil under pressure, to the oil cooking stoves of the Anglo-American Oil Company, Ltd., which are quite competent to meet the requirements of practically any household. These latter stoves consume illuminating oil by means of the circular wick arrangement, and are in several sizes, one of the best being that containing three lighters. Two of these are under the oven, and one at the end can be used for boiling purposes. Speaking from several years’ experience of these stoves, I can say that they are truly perfection. They are very economical, are easily cleaned, and when in full operation give off not the slightest odour. The oven is more readily heated than with the coal gas apparatus, and the properly diffused heat cooks all kinds of food most readily and perfectly. The illustration of the stove given on the preceding page will afford the reader a good idea of the apparatus, which deserves to be even more popular than it is at present.

CHAPTER VIII
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

In no other sphere of employment has petroleum made such rapid strides during the past two or three decades as those recorded in connection with its use in internal combustion engines, and one of the most interesting features of modern mechanical engineering is their development. The advent and immediate popularity of this kind of engine has been responsible for some of the most remarkable conquests of mankind over the forces of Nature, for it has brought into being the automobile, the aeroplane, the dirigible airship, and a host of other inventions. It has also been responsible for quite a new departure in ocean transport, for experiments have proved that the largest vessels can be very economically operated by means of the internal combustion engine.

It might, by way of introduction, be well to explain for the benefit of the uninitiated, the meaning of the term “Internal combustion engine.” As most of my readers are well aware, the steam, or, rather, to be exact, the highly heated water vapour which drives the steam engine, is supplied from boilers which are heated by the burning of coal, oil fuel, or, sometimes, gas, and such engines might, therefore, be called “external combustion engines,” since the fuel is consumed in apparatus external to the engine proper. Such a term, however, is not in use amongst engineers, and might raise a superior sort of smile if used in their presence. It will be readily seen from the foregoing that a great deal of weight and apparatus of some complication is required before the water vapour which drives the steam engine can even be provided.

In the case of the internal combustion engine, the fuel (motor spirit or the heavier oils) is introduced directly into the engine and there vapourized and mixed with air so as to form an explosive mixture, so that all boilers, with the necessarily complicated systems of piping, etc., are done away with. It needs no imagination to understand the enormous saving of weight and space resulting from this elimination of the boiler, and of the room which it would occupy.

The latter-day demands for the provision of lighter and yet lighter, as well as space-saving propelling machinery for submarines, airships, aeroplanes, motor-cars, etc., especially during the war, have enormously stimulated the development of the engine which consumes its own fuel, and which is known as the internal combustion engine. A very wide field has thus been opened out for the exercise of the engineer’s ingenuity, and he has availed himself to the full of the opportunities thus created, never failing to rise to the occasion when fresh demands have been made upon him.

In these circumstances, it is not at all surprising to find that numerous firms have given considerable attention to the manufacture of the internal combustion class of engine, and many varieties, for a multiplicity of purposes, are upon the market. The limits of space effectively prevent my detailing the list of even the largest manufacturers; I will therefore content myself by referring to but one firm—Messrs. Vickers, Ltd.—who are now the largest manufacturers in the Kingdom. This progressive firm has grappled with the internal combustion engine problem from the earliest stages of the petrol engine to the latest forms of the heavy oil engine and its remarkable developments, and a large section of their establishment at Barrow-in-Furness is, and has long been, set aside exclusively for the design and manufacture of the heavy oil internal combustion engine. A very large staff of expert engineers has been selected for the work, while experiments with a view to improvements being effected in details are continually being conducted in the establishment. The result is that the development of this engine at the Barrow works has been attended with the highest success, a fact which is not widely known to the general public.

I take it as a great compliment that permission has been given me in this book to refer somewhat in detail to the achievements of Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., in this respect, for, hitherto, publicity in connection with this section of the firm’s operations has been strictly withheld. One of the latest and, it might well be said, the most important developments in connection with Messrs. Vickers’ activities, is the Vickers patent system of fuel injection, which enables an engine of the Diesel type (that is, using heavy oil) to be successfully run without the use of an air compressor for injecting the fuel into the engine. Before the introduction of this system, an air compressor, with its attendant complication and weight, had to be used for the introduction of the fuel into the engine. The elimination of this compressor has resulted in considerable economy in weight, space, and attendance, which, it will readily be seen, is a step in the right direction, whilst the efficiency of the engine has also been improved. The disadvantages attendant upon the use of the air compressor were early comprehended by Messrs. Vickers, and they have spared no efforts (nor expense) in developing the system which has led to its elimination.

The reader will require no knowledge of the subject to understand that the question of fuel consumption is one of the highest importance in any engine system, and, in regard to this point, Messrs. Vickers have made a special study, with the result that whilst the ordinary consumption in a Diesel engine with air compressor is ·41 lb. brake horse-power an hour (or 184 grammes par force de cheval), that firm have been able to reach the low figure of ·376 lbs. B.H.P. an hour (or ·170 grammes par force de cheval).

As one might expect, Messrs. Vickers, in bringing their engine to its present state of perfection, have, perforce, had a varied experience with fuel oils—and a considerable one, too,—for they have experimented with oils from all the well-known producing fields, and find that, under their system, practically any fuel oil which can be made to flow may be utilized in their engines—a fact which, in its importance, speaks for itself. The physical properties of the oils used by them have, naturally, differed very considerably. For instance, specific gravities have varied from ·810 to ·950 flash points from 100° Fahr., to upwards of 250° Fahr., whilst the viscosities, which the lay mind might well be excused for thinking of as “degrees of stickiness,” have varied from that of the ordinary kerosene (illuminating oil) to the thick asphaltic fuel oil which comes from Mexico. Readers may judge from this of the painstaking and difficult experiments that have been carried out in the Barrow works.

The advantages derivable from the use of the Vickers system could not, obviously, be withheld from general use, and the firm have upwards of twenty licensees now manufacturing internal combustion engines under their designs. This fact, though not familiar to “the man in the street,” is known in the manufacturing world.

900 B.H.P. LOW DUTY VICKERS ENGINE FOR OIL TANK VESSELS

BACK VIEW OF ENGINE

Already a very large number of their engines have been constructed, the approximate brake horse-power produced by same being upwards of 337,600. These engines are of various sizes, ranging from 200 to 2,000 horse-power. The cylinders vary in diameter from 10 to 29 inches, and are arranged to work in groups to suit the power required, and may be either two-stroke or four-stroke cycle. The high temperatures set up in starting the engine are sufficient to ignite the fuel, the introduction of which in a finely-divided condition has been the object of so many experiments at Barrow; and so successful in this direction have Messrs. Vickers been that they are now able to deal satisfactorily, by careful adjustments of the engine to suit the various fuels, with the most troublesome oils.

As already referred to, the elimination of the air compressor constitutes the chief improvement embodied in the Vickers type of engine, seeing that the greatest worry which the Diesel engineer has had to encounter has been this very compressor. Needless to remark, therefore, this feature alone strongly recommends the new system to the experienced man. Further, the power required to drive the compressor above-mentioned is considerable, so that economy is not one of the least results due to its absence.

The principal advantages that can be claimed for the Vickers engine may be summarized as under—

1. Safety in working. (Many accidents have been due to the use of the air compressor.)

2. Weight is saved.

3. Space is saved.

4. Lower air compression in the cylinders for ignition, and economy in air for starting the engine.

5. Reduction in first costs; and

6. Reduction in upkeep expenses.

900 B.H.P. HIGH DUTY REVERSING ENGINE FOR LIGHT CRAFT

1,250 B.H.P. LOW DUTY VICKERS MARINE ENGINE FOR OIL TANK VESSEL

With regard to (4), the low compression claimed is rather interesting, as Messrs. Vickers have successfully demonstrated that, although a high compression temperature is necessary in the ordinary Diesel engine with the usual air spraying compressor, a much lower degree suffices for their mechanical injection system, whilst there is a greater certainty of ignition of the fuel on its first introduction, even with the existence of lower compression in the cylinder. The reason of this is that the spraying air used in the ordinary Diesel is usually compressed to about 60 atmospheres (900 lb. per square inch). What happens when air spraying is practised is this. When the cold air carrying the very high pressure above mentioned enters the cylinder, it necessarily expands, owing to the lower temperature already existent there, and such expansion chills the whole mixture, frequently preventing ignition on the first introduction of the fuel.

Under the Vickers system of mechanical fuel injection, there is, of course, no introduction of very highly compressed air, and, consequently, first ignition is rendered easier. From this, it will at once be seen that an oil possessing a high flash point can be more easily burned in the Vickers engine than in the ordinary Diesel, with the necessary adjunct of an air compressor. Provision is also made (should the type of fuel used require it) for a higher temperature of compression, and such oils are, therefore, much more easily dealt with than in the ordinary Diesel engine.

From what I have already said, it will be evident to the reader that it is only a question of time for air spraying, with its attendant use of the compressor, to become a thing of the past.

The mechanism involved by the adoption of the new system of fuel injection developed by Messrs. Vickers is exceptionally simple. It consists of a small fuel pump, such as is ordinarily used for pumping fuel, a reservoir or accumulator of novel form to retain the charge, and a valve with a special nozzle to admit the fuel in the form of a fine spray into the cylinder. The accumulator, I may here mention, is merely a tube, flattened slightly on the sides, and of sufficient length, when the oil is forced into it, to enable it to yield and store up a charge of fuel at the required high pressure, as explained in the next paragraph.

The principal feature of the system (and the secret of its great success) is the very high pressure at which the oil is injected into the cylinder. This pressure is kept up at about 4,000 lb. the square inch, so that the oil fuel, when it enters the cylinder and encounters the hot compressed air therein, is in the form of a very finely atomized mist, a conjunction of circumstances most favourable for ignition. As in all great inventions, the simplicity of the arrangement is not the least of its merits.

This somewhat rough, yet brief, outline will suffice to explain the astonishing success of the Vickers heavy oil engine, but, if the whole history of these (and other) noteworthy experiments could be written, a highly interesting story would be produced, showing indomitable perseverance in the face of discouragement, difficulty, and very heavy expense.

I have avoided touching upon the ordinary kerosene engines, for I imagine they are too well known to need more than passing reference here; nor have I gone into the details concerning the advent of the ordinary Diesel engine, which was a German invention.

I have preferred rather to deal with a British invention which is already revolutionizing oil engine construction generally, and which, obviously, has limitless fields open to it.

CHAPTER IX
PETROLEUM IN ENGLAND

There will be no chapter in this little treatise which will be more carefully perused than the present one, for the subject is of direct interest to every reader, whether actually associated with the search for oil or not. To-day, as I have already mentioned in another chapter, this country is dependent for practically the whole of its petroleum requirements upon foreign oil-producing countries, and though ample evidence is forthcoming to suggest that there are possibilities of obtaining liquid oil in England—in fact, many years ago this was actually obtained in not inconsiderable quantities—it is very strange that only recently have serious efforts been made in the direction of systematic search for the valuable liquid.

That large quantities of petroleum can be produced in this country is agreed by all who have given the subject more than passing thought; the question is, by what means shall this production be brought about. While it is problematical as to the amount of commercial success which will attend the present search for liquid oil, though those who are most competent to judge believe that large stores of liquid oil will be found, it is already certain that there are vast possibilities in England for the production of petroleum from the treatment of the bituminous shales which freely abound in many parts.

It will be seen, therefore, that the subject really divides itself under two heads, and it is with the first of these—that of the possibilities of finding liquid oil reserves in commercial quantity in this country—that I will now proceed to deal. For this purpose, it is better that we divide the country into three zones—western, middle, and eastern. The western zone will include the whole of England between the third meridian of West Longitude and the Irish Sea, the Bristol Channel, and the North Atlantic. It will be bounded on the north by a line running near Whitehaven to the mouth of the River Tees, and having the English Channel as its southern boundary. In this zone, the most northern occurrence of petroleum is found at Whitehaven, Cumberland, and the next is found on the Lancashire coast. Other indications are to be found in Denbighshire and in the northern part of the South Wales coalfield.

The occurrences of petroleum in what may be described as the middle zone are far more important and numerous than those of the western zone. They are important in the physical conditions to which they are subordinate, and in their greater productiveness. They are more numerous, and their geological position is more in direct relationship with later dynamical alterations in the rock structures. In this zone occurs the most important occurrence which has so far been recorded—I refer to that at Alfreton, in Derbyshire—for it was from this natural flow of petroleum over 70 years ago that Dr. Young, the founder of the Scottish shale oil industry, manufactured paraffin wax. Near Chesterfield is also unmistakable evidence of the presence of liquid oil at depth, for considerable quantities have flowed from the workings at the Southgate Colliery. In this middle zone, too, are the occurrences of petroleum found near Wigan and West Leigh, while flows of oil are recorded from several spots round Barnsley and Ilkeston. The petroleum find at Kelham, near Newark, some few years ago, is important for the reason that the drill in this case, at a depth of somewhere about 2,400 feet, struck true petroliferous sands, underlain by dark, waxy shales. The oil rock has been proved to consist of loose, coarsely grained sand, having all the features of strata in which petroleum is ordinarily met with. The great value of this boring is that it has demonstrated the fact, so long doubted by many of the best geological authorities in Great Britain, that all the geological conditions, dynamical as well as historical, are present in this locality for the formation and subsequent retention of liquid petroleum, and that, as Dr. William Forbes-Leslie puts it, despite all contention to the contrary, a true oil-field exists in England.

So far as I am aware, however, North Staffordshire alone, among all the places in England, has the distinction of so far having produced liquid petroleum in sufficient quantity for refining purposes. It was in 1874 that oil was discovered in a seam of coal in one of the pits of the Mear Hay Collieries, Longton, and a contract was ultimately made with a Mr. William Walker, Senr., of Hanley, who erected plant at Cobridge for the purpose of refining the oil. I am indebted to Mr. Walker for the following facts, though in a general way I have full corroboration for them, for it was within a couple of miles from the collieries that I was born and spent my earlier days. The seam of coal wherein the oil was discovered was one of the deeper seams, and by no means one of the best in the district. At that time, the flow produced more than 5 tons of crude oil per week, and inasmuch as England then was not inundated with American petroleums, great possibilities were seen in the discovery. But almost before the refining of the crude had settled down to be a commercial undertaking, the plans of operation were upset, for a serious explosion occurred at the colliery, which rendered necessary the closing of the pit. Twelve months later, however, they were re-opened, and after the re-sinking had proceeded awhile, the oil was found far up the shaft, and in due course the shaft was cleared and the mines re-opened. Refining operations were resumed and continued for a year or two, when the pits had to be closed on account of the shafts shrinking.

However, in the course of a number of years, petroleum appeared in another colliery less than a mile from the Mear Hay Colliery, and again Mr. Walker secured the contract for the whole of the output. The quantity of crude oil found was several tons weekly, and a large stock had accumulated when Mr. Walker’s attention was drawn to this new find. This time, the supply continued for a longer period, and then again the seam of coal in which the deposit occurred had to be abandoned. Thus, while the resources of this part of the Charnian axis have not been properly tested—for, in the opinion of the colliery owners, it is not possible profitably to work coal and oil at the same time—there is ample evidence to suggest that, in the not distant future, there may be most interesting oil developments in this part of North Staffordshire.

The eastern zone of the country doubtless furnishes the most interesting petroleum occurrences in England. Here, the interest does not so much depend upon the number of escapes, as upon the promising geological conditions subserving the production and possible retention of petroleum. According to the investigations of Dr. W. Forbes-Leslie, F.R.G.S., whose valuable contribution on the subject of the occurrence of petroleum in England forms one of the most important papers ever read before the Institution of Petroleum Technologists, the northern line of oil occurrences runs from Filey, north-westerly, the principal finds being located at Filey, Pickering, and Kirby Moorside. Oil, too, has been found at Brigg, in Lincolnshire, at Market-Rasen, Haugmont, and Donnington-on-Bain. The line of oil occurrences starts at King’s Lynn, on the Wash, and runs south-westwards as far as Cottenham, in Cambridgeshire, the principal occurrences being at King’s Lynn, Downham, Littleport, and Ely. The information obtained by the bore-hole at Kelham, to which I have already referred, is a factor of great value when taken into consideration and applied to an analytical review of the petroleum seepages in England. It is a positive proof that a true oil-bearing stratum underlies the surface rocks, at any rate, in one part of the British Isles, and, when it is considered in relation with the surface position of the oil escapes on the eastern flank of the Pennine Chain, it suggests a possible connection between those underground sources of oil and those surface escapes which are scattered, seemingly at such random, along the Pennines.

The attempts which were made but a few years ago to develop the possibilities of the Heathfield district of Sussex, with a view to obtaining commercial quantities of natural gas, were also prompted with the idea of maybe striking deposits of liquid petroleum, though it is doubtful, both from a geological point of view, and from the nature of the natural gas which is there in abundance, whether liquid oil will be met with in that part of the country. What has been established, however, is the fact that large quantities of natural gas are to be found in this delightful part of rural Sussex, and it is a great pity that the necessary enterprise has not been forthcoming to permit of a really serious development. Some years ago, I motored an American oil-man over the gas-fields of Heathfield, and he assured me that, if such evidences were found in the States, there would immediately be a great boom, and finance would freely flow in to stimulate development. But not so with Heathfield, for the opinion is freely held that this field is too near our midst for real speculative enterprise. Remove it to the wilds of Russia, and British finance would appreciate the immense potentialities which to-day lie dormant. For those readers who are, perhaps, not conversant with the history of the Heathfield gas developments it is well to record the fact that attention to these deposits was drawn years ago, when a well was being drilled for water on the property of the Brighton and South Coast Railway, near the present station. Strong smells of gas prevented working for some time, and as these increased it was decided that the better course would be to suspend drilling operations. The tubes of the well were partially drawn out, and the well sides caved in, yet the gas pressure increased. The well was abandoned as a water well, but pipes were attached to the cap at the mouth, and a steady pressure of gas was emitted. It was decided that, inasmuch as the gas burned with a pure flame, the station should be lighted with it. That was over twenty years ago, and to-day the well is still producing, and the station is still lighted with the natural gas, which needs no refining. Not only so, but a well-appointed hotel close by utilizes the gas for lighting and cooking.

A project was set on foot for sinking further wells and piping the gas to the southern coast resorts for general use, but lack of capital prevented progress being made, and so, to-day, Heathfield, like many other centres in the country, awaits the attention of the carefully-directed drill to open up its underground wealth.

In August, 1917, the feeling in many parts of the country that the Government should take some action in order to develop these latent resources became so strong that a Bill was introduced into Parliament with this object in view. No attempt was made to progress with it until the following October, when a financial resolution was rejected by the House of Commons on the question of royalties. An amendment was adopted against the payment of royalties to the owners of surface lands who had made no attempt to obtain liquid oil, and who, as a matter of fact, did not know that it was there. Two months later the Petroleum (Production) Bill was dropped.

In March, 1918, however, a most encouraging turn of events occurred, for Lord Cowdray, head of the great firm of Messrs. S. Pearson & Son, and associated with those influential interests in oil represented by the Mexican Eagle Oil Company, the Eagle Oil Transport Company, and the Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company, made offers to the Government which were couched in the following terms—

(a) For the period of the war to place at the disposal of the Government, free of all cost, the services of his firm and geological staff for the purpose of exploration and development.

(b) If the Government did not wish to risk public money on what had to be deemed a speculative enterprise, Messrs. S. Pearson & Son were prepared to drill, at their own risk and expense as licensees, subject to certain areas being reserved to them. The offer committed the firm to an expenditure of, possibly, £500,000.

The public spirited offer of Lord Cowdray was most thankfully accepted by the Government and, with a minimum of delay, drilling sites were marked out for the commencement of active operations.

Lord Cowdray’s geological staff particularly favoured the neighbourhood in Derbyshire, near to which Young made his first discoveries of oil, and Chesterfield was selected as headquarters for the new oil developments. The first oil well to be drilled in this country was commenced in September, 1918, at Hardstoft, near Pilsley, on the Great Central main line between Sheffield and Nottingham, and on Tuesday, 18th October, the inauguration of England’s oil industry took place there in the presence of many oil notabilities. American drilling machinery of the percussion type was installed and, in view of the great depth to which it was expected the drill would have to proceed before encountering commercial quantities of oil, the well was commenced with a diameter of 18 inches.

A depth of just over 3,000 ft. had been reached at the commencement of June, 1919, at which depth oil production started. The well was put on the pump and began its steady yield of a good grade crude oil, the production being about fifty barrels per week. Up to the time of writing (December, 1919) the well is maintaining its yield.

Other wells have been sunk in the Chesterfield area at Ironville, Heath, Renishaw, Brimington, Ridgeway and in North Staffordshire and Scotland, but so far the success met with is not promising, though it is quite possible that commercial oil may be encountered.

Private enterprise has also commenced the sinking of a well at Kelham, Nottinghamshire, near a site where, many years ago, small quantities of oil were found in an experimental coal bore. Here, however, no definite result has been attained. The Company—The Oilfields of England, Ltd.—is operating under a drilling license from the Government under which the Government may take over the properties on a valuation should commercial oil be found.

Let us now briefly turn to the other aspect of the question of the production of petroleum in England—that is, of producing oils from the treatment of the bituminous shales. There are several sources from which petroleum can be obtained in this country by distillation, and these are: (1) oil-shales, (2) coal, (3) cannel coals and torbanites, (4) blackband ironstones, (5) lignite, and (6) peat.

Though in the past the oil shales of England have not been recognized as possessing great potential value, comparatively recent discoveries have proved that at home we have enormous deposits of oil shales of remarkable richness. These are, so far as at present proved, situate in Norfolk and at short distance from King’s Lynn. Dr. Forbes Leslie, F.R.G.S., has for many years carried out a number of tests as to the quality and quantity of the shales in the Norfolk field, and as a result of his work it has been proved that upwards of twenty miles square, there is an area in Norfolk underlaid with rich oil-shales. From a geological point of view the shales are remarkable, for they uniformly lie within 300 ft. of the surface, several of the seams being but a few feet below ground. Their prolific nature may be judged from the fact that in sinking test wells to depths of 300 ft. in various parts of the field, over 150 ft. of this oil shale has been drilled through, and it is thus established beyond all possible doubt that at home we have all the materials at hand for a huge home production of oil.

The whole of the field has been secured by English Oilfields, Ltd., a company which, by reason of the influential interest behind it, is bound to be strikingly successful in its future developments in Norfolk.

The crude oil content of the shales is surprisingly great, for these shales yield approximately 60 gallons of oil per ton, or considerably more than double as much as the Midlothian shales. Dr. Forbes Leslie asserts that there is already proved over 2,000,000,000 tons of shale on the properties in Norfolk, and after having carefully inspected the whole of the fields on many occasions, I think Dr. Leslie’s statement may be taken as very conservative, for after all it is only a question of a simple sum of calculation which allows one to arrive at the figures above quoted.

Commercial developments have already been commenced on the Norfolk fields, and it is safe to assume that they will become of enormous National importance, since the production of home oil supplies is to-day considered of vast National interest.

The other shales—such as the Kimmeridge shales of Dorset and Sussex—are not being worked commercially in spite of strenuous efforts, and there remains much to be done before a steady supply of petroleum can be counted upon from these sources. Of the other possible sources of supply, coal yields too little, and at the same time is considered too valuable to be utilized on a general scale; lignites are not yet opened for development on a sufficient scale; and peat has proved troublesome and expensive to treat owing to the difficulty of eliminating the water. This, therefore, leaves cannel coals, torbanites, and blackband ironstones, which are closely associated and, in numerous cases, easily obtainable. Cannel coal, I should explain, differs from the ordinarily known coal on account of its being less carbonized; it contains many fragments and particles of vegetable matter still showing their natural forms, though flattened by pressure. The percentage of hydrogen to carbon is higher in a cannel coal than in the bituminous coal, the percentage of inorganic matter is usually higher also, and the fracture and general appearance serve to distinguish this variety of carbonaceous deposit.

CHAPTER X
PETROLEUM IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The desire that the British Empire should be self-supporting in every possible way has been the predominating idea of our statesmen for many years: it is to be regretted, however, that such little progress has been recorded in the direction of the achievement of a practical result. This remark applies to many commodities, yet to none more so than to petroleum and its products. To-day, as much as at any preceding time, the Empire is dependent upon foreign sources of supply for the vast bulk of its petroleum products. It is true that in the United Kingdom there is a growing production of oil from the shale-fields of Scotland, but this total represents but a fraction of the large quantities of products which are annually required to meet the ever-increasing demands in commercial and domestic circles.

At the outbreak of the European War, it was forcibly brought home to us as a nation that we were in a position regarding our petroleum supplies of absolute dependence upon other countries. The refined products were an essential part of the war, for without them it would have been impossible to have continued for almost a single day, and yet, practically every gallon used had to be transported thousands of miles, and from a country which at that time was neutral. To make matters even worse, the Continental sources of supply from which we had been previously drawing large quantities of petroleum were closed to export, for, through the Dardanelles, the Roumanian and Russian export ports were effectively shut off from the outside world.

Fortunately for Great Britain, the United States came forward with the offer of all the petroleum products required for the successful prosecution of the war, and we owe to the United States alone all success which has been the natural result of possessing ample requirements of petroleum products both on sea and land.

The fact, nevertheless, stands out tragically prominent that we as a nation have not developed our own oil resources in a manner we ought to have done, although everyone conversant with the oil business has been for years advocating the giving of serious attention to this important subject. To-day, speculative drilling for petroleum is proceeding in England, and it is to be hoped that some success will be ultimately recorded, but, inasmuch as I dealt with the question of Petroleum in England in the previous chapter, I will at the moment pass over this very interesting phase of the problem, and briefly look at the subject from an Empire point of view. Under the British Flag, we already have, or control, some excellent oil-fields in Burmah, Persia, Egypt, Trinidad, and Assam, and each producing steadily increasing quantities of crude oil. The Burmah fields have achieved fame mainly owing to the very large profits made by the chief operating company—the Burmah Oil Company, Ltd., whose head offices are at Glasgow. These have of recent years been developed upon most up-to-date lines, and the producing limits of the territory greatly extended, until now the annual crude oil production is upwards of 1,000,000 tons. The fields of Persia are very prolific, and their control to-day is in the hands of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Ltd., an influential concern largely controlled by the British Government, by reason of the investment of large sums of public moneys a few years ago. The development of the Persian fields is more or less in its initial stages, and though huge quantities of oil have already been produced therefrom, the limits of the presumably oil-bearing areas have by no means been defined. In order to facilitate the export of Persian oil, a pipe-line has been laid from the fields to Abadan, on the Persian Gulf, and a programme has already been laid down under which large quantities of Persian petroleum products will come upon the English markets.

The Egyptian oil-fields have lately witnessed developments upon an important scale, thanks to the enterprise of the Anglo-Egyptian Oil-fields, Ltd., a concern closely allied with the “Shell” Combination, and having as its Chairman, Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart. Commercial supplies of crude oil have been found at several points near the coast of the Gulf of Suez, and a large refinery has been built for the refining of the oil. Down to 1914, the only oil finds of importance had been at Gemsah, where a number of oil gushers were struck, but the field there proved to be one of most irregular formation, and none of the wells gave anything like a permanent yield. Fortunately, in that year a field was discovered at Hurgada, the formation of which was found to be singularly regular, and the yield of which has steadily increased until, at the time of writing, the production of crude oil in it is over 15,000 tons per month. That additional wells have not been sunk and the field further increased has been primarily due to the difficulties of obtaining the necessary plant under war conditions. Some very large wells have already been brought in, but, so far, the petroleum industry in Egypt is quite in its infancy. It is quite obvious, however, that in the next few years the production of petroleum in Egypt will be increasingly large, and the developments are bound to have a significant bearing upon the oil situation generally.

The same remarks equally apply to the Trinidad fields, where the anticipations of those associated with the pioneer oil operations have been more than fulfilled. Some prolific fields have been opened up, and the production to-day is such that an export trade of considerable magnitude can be maintained. Developments upon the Island were impeded by the total absence of roads in the oil districts, and much pioneer work had to be undertaken before it was possible to commence the serious exploitation of the fields themselves. The crude oil of Trinidad is of both the light and the heavy grades, the former showing remarkable percentages of motor spirit, while the latter is used not only as fuel oil but also for the treatment of roads so as to render them dustless. It is in Trinidad that there is the famous pitch lake, from which for many years large quantities of asphalt have been removed and exported for a variety of purposes. Trinidad asphalt, in fact, is well known all over the world. The potentialities of the Island are rapidly being appreciated, for its geographical position is such that would make it a practical base for the “oiling” of the great ocean-going vessels which are rapidly passing over from coal to fuel oil burning.

While on the subject of oil-fields which are under the British Flag, mention must be made of Canada, whose oil industry has been developed for many years. The principal producing fields are in Ontario, and the town of Petrolia is the centre of the petroleum interests. But the wells are not of the prolific class, and almost without exception show a very poor return for operating. Many of them are sunk only to the shallow strata, and their operation would certainly be profitless were not a system employed by which quite a number of small producing wells are pumped by central power. From time to time, Canada has experienced various oil booms, one of the most recent being that which occurred in Calgary, in 1914. A well showed a small production of high-grade oils, and immediately the country for miles round became the centre of an oil fever, which gradually died down when a number of unsuccessful developments took place. To-day, the output of the Canadian fields is steadily declining, and all efforts to stimulate the production have so far failed. Even a Government bounty of 1½ cents a gallon of oil produced has failed to encourage an increase in output, and it is evident that, unless new fields are opened out, the future offers little hope.

The total production of petroleum to-day by the oil-fields developed in the British Empire represents but about 2 per cent. of the world’s total petroleum output: it is therefore clear that, if we intend to secure our oil supplies in the future from territory under the British Flag, large supplementary sources of supply must be found. It is doubtful whether any additional liquid oil regions will be found to produce oil in commercial quantity, for, though several attempts have been made in various parts with this end in view, they have not achieved success, and numerous instances might be quoted where the employment of British capital in an endeavour to bring about this much desired result has met with failure.

The question then arises: Is it possible to augment considerably Empire-produced oils from other means of development? In this direction, the future is full of promise, for, though Nature has not given the Empire freely of liquid oil-producing fields, there are immense areas of oil-bearing shales at home and in our Dominions overseas which can, without great difficulty, be turned into most useful account. It is well known that great deposits of retortable material exist within the Empire’s bounds, and many of these deposits are exceedingly rich. At the moment, however, scarcely any have been exploited, and none adequately developed. From time to time, many samples of oil-bearing shales from various parts of the Empire have been sent to this country for analysis, and these have usually been put through Scottish retorts with varying results.

But the unsatisfactory analyses have not been due to the qualities of the shale or torbanite examined, but to the methods by which the distillations were carried out. The well-known consulting oil engineer—Mr. E. H. Cunningham-Craig—made a special point of this in a most interesting article which recently appeared in one of the Empire magazines, and he pointed out that the reasons for the unsatisfactory conclusions arrived at were very simple and obvious. The Scottish retorts are designed to deal effectually with highly inspissated and, as a rule, not very rich, oil-shales. The recovery of the maximum amount of sulphate of ammonia is a desideratum; a sufficient supply of incondensable gases to fire the retort must be produced; while the recovery of the lighter fractions (motor spirit) of the material treated was not an object of the first consideration. For these purposes, says Mr. Cunningham-Craig, large and high vertical retorts are used, the temperature of distillation is comparatively high, superheated steam is blown into the retorts, and a fairly complete extraction of volatile matter is achieved. But to apply such methods to a very rich and fresh torbanite—such as the richer shales of New South Wales—is absurd, involving many practical difficulties and not giving the most remunerative results.

Similarly, the rich oil-shales of New Brunswick (Canada), though more nearly allied to the Scottish shales, differ from them both chemically and physically to such an extent as to require different treatment. Let me now briefly refer to the deposits which are known in the Dominions and Colonies that give promise of yielding oil in commercial quantities by destructive distillation. I will first take the shales of Canada, for though, as I have pointed out, the Dominion’s production of liquid oil is steadily decreasing, there are numerous deposits of shales which only await careful exploitation and development in order to render Canada a petroleum-producing country of considerable magnitude. The oil-shales of New Brunswick have been known for many years, yet only a fraction of the area has been yet prospected. Experiments with the shales have shown that they are capable of producing nearly 50 gallons of crude oil the ton of shale treated, while ammonium sulphate has been produced at the remarkable proportion of 77 lb. a ton. Albert County is one of the best shale-fields, and it is here that a Government scheme has now been promulgated. The shales of Nova Scotia are likewise to be commercially developed, but so far no serious attempt has been proposed to deal with the enormous areas in Newfoundland, the Province of Quebec, and other already known regions of Canadian oil-shales.

Australia can boast of very large areas of shales: some deposits have been operated for several years, but others are still awaiting development. From a variety of causes, however, the shale-oil industry of Australia has never been set upon a profitable footing. The Commonwealth Oil Corporation some years ago set out to accomplish much, but the only thing which it seemed to do with energy was to sail to destruction. Its failure cannot be said to have been due to any absence of the material it set out to treat for petroleum, for at every turn enormous quantities were opened up. It would appear that the immensity of the possibilities which awaited its operations was one of the prime reasons for its premature decay, while there is no doubt that the system it employed was by no means the best for treating the shales. A more simple and less expensive method of retorting the shales would doubtless ensure successful working. In Queensland, Tasmania, and New Zealand the presence of these shales has been proved over extensive areas, and though for the most part they have so far been neglected, there is reason to hope that, in the not distant future, the advantage to be derived from their commercial exploitation will be the more widely appreciated. A most lucrative industry could be built up by the Commonwealth of Australia by the distillation of the torbanites there, and though, perhaps, it is too much to expect that an export trade in petroleum products could be built up, there is no doubt whatever that the large requirements for petroleum products in the Dominion could easily be met by the production from home sources.

The possibilities of developing a shale industry in Africa are not particularly promising, though they are by no means out of the range of probability. In the coal series in the Transvaal, beds of what are known as “oil-shales” are encountered in several localities The seams generally are thin, and in some cases unworkable, but the material is very rich, and has proved capable of yielding high percentages of crude oil.

In Sarawak (British North Borneo) the “Shell” Company is carrying out most important and highly successful developments, which are bound to have far-reaching and gratifying results in regard to developments under the British Flag.

As I have shown, the problem of Imperial oil supply would be far on its way to solution by the development of the various shales in the British Empire, and the pity is that a more progressive policy has not been adopted in regard thereto long before the subject became of such pressing importance. Each of our Colonies—like the Mother Country—is a large consumer of petroleum products, and each is also totally dependent upon imported supplies, yet within the borders of each are to be found large deposits of the necessary crude material.

CHAPTER XI
PETROLEUM’S PART IN THE GREAT WAR

A perusal of the preceding chapters of this little work will have made it clear to the reader that petroleum and its products play a most important part to-day in the life of nations: if, however, one would be impressed with the immensely significant rôle which petroleum products have played in the conduct of the great European War, a brief reference to the subject will amply suffice. From the commencement of the Titanic struggle in 1914, it became obvious to those who were most competent to judge that, if victory was to be on the side of the Allies, it was imperative that they should possess sufficient reserves of petroleum products for all purposes, for it was evident then that activity would not be limited to armies on the land, but that the air and the sea would also become battle-grounds whereon the destinies of nations would in part be decided.

Germany, too, saw this; before the war it had been practically dependent upon regular supplies from the United States as well as from Roumania, but the bulk of its requirements came from the former mentioned country. With its States’ oil shipments cut off, it turned its attention to securing at least part of its stocks from the neutral North-Western European countries, which, in their turn, were likewise dependent upon America. The ruse worked for some time, and the unsuspecting American exporters shipped cargoes to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden with little idea that the bulk of these were ultimately to find their way into Germany. It was only when the figures were published in the States as to the abnormally large quantities of petroleum products that had been sent to the European neutral countries that, to the thinking mind, it became obvious something was wrong.

I can modestly claim to have called the attention of the British Government to this underhand proceeding early in 1915, when I not only gave them details of cargoes which had been delivered to various North-Western European ports en route to Germany, but also managed to secure the names of vessels all laden with such supplies, which at that time were crossing the Atlantic. Mr. Winston Churchill, to his credit be it said, acted without delay, and within a few days, as the vessels passed the North of Scotland, they were stopped, and—well, to cut a long story short, this country got the petroleum products which, in accordance with the original plan, would have gone to Germany. Some time afterwards there came a voice of protest from one or two interested persons in those neutral countries, for they declared that not a single barrel of petroleum had gone over to Germany, but evidence was soon forthcoming to show how well Germany’s ruse had worked for some months, and a prosecution in one of those countries made against an importing firm, for actually sending petroleum supplies into Germany, effectively closed the protest from those who would have liked the enemy’s desires to have been undisturbed.

There is not the slightest doubt that Germany at that time was in dire straits for sufficient petroleum products for its military purposes: had the war been somewhat delayed in its commencement, she would have been far better prepared, for, under the auspices of the Government, there had been laid down an elaborate programme for the importation and distribution of Roumanian petroleum products throughout Germany. As it was, the country was unprepared, and, though in other directions every possible precaution had been taken to carry through an elaborate military programme of offence, the prospective dearth of sufficient supplies of petroleum products necessitated the enforcing of the most stringent regulations with regard to the uses of all petroleum products, excepting for military purposes.

The taking of the Galician fields from the Central Armies by Russia gave a serious set-back to Germany’s military plans, and it was only when the Russians had to withdraw from Lemberg that the enemy was able to count upon sufficient supplies to meet his military requirements. To an extent, he was even then doomed to disappointment, for, when his armies arrived on the Galician fields, they found that practically the whole of the petroleum reserves had been destroyed, and a large number of the prolific producing wells more or less permanently damaged. Nor, to my mind, was the advance into Roumania prompted by the idea of territorial gains so much as to secure control of the country’s oil-fields. Here, again, Germany’s desires were in part thwarted, for the efforts of the British Military Mission, to which I refer elsewhere, had been eminently successful.

From that time onward, however, Germany’s supplies of petroleum products were secured, and that she turned them to account was a matter of common knowledge. Germany, naturally, greatly valued the acquisition of the Roumanian oil-fields, and it must be to its people a great disappointment that the whole of these immensely prolific regions for oil production are now permanently removed from the nation’s grasp.

Unfortunately, the British Government did not seriously appreciate the importance of petroleum products in war as well as peace until the war cloud of 1914 was about to burst. It had taken no notice of the suggestions made from time to time that in our own country there might be vast petroleum reserves awaiting development, and it had not even shown any encouragement to the Scottish shale-oil industry. All that it had done, and even this was on the eve of war, was to invest over £2,000,000 in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Ltd., for the development of the Persian oil-fields, so that the Navy could secure ample supplies of fuel oil. But here, however, there were difficulties ahead, for the Persian fields are in the interior of the country and have to rely upon pipe-lines to bring the supplies to the coast.

Everything, therefore, depended upon the security of the pipe-line, and the idea which was in the minds of many who opposed the scheme as to the possibility of supplies being cut off by the activities of the insurgents, was by no means a mistaken one; the pipe-line was, in fact, partially destroyed, and the transport of fuel oil held up for a long time.

As a nation, we have all along had to depend upon imported petroleum products, and, inasmuch as our supplies could be drawn at will from a variety of producing countries, the idea that we might at one time find ourselves cut off from supply does not appear to have occurred to many. No sooner had the war started, however, than we found, owing to the closing of the Dardanelles, that both Russia and Roumania could no longer attend to our requirements, while the Far East, owing to the great ocean journey necessitated to this country (and the quickest way lay through the Mediterranean) could not maintain regular shipments with us. It is fortunate that we found the United States willing, and from the start very desirous, to do all that was possible to help us out of a difficulty; while Mexico, with its wealth of British oil interests, catered in every way for the meeting of the enormous demands we made upon its resources.

To say that petroleum products have played a highly-important part in the conduct of the war is but to under-estimate facts. The importance of their part has been equal to that of the supply of guns and shells, and, when the statement was made in the House of Commons in 1917 that adequate supplies of petroleum were quite as essential as men and munitions, petroleum’s part was then not over-stated. Rather would I say it was on the contrary, for, had there been at any time a dearth of any classification of petroleum products, then the vast naval and army organization, both on and across the water, would immediately have lost its balance, and our great fighting units would automatically have become useless. Just think of it for a moment.

To-day, our great naval fighters—take the Queen Elizabeth, for instance—rely upon fuel oil for purposes of power, while our second and third line units must also have it, for, whether it be fuel oil or the lighter products of the oil refinery—I refer to motor spirit—it matters not, so far as supply is concerned. The whole of our winged fleets in the air must, of necessity, be useless unless they can regularly draw large quantities of motor spirit, and the volume they consume, even on a single trip, would surprise many, though it is not possible here to enter into figures.

At first sight one might be inclined to think that, apart from petroleum products being a very useful adjunct to the organization of battles on land, their use is not of a very real nature, but, if we pause for one moment, our first impressions are disillusioned.

It was my privilege at the end of 1917, thanks to the kindness of the British Foreign Office, to pay a visit to the fronts of France and Flanders, and there to have an opportunity of seeing the part which petroleum products did actually play. The immensity of this importance cannot be easily grasped, nor easily described. We all know the remarkable progress which had been made in regard to the extension of the railway systems throughout the zones of battle, but it will surprise many to learn that it was when the rail-heads had been reached, and between there and the real battle front, that motor spirit had the realm of transport to itself. Tens of thousands of heavy motor vehicles took up the work of transport when it left the railway, and it was this service that was required to see not only that our millions of men daily received their food, but each and every sort of ammunition also. But it was not even when the front line of battle was reached that motor spirit had finished its work. Those great machines of war—the tanks—had to remain stationary if they were not fed by large supplies of spirit, while petroleum, too, took a primary position in the making of the liquid fire which now and again we heard of as causing such havoc to Fritz. But, at its best, the railway was somewhat slow at the Front, no doubt owing to the enormous congestion which was inseparable from the reign of a state of war. Consequently, whole fleets of motor vehicles were employed day and night in a ceaseless stream of traffic, from the coastal ports right up to the zone of battle. Without divulging secrets, it is safe to say that that branch of the service alone demanded millions of gallons of motor spirit weekly.

Both after as well as before battle, the products of petroleum were essential, for, when the Red Cross vehicles took up their humane work of transporting the wounded heroes of the fight, those, too, called for innumerable quantities of motor spirit. And when darkness had fallen the oil lamp came into general use. It was to be found wherever there was a vestige of life in those zones of battle: the soldiers in their, at times, lonely dug-outs, used oil for cooking as well as for light, and all vehicular traffic was guided from disaster along the roads by the use of oil, which also offered the only source of artificial light in the Red Cross vehicles. What an immense organization it was which depended for its ceaseless activities upon the products of petroleum!

One day, while at General Headquarters, I expressed a desire to see the methods by which all that world of activity secured its necessary supplies of petroleum products regularly, when once they had arrived in France in bulk. A few days later, I was, accordingly, allowed to visit the immense central depot at Calais, at which all the petroleum products required for use in the organization of transport were dealt with. It is safe to say that at no centre in the world did there exist such an extensive petroleum depot, nor anywhere else was there an organization upon whose perfect working so much depended. Though motor spirit necessarily occupied the first position of importance, practically the whole range of products was dealt with. The motor spirit was received in bulk, but at the depot had to be measured into the familiar 2-gallon can (which was made on the spot) and sent up country in special trains each day. Specially coloured tins denoted the best quality of the spirit, and it was that which was reserved for the numerous aerodromes in France and Flanders. The magnitude of that branch of the depot might be guessed when I state that at the time of my visit considerably over 2,000,000 2-gallon petrol tins were being either stored or filled for up country dispatch.

All kinds of lubricants were also essential for the purposes of war, for even motor spirit itself would be of little use for the internal combustion engines, if the engines could not secure their regular supplies of lubricating oils. These, too, had to be dispatched with remarkable regularity to every section of the battle zones, whilst, as I have suggested earlier, the daily requirements of war necessitated the distribution of illuminating oil in large quantities.

But no reference to petroleum’s part in the great European war would be complete were it not to include mention of the way in which supplies of toluol assisted in securing victory to the Allies. Toluol, as is known, is necessary for the production of high explosives, and in the early stages of the great conflict, the output of high explosives was considerably restricted by the absence of sufficient quantities of this necessary explosive primary.

It was at that time that a discovery of the utmost importance was made, for, as the result of investigations carried out at the Cambridge University, it was found that the heavy petroleums of Borneo contained large percentages of toluol.

Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart., the Chairman (and the founder) of the Shell Transport and Trading Company, Ltd., lost no time in apprising the British Government of the discovery, for it is in the Borneo oils that the Shell Company and its allied concerns are chiefly interested.

The offer for the delivery of these immense quantities of toluol was eagerly accepted by the British and Allied Governments, and from that time onward, the supply of high explosives was practically unlimited.

The French and Italian Governments have asserted that, but for this specific offer of toluol, the manufacture of high explosives would have had to remain so limited, that it would have been impossible to bring about an Allied Victory in 1918. Their thanks were publicly extended to the Shell Company at the conclusion of hostilities, and Mr. H. W. Deterding and the Asiatic Petroleum Company were specially thanked, while as far back as 1915, Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart., received the thanks of the British Government for his invaluable war services. It was only after the firing of the guns had ceased on all Fronts, that it was permissible to record in what a remarkable manner these services were rendered.

The exigencies of space have prevented my dealing, excepting in the most brief manner, with this interesting subject: I only hope I have succeeded in showing that, in times of war, as well as in those of peace, petroleum products occupy the position of first importance.

CHAPTER XII
THE SCOTTISH SHALE-OIL INDUSTRY

In view of the great interest which is now being centred in the production of petroleum in the British Isles—thus making this country to a large extent less dependent upon foreign sources of supply—the Shale-oil Industry of Scotland is assuming a new importance, for the reason that it is in the direction of the development of new oil-shale areas in several parts of the country that experts look with a great amount of confidence.

It is specially interesting, therefore, to deal at some length with the growth of the industry, the methods by which the oil shales are operated, and the prospects for its extension.

The name of Dr. James Young, of Renfrewshire, will ever be associated with the commercial exploitation of the oil-bearing shales in the Midlothians, for it was due to his enterprise that the Scottish shale-oil industry really owed its birth and much of its later development. It was while Young was managing a chemical works at Liverpool that his attention was drawn to small flows of oil which came from a coal seam at Alfreton, in Derbyshire. This was in 1847, and after experimenting with the liquid, Young succeeded in extracting therefrom on a commercial scale both a light burning oil and a lubricant, as well as wax. When the supply became exhausted, Dr. Young had an idea to imitate the natural processes by which he believed the oil had been formed. The outcome of this was the well-known Young patent for obtaining paraffin oil and other products from bituminous coals at slow distillation.

The Young process was utilized with much success in the United States until such time as it became unprofitable owing to the largely increasing production in America of liquid oils obtained direct from the earth. It was about this time that a bituminous mineral known as Boghead coal, and existing in the Midlothians, was discovered, and from this Young secured upwards of 100 gallons of oil from each ton treated, but soon this mineral was, in a practical sense, exhausted, and so the bituminous shales, now known as oil-shales, came in for attention. Before passing away from Dr. Young’s services in connection with the establishment of the Scottish shale-oil industry, it should be mentioned that he figures very largely in more than one of the earlier Scottish shale concerns. He founded the Bathgate Oil Company, which, in the zenith of its operations, treated 1,000 tons of shale daily, this Company being later merged into the Young’s Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company, Ltd., one of the large Scottish shale-oil undertakings and well known throughout the world to-day.

The Scottish shale-oil fields, as exploited to-day, cover a belt of territory which is about 6 miles broad and stretches from Dalmeny and Abercorn, on the Firth of Forth, southwards across the fertile tract between the River Almond and the Bathgate Hills to the moorland district of Cobbinshaw and Tarbrax. Throughout this region there are various important mining centres, such as Broxburn, Uphall, East Calder, Mid-Calder, West Calder, and Addiwell; and in connection with the shale-oil industry, upwards of 25,000 persons now find regular employment.

The shale measures on which the shale-oil industry depends, form part of the calciferous sandstone series of Mid and West Lothian and the southern coast of Fife. The carboniferous system of Scotland may be arranged in descending order in four divisions, as under—

4. Coal measures, comprising red sandstone, shales, and marls with no workable coals, underlaid by white and grey sandstones and shales with numerous valuable coal seams and ironstones.

3. Millstone grit, consisting of coarse sandstones, with beds of fireclay, a few thin coals, ironstones, and thin limestones.

2. Carboniferous limestone series, embracing three subdivisions, the highest of which contains three or more limestones with thick beds of sandstone and some coals, the middle includes several valuable seams of coal and ironstone, and the lowest is characterized by several beds of marine limestone with sandstone, shales, some coals, and ironstones.

1. Calciferous sandstone series, forming two subdivisions. The upper is known as the oil-shale group, and is over 3,000 feet in thickness, and contains, in its highest part, beds of coal, usually of inferior quality, and, farther down, about six main seams of oil-shale, inter-stratified with beds of sandstone, shale, fire-clay, marl, and estuarine limestones.

Although the calciferous sandstone series is well developed in other parts of Scotland, it has not hitherto yielded any oil-shale of economic importance beyond the limits of West Lothian, Mid Lothian, and Fife. Thin seams of oil-shale do occur in various places in the counties of Haddington and Berwick, but, generally speaking, the quantity is not sufficient to be practically worked.

A word or two as to the oil-shales themselves. The shales, as known in the Lothians, are fine black or brownish clay shales, with certain special features which enable them to be easily distinguished in the field. Miners draw a distinction between “plain” and “curly” shale, the former variety being flat and smooth, and the latter contorted or “curled,” and polished or glossy on the squeezed faces. In internal structure, oil-shale is minutely laminated, which is apparent in the “spent” shale after distillation, when it is thrown out in fragments, composed of extremely thin sheets like the leaves of a book.

Before touching upon the methods employed in mining the shale and the treatment it receives during distillation, it is interesting to note that the industry in Scotland has passed through many vicissitudes since its establishment. At that time, the American oil industry was but in its infancy, and the production in the States was utilized mainly on the American markets. Consequently, there was a great demand for the Scottish oils in this country, and in 1870 there were no fewer than ninety small oil-works in the Lothians, the majority of which were operating the shales. It was about this time that the American illuminating oil came over to this country, and a very sorry blow was dealt the Scottish industry. So disastrous was the resulting competition between the Scottish products on the one hand, and the American and Russian petroleums on the other, that one by one the Scottish companies closed down, and, after less than eight years of competition, the number of operating companies had fallen to twenty-six. The decay continued until the number of active concerns in the Scottish shale-oil industry could be counted on one’s fingers.

The industry exists to-day simply as a result of the great improvements which have been made in the retorting of the shale, by which larger quantities of products are produced—including ammonia. It is thus able to withstand foreign competition.

To-day, it is estimated that nearly 4,000,000 tons of the Scottish shales are treated every twelve months by the several operating oil companies. The most important of these concerns—the Pumpherston Oil Company—has been regularly operating since 1883, and, inasmuch as it deals with by far the largest quantities of shale treated, a brief account of its operations will be of advantage in enabling the reader to understand the methods by which a total of nearly 400,000 tons of oil are produced each year in Scotland.

The operations of the Pumpherston Oil Company are upon a scale of considerable magnitude, for the Company’s works comprise the crude oil plant, the sulphate of ammonia plant, oil and wax refineries, etc. The Seafield and Deans works, 7 and 4 miles distant respectively, possess only crude-oil and sulphate-producing plants, the refining plants being confined to Pumpherston. The Company’s works cover 100 acres, while the shale fields extend over many thousands of acres in and around the district of Pumpherston.

As has already been mentioned, the shale fields so far operated lie, in the main, in the Lothians, and, as one motors by road from Edinburgh to Glasgow, the shale country is passed through. Before the commercial development of a shale field, trial borings are sunk, now more generally by means of a diamond bore, for by its revolving action a solid core is obtained which readily shows the character and inclination of the strata passed through. When a seam of shale has been found by boring operations, and the exact position and depth of outcrop determined, it is necessary, before sinking a mine, to put down a trial shaft for the purpose of making sure as to the true gradient at which the shale is lying, and the thickness as well as the quality of the same.

In the shales in the Pumpherston district there are five distinct seams, dipping from 29 degrees to 38 degrees, and the mine is driven in the middle seam, the other seams being entered by level cross-cut mines driven from one to another. Each of these seams is worked separately, the cross-cut shown in the sketch serving the purposes of communication and transit. In some cases, where the inclination of the shales is at a different angle, it is necessary to sink a vertical shaft, and this method is applied to the series known as the Mid-Calder.

The usual dimensions of the inclined shaft are a width of from 10 to 12 feet, and the height is from 6 to 8 feet. If the sides of the shaft prove to be of a soft nature, as is generally the case with the shale at the crop, walls are run up and the roof is supported by larch crowns, but, where the shale is hard and the roof good, then the less costly method of timbering is adopted.

The supports to the roof in many cases are fixed “centre” fashion, dividing the shaft into two unequal parts. The smaller division has generally a width of just over 3 feet, and is used for haulage ropes and water pipes, while the larger division is utilized for winding. During the progress of sinking, levels are broken away in the seam at regular distances, and driven so as to get communication with, and drive headings to form, the outer mine. These headings are driven in the same direction as the sinking mine to the levels above, until they connect with the outer mine or shaft. The outer mine is then used for winding the shale up to the surface, and the other is kept for sinking purposes, and by this means winding and sinking can go on simultaneously.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE PUMPHERSTON WORKS

The seams of shale in the Midlothian fields vary generally from 4 to 10 feet in thickness, say 7 feet as an average, and, on the whole, they are comparatively free from ribs of unproductive rock. With a thickness of 7 feet, experience has shown that the method best adapted for the efficient working of the shale is “stoop and room,” but in the case of two seams of shale, separated by a bed of foreign material of sufficient thickness for packing, the long wall method proves the more suitable. The “stoop and room” method, however, is more generally used throughout the Scottish shale district than any other, its chief characteristics being the (1) “whole” or first working, and (2) the broken or second working. The whole working consists of a series of excavations made in the shale, whereby it is divided into rectangular blocks or pillars. These excavations are called rooms, one set being driven at right angles to the dip of the shale and at regular distances from one another, and commonly called “levels”; another set, driven to the rise of these levels and at right angles to them, being usually known as “ends” or “upsets.” The latter are broken off the levels at regular intervals and driven upwards to meet the levels above.

The shale miner holes as far as he can reach—probably three or more feet—and brings down the shale by blasting, the process being repeated until he penetrates a distance of from 9 to 12 feet from the face at road-head. The shale, being loosened from its natural bed, is then placed in “hutches,” which are taken to the bottom of the shaft by either horse or chain haulage (much as with coal), and then the journey to the mouth is commenced. Before leaving the question of shale mining, it should be explained that the shale miner is subject to dangers much as his colleague in the coal-pit, but the volume of gases found in the shale seams is not so great as in the coal measures. These, however, are of an explosive nature, the most common being fire-damp.

Once above ground, the shale is conveyed to breaking machines by endless wire-rope haulage. Passing through the machines, it is broken into suitable sizes for distillation, and drops into hopper-shaped hutches. These hutches have a capacity of about a ton, and each in turn is conveyed to the top of the retorts on an inclined scaffold by an endless chain. The shale then falls by the operation of a lever into a hopper or magazine communicating directly with the retorts, one hopper with a storage capacity of 24 hours’ supply of shale being connected to each retort of the Pumpherston Company.

This Company’s retorts—they are patented—are in use at the various works of the Pumpherston Company, and are an interesting feature to visitors. The shale is fed by gravitation into cylindrical-shaped retorts, and built vertically in ovens of four, each oven having four chambers. The upper portion is of cast-iron, 11 feet long by 2 feet in diameter at the top, and slightly enlarged toward the bottom. Heat is applied externally from the incondensable gases obtained from the distillation of the shale, and this heat is made to circulate round the retort. In the case of the poorer qualities of the shale, however, the heat is assisted by producer-gas. The heating gas enters near the bottom portion of the retort, which is of fire-brick, along with a certain quantity of air, and a high temperature—from 1,200°F. to 1,600°F.—is maintained, in this portion converting the nitrogen of the shale into ammonia, which is preserved by a continuous supply of steam delivered at a slight pressure at the bottom of the hopper.

The oil gases are distilled from the shale in the cast-iron portion of the retort at a temperature of about 900° F., and, along with the ammonia gas, are drawn off by the exhausters through a branch pipe at the top of the retort, through the atmospheric condensers, from which the condensed liquid oil and water containing ammonia flow into a small separator tank. It is here that, owing to their different specific gravities—for one is lighter than the other—they assume different levels, and are thus drawn off into separate tanks. The gases then pass through ammonia scrubbers, in which they are washed for ammonia, and then through the naphtha scrubbers, where the lighter gases, which could not be caught in the atmospheric condensers, are washed with oil and a good quality of light oil or naphtha is recovered. The incondensable portion passing from these scrubbers is burned in the retorts as previously mentioned. With a shale of average yield, the retort can be heated by these incondensable gases from the distillation, and a surplus obtained for burning under steam boilers.

What is doubtless a very unique feature of the Pumpherston retort is the mechanical arrangement for withdrawing the spent shale continuously, and thus keeping the whole mass inside the retorts in constant movement. Below each pair of retorts is fixed a hopper made of cast-iron, and fixed to girders supported on the brick piers or columns between the ovens. At the top of each hopper, and immediately underneath the bottom of the retorts, is fixed a cast-iron disc or table, with a space left between its edge and the sides of the hopper. The whole mass of shale in the retort rests upon the table, the space permitting some to pass over the edge. Through the centre of the table a steel spindle projects, on the upper end of which is fixed a curved arm, and this, when rotated, pushes some of the shale off, causing it to fall over the edge of the table into the hopper below. The shaft carrying the curved arm passes through a stuffing-box on the hopper, and has a ratchet and lever fitted to the lower end, actuated by a rod of T-iron which is made to travel horizontally, and is driven by a small electric motor. The motion is comparatively slow, the arm making but one revolution in about 20 minutes, but the action is most satisfactory, the through-put of shale being regulated at will.

The ammonia water got from the atmospheric condensers is pumped through a heater, in which it is raised in temperature by the waste water flowing from the still, and passes into the top of the still, which is circular in shape, about 30 feet high, and has a series of cast-iron shelves or trays fixed horizontally every 2 feet or thereabouts from the top to near the bottom. Steam is put into the bottom of the still at a pressure of 40 lb., and passes to the top through a series of conical arrangements on the shelves carrying with it the volatile ammonia, while the water, after traversing the whole area of each tray, passes out into a concrete tank containing a cast-iron worm, which is the heater already referred to, for the ammonia water on its way to the still. During its progress from the top to the bottom of the still, the water is diverted into a chamber containing milk of lime, setting free the fixed ammonia which cannot be got by steaming.

The steam and ammonia gas liberated in the still pass over into a large lead-lined tub or saturator, and bubbles through holes in a lead worm placed round the circumference at the bottom of the vessel. Sulphuric acid is at the same time run into the saturator, and, at a certain temperature, sulphate of ammonia is formed. The sulphate falls into a well, formed in the centre of the bottom of the vessel, in which are placed two steam ejectors, and these blow it out along with some liquor. This mixture is delivered into hutches having perforated bottoms, through which the ammonia liquor drains off, the solid sulphate being left in the hutch. This is now run by an overhead railway to the drying or storage stalls, and from these it is packed up and dispatched to the market. The exhaust steam and waste gases from the saturator are passed into the retorts, and utilized for the formation of ammonia from the shale, while the spent water is pumped to the spent shale bing, and thoroughly filtered before being allowed to escape from the works.

For dealing with the weak acid water recovered from the refinery, the Pumpherston plant consists of lead-lined tubs or crackers, into which a quantity of the acid water is run, and saturated with ammonia gas until it is near the salting point, when it gravitates into settling vessels in order to separate any tar carried over with the acid water. The clear liquid is then drawn into the saturator, where it is quickly converted into sulphate and blown out in the manner already described.

So up to date is the whole of the system governing the treatment of the shales and the resulting products, that the pumping of water from the mines, the haulage of the shale to the refineries, as well as driving of machinery in the works, is performed by electric power, the exhaust steam from the engines driving the generators, as in the case of the sulphate of ammonia exhaust, being sent to the retorts for use in the production of ammonia.

The process of refining the crude oil obtained from the shale into the various products is somewhat complicated and perplexing to those unassociated with the industry on account of the many distillations and treatments which have to be carried out before a good marketable article is produced. The following outline, however, will give a fair idea of the process adopted throughout Scotland.

The crude oil is delivered at the refinery into large tanks, which are placed at a sufficient height to feed the stills by gravitation. The crude oil is allowed to settle for twelve or more hours at a temperature sufficiently high to separate any water that may have passed the test at the retorts, and after this water has been run off, the oil is fed into the centre boiler of a battery of oil boilers. The lightest fraction of the oil—ultimately motor spirit and illuminating oils—is distilled off the feeding boiler and condensed in a coil of cast-iron pipes immersed in water in a tank, cold water being continuously run into the tank, while heated water is run off. The boilers on each side of the feed vessel receive their oil by a pipe connecting with the bottom of the latter, and they also distil over the lighter portion of oil with which they have been fed, the heavier portions passing on to a third boiler, where the process of distillation is repeated.

The oil now left is delivered into a cast-iron pot-still, in which it is ultimately distilled to dryness, the residue left in the still forming oil coke, which is valuable as a fuel on account of its high percentage of fixed carbon and low yield of ash. Steam is admitted to the still in large quantities at all distillations. The various stages of distillation are carried through in almost identically the same manner as that of crude oil, and, therefore, need not be described in detail.

The treatment or washing of the oil to remove the impurities that cannot be eliminated by distillation, consists in stirring the oil by compressed air for a given time in an iron vessel, with a fixed quantity of sulphuric acid, allowing it to settle, and running off the heavy mixture of tar and acid which separates. The acid-treated oil is then run into another similar vessel, treated with a solution of caustic soda, settles, and the soda tar which separates is run off. The acid tars are steamed and washed, the resulting acid water being sent to the sulphate of ammonia house for the manufacture of sulphate of ammonia, whilst the tar is mixed with that from the soda treatments and burned under the stills as liquid oil. As there is more than sufficient of this tar to distil all the oil at the various stages, the distillation is carried out without cost for fuel, excepting that necessary for steam-raising purposes.

A portion of the oil distilled at the second distillation, or green oil stage, is sent from the stills to the paraffin sheds to be cooled and the scale extracted, this eventually being made into paraffin wax. Stored in tanks until brought down to atmospheric temperature, the oil is pumped into the inner chamber of a cooler, which consists of a series of four vessels having inner and outer compartments. At the same time, anhydrous ammonia is forced into the outer compartment or jacket, and absorbs heat from the cooler, freezing the oil in the inner jacket into a pasty mixture of liquid oil and solid crystals of wax.

This mixture is then pumped into filter-presses, where a portion of the oil flows away through the cloth, while the wax is left behind in solid cakes, still containing a quantity of oil. These cakes are delivered by conveyors to the back of the hydraulic presses, where they are wrapped in cloth and placed on shelves between iron frames in the presses, most of the remaining oils being thus squeezed out. The material obtained from the hydraulic presses is known to the trade as paraffin scale, and as it is discoloured by the small quantity of oil which cannot be removed by pressing, a process of sweating by steaming in large brick compartments is adopted, in order to remove the oil. The scale, consequent upon the removal of the oil therefrom, becomes whiter and of higher melting point, and after further treatment is finally passed through filter paper and run into moulding trays. When cooled, this product is known as paraffin wax, of which there are many grades. One cannot enter into the technical arrangements involved, for obvious reasons, the chief one of which is that these cannot interest the reader; but sufficient has already been written in this chapter to suggest to the reader the perfection which has now been reached in the treatment of the shales of the Midlothians.

As to the future, it is full of promise. There is no doubt that for many years to come the full force of foreign competition, as it has existed in previous times, will not be felt. There is a free field for Scottish enterprise in connection with the distillation of its oil-bearing shales. Nor is the region for development limited to its present area. Reports point to the fact that much area of commercial ground exists, not only on the eastern side of Scotland, but also in the north and north-west, while it is already an open secret that those responsible for the conduct of Government operations are viewing with favour even the liquid extraction of oil from certain areas not far distant from the zone of the present operations. The Scottish shale-oil industry has, so far, managed to defy competition from abroad to an extent which is reflected in the balance sheets of the several operating companies, whose yearly dividends have been from 50 per cent. downward during recent years.

One thing is certain, and that is, the Government is well aware that there are great possibilities associated with the shale-oil industry of Scotland, and it is not only watching developments with direct interest, but is doing all in its power to foster the industry, and by all means possible encourage the exploitation of areas so far not commercially developed. At some future date there is a great possibility that the present area for developments will be largely extended, and as this is written, there is much evidence forthcoming to suggest that this commercial development of new lands will not long be delayed.

CHAPTER XIII
A FEW NOTABLE PETROLEUM ENTERPRISES

No brief survey of the petroleum industry would be complete were reference not made to a few of those remarkable commercial undertakings in various parts of the world whose interests are not only closely associated with it, but to whose energies has been due much of the expansion that has been witnessed in every direction during the past few decades. It is safe to assert that, had it not been that the petroleum industry has, in its various industrial and commercial aspects attracted the attention of some of the finest financial and business houses in the world, the wonderful progress which has been recorded would, for the most part, have been impossible.

The first place must of necessity be given to that much maligned amalgamation of capital, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, which was formed as far back as 36 years ago by Mr. John D. Rockefeller and his associates for the primary purpose of developments in the petroleum industry of the United States. At that time, the petroleum production of America had become quite a factor in commerce, but it was, obviously, in want of a guiding hand which could not only place it upon a basis of solidity, but which would tend to remove much of that gambling element which had become almost part and parcel of all developments. The Company, at the head of which were several gentlemen who had already made themselves famous in the land of oil, launched out in several directions, and, through the numerous subsidiary concerns which it soon created, it owned very extensive oil-bearing properties in practically every oil-field of the States, while it built quite a network of pipe-lines for the conveyance of the oil from the fields to the refineries, and from the refineries to seaboard. It erected and equipped oil refineries, and, so as to provide the much-needed foreign markets for American petroleum products, it built its fleet of oil tankers; and, lastly, opened depots for the distribution of American petroleum products all the world over.

At one time, the ultimate success of its vast operations was open to question, and many there were who predicted that one day it would ignominiously pass on to the list of oil failures. Indeed, it nearly came to this on one or two occasions, and it was only owing to the remarkable perseverance of those at the head of the Company’s affairs that prevented headlong disaster. The Standard Oil Company soon became an integral part of the petroleum industry of the United States, with which it grew up and steadily assumed a position of world-wide importance, though one which was not unassailable. Its ultimate success was the chief cause for the multiplication of its critics, and volumes have been written of its wrong-doings by writers whose knowledge of the petroleum industry was mostly based upon wilful ignorance of facts. Consequent upon a decision of the United States Supreme Court some seven years ago, which held that the Company was violating the Anti-Trust Law of 1890, the Standard had to rid itself of its various subsidiary companies (over thirty in number), but it still controls almost a similar number of concerns to-day which are actively engaged in the production of crude oil and natural gas. It also owns several of the largest refineries in the States, while its fleet of oil tankers will, when present building is completed, be considerably over 300,000 tonnage. Its capital is $100,000,000, and during the last twelve years it has paid in dividends over 400 per cent., in addition to an additional cash distribution of 40 per cent.

The Standard Oil Company of New York is another immense concern which, with a capital of $75,000,000, has its headquarters in the Standard’s palatial building at 26 Broadway, New York, and interested principally in the refining industry, its facilities permitting of 20,000 barrels of crude oil being treated daily. Another very prominent company is the Standard Oil Company of California, with its capital of $100,000,000. This Company not only produces its crude oil, but refines it, and engages in the export business. Its refinery at Point Richmond, California, is reported to be the largest in the world, for it can treat 65,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Its fleet of tankers and barges for the export trade is capable of carrying at one trip over 100,000 tons of products, and, for the purposes of its land transport, it possesses pipe-lines over 1,000 miles long.

The second place of importance in regard to the petroleum enterprises of international influence must be given to the “Shell” Transport and Trading Company, Ltd., whose headquarters are in London, with that well-known oil pioneer, Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart., as its Chairman. Formed just over twenty years ago for dealing primarily as a transporter of petroleum products in the Far East, the “Shell” has steadily and continuously extended the sphere of its operations, until the result of a carefully thought out policy is seen in its activities in almost every oil-field of the world. Just over ten years ago, the Company made an amalgamation with the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, or, to give it its correct name, the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot exploitatie van petroleum-bronnen in Nederlandsch Indie (whose capital is £12,500,000), and by reason of so doing it materially increased its international position and importance. The “Shell”—Royal Dutch Combine to-day has a controlling interest in some of the largest operating companies in Russia, Roumania, California, Mexico, Venezuela, and other oil regions, one of its most recent extensions being in its advent into the petroleum industry of Trinidad. The “Shell” Company has a record for successful industrial expansion which is achieved by few companies in the world of commerce: its capital is now £15,000,000, and in dividends it has distributed over 300 per cent. Among the “Shell” Company’s associated concerns, that of the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, Ltd., which is responsible for the ocean transportation of the petroleum products of the Combine, takes first place, with its capital of £8,000,000; while the Asiatic Petroleum Company, Ltd. (capital, £2,000,000), ranks but second. The recent fusion of the interests of Lord Cowdray with those of the “Shell,” for the latter has acquired the control of the great Mexican interests associated with the Pearson company, is another instance of how the “Shell” Company has trod the road of progress and expansion.

The sudden rise to fame of the oil-fields of Mexico gave birth to what may safely be referred to as one of the most enterprising amalgamations of capital in the long list of concerns associated with the petroleum industry, and it is gratifying to note that this enterprise was solely due to the well-known firm of Messrs. S. Pearson & Sons. Lord Cowdray, as the head, was not slow to recognize the vast opportunities which awaited the development of the Mexican fields, and the formation of the Mexican Eagle Oil Company, in 1908, with a capital of now $60,000,000 (Mexican), or about £6,125,000 sterling, was the initial result of his efforts. It was just about this time that the serious fuel oil era opened, both in this country and others, and it was evident that, for the purpose of adequately distributing the products of Mexican oil (and these include the whole range of refined oils, as well as fuel oil), there was room for the operations of a large and influential company. The Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company, Ltd., was accordingly formed, with Lord Cowdray’s son (the Hon. B. C. Pearson) as Chairman, and a capital of £2,000,000, to deal with the importation and distribution of Mexican petroleum products on the English market.

As already stated, the control of this Company has now passed under the “Shell,” and its future expansion is assured, both at home and abroad.

The Mexican products are transported from Mexico to this country, as well as many others, by the large fleet of Eagle oil tankers, the property of the Eagle Oil Transport Company, Ltd., which admirably managed concern of £3,000,000 capital is also presided over by the Hon. B. C. Pearson. The Eagle Company possesses the largest oil tankers afloat, many of them carrying over 15,000 tons of bulk oil, though others to be built are to be considerably larger; an 18,000 ton tanker is, indeed, already in commission.

Another highly important enterprise in the world of petroleum is that of the Burmah Oil Company, Ltd., which, as its name suggests, is occupied with the petroleum industry in Burmah, and catering for the almost unlimited needs of the Far East in regard to refined petroleum products. It controls enormous acres of oil-bearing territory held under lease from the Burmah Government, possesses extensive refineries at Rangoon, and has quite a fleet of oil tankers. Its capital is three and a half millions sterling, and its consistent success may be judged from the fact that it has paid over 400 per cent. in dividends. Of comparatively recent date, the Burmah Oil Company has turned its attention to other fields, particularly to Trinidad, but it is in connection with the development and subsequent operations of the fields of Burmah that the Company is chiefly concerned.

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Ltd., which is closely allied to the Burmah Oil Company (capital, £6,000,000) by reason of its large interest therein, has come into prominence during recent years, owing mainly to its agreement with the British Government, in which the latter has invested over £4,000,000 of the public moneys in the enterprise. The Company acquired its petroliferous concessions from several interests, including the Burmah Oil Company and the late Lord Strathcona, which had been granted to them by the Persian Government. When I mention that the Company’s concessions cover an area of, approximately, half a million square miles, and on which petroleum has been found in quantity on the majority of the small areas already examined, the significance of the enterprise will be somewhat appreciated. There is no doubt that the company’s success is doubly assured, and, from this point of view, the investment of the public moneys in the undertaking has been sound finance, especially when one considers the important part which petroleum products under British control must hereafter play. As a matter of fact, the proposition is a well-paying one to-day, and it is asserted that the Government’s interest is already worth no less than £20,000,000. Persia as an oil-producing country will occupy a very prominent place. The Company has immense petroleum-producing fields: it has its pipe-line to seaboard, and its refineries, situate on the Persian Gulf. It has possibilities without end, and it is rapidly availing itself of them. The Company also now owns the entire capital of three formerly German-owned concerns in London—the British Petroleum Company, Ltd., the Homelight Oil Company, Ltd., and the Petroleum Steamship Company, Ltd. Consequent upon these acquisitions, the Anglo-Persian Company, Ltd., is making arrangements to enter the English market as distributors of Persian petroleum. The question of transport need not here be considered, for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company owns the entire capital of the British Tanker Co., Ltd. The Company thus has the producing and refining possibilities: the acquired concern of the Tanker Company, together with that of the Petroleum Steamship Co., will suffice to bring its products to the English market, while the large distributing organizations of the British Petroleum Company and the Homelight Oil Company, owning depots all over the country, will offer easy facilities for the distribution of the petroleum products imported. My argument all along has been that the advent of the British Government into this enterprise—I will not call it a speculation, though at one time it looked like it—places all that private enterprise, which in the past has brought all the products of petroleum to our own doors at a reasonable and competitive price, at absolute discount. Ever since the petroleum industry assumed proportions of international magnitude, and we became more or less (I should have said more than less) dependent upon our necessities being met by petroleum and its products, private enterprise has always kept us well supplied. But the Anglo-Persian Oil Company has made immense headway since the Government took an interest in its operations, and its appearance on the English market as a refiner of Persian crude oil and a distributor of the products thereof, is but a reflection of the prolific nature of the vast fields in Persia which it possesses. It has decided upon having its first English oil refinery near Swansea, and it is reported that this will be in operation before the end of 1920. It has also secured the control of the Scottish shale oil refineries which will be used for the treatment of Persian crude oil when occasion warrants.

A FEW OF THE BURMAH COMPANY’S PROLIFIC PRODUCERS

One might go on to interminable length in briefly referring to the great concerns whose operations have been responsible for the expansion of the world’s petroleum industry to its present magnitude, but the exigencies of space prevent this. The brief list of companies already referred to represents an amalgamation of capital to the extent of nearly £120,000,000 sterling, though this cannot be considered as representing more than one-half the total world’s investments in petroleum enterprises.

So far, I have not touched with the magnitude of the petroleum companies operating in the distributing oil trade of England, though, to some extent, this may be gathered from the references to such companies as the “Shell,” the Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company, etc.

Practically the first company of any magnitude to distribute petroleum products in this country was the Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., which has actively engaged in this branch of commerce for the past thirty years. It imported and dealt in American oils long before the advent of the companies before mentioned, and, to-day, is certainly one of the largest—if not the largest—company so engaged. Its name is known in every hamlet in the country: its tank cars are seen on every railway, and its depots are to be found in every centre throughout the length and breadth of the land. Its name is legion. Its capital is £3,000,000, and it is to the Anglo-American Oil Company that, throughout the clatter of European War, the credit is due for having supplied us with those almost unlimited quantities of petroleum products so necessary both on sea and land, for it is the largest importer in the Kingdom. As its name implies, the “Anglo” deals mostly in American petroleum products: it was at one time the importing concern of the Standard Oil Company, but to-day it purchases broadcast in an endeavour—and a very successful one, too—to supply the British consumer with all the petroleum products he requires.

The present chapter deals, I feel, most inadequately with the general question of concerns whose interests are directly allied with that of petroleum; in fact, it was not my desire to give an encyclopaedia of the thousands of companies so engaged, but, rather, to suggest the names of a few which have secured world-wide distinction.

CHAPTER XIV
STATISTICAL