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.