There has been no factor of greater use and with less recognition, in this attainment, than the aid given by the engineer. The first and most pressing problem was the taming of the furious force of newly tapped gushers, so as to regulate and control their flow with reference to reservoir capacity. But so irresistible were some that they could no more be restrained than can the waves of the ocean. Millions of barrels flowed to wanton waste. Earthen barricades were hastily built around open pools, and considerable oil was thus preserved, only to be flooded into an unready market, whose demand was not sufficient to absorb the sudden oil supply. Nor were the existing means of transportation suitable.
Here, indeed, was work to be done. How quickly a market was created is indicated by the fact that in 1906 the local consumption was greater than the production. This was due to an accumulation caused by low prices, the average being less than twenty-five cents, and the minimum ten cents. A fleet of tank steamers and a pipe line across the Isthmus of Panama soon gave access to the Atlantic, and Pacific possibilities were vigorously developed, so that the demand has already doubled this price.
With regard to the crude oil, boilers and furnaces have been reconstructed so as to efficiently use the new fuel. Radical changes were necessary in order to provide increased air capacity and new means of air distribution. The very best of our engineering talent have been so successfully concerned with this problem that fuel oil is now used in nearly every steam plant on land and sea, for both stationary and locomotive use. Petroleum-enriched water gas is much superior in cost and quality to the illuminant it is displacing, and now requires considerable oil. Smelting with oil will soon be an accomplished fact in spite of many difficulties, and oil engines such as the Diesel also utilize the crude.
Following its utilization as fuel, there came its varied applications as a refined product. Gasoline and engine oils were separated for use in the various types of explosive engines, lubricating oils were distilled to make the running easier, and from the residue, asphalt was taken to meet the good roads movement. Many other varied uses have been developed for this product, including its application to roofing and weatherproofing. Chemists have found that most of the California oil, as well as that from the Texas fields, contains an asphaltum rather than a paraffine base, which thus distinguishes them from most of the Eastern oils.
Coincident with this increasing use of oil during the past decade have been the improvements in the method of carrying it. The great expense of reaching this engineer-made market demanded that cheap transportation be provided. Long pipe lines have been built, which pour the oil directly into the refinery or into ships that take it to a foreign market. One nearly three hundred miles long was constructed, but proved inoperative on account of the great viscosity of the oil. But even this difficulty has been met and overcome by an entirely new principle that promises to solve the problem, and forms one of the interesting stories the “Journal” has yet to tell.
Not less important than the engineering problems already outlined is that detailed in this issue by our friend, Mr. Clem. A. Copeland. Disastrous fires have consumed millions of gallons, and any means that lessens this needless waste is welcomed. Incidentally it illustrates the importance of studying other jobs in relation to their possible application to new problems. The adoption of long-span work required courage, which has been justified by the results. It is not our province to discuss the ethics of competitive struggles which have characterized the history of oil wherever developed in large quantities in this country. But, as long as competition endures, stagnation is prevented, and it is undoubtedly due to this stress that so much engineering ingenuity has resulted.
COMMERCIAL DAY AT THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC LIGHT ASSOCIATION
Mr. Geo. W. Williams, who is one of the best known commercial men in the country, and Mr. Frank B. Rae, of Selling Electricity, are joint editors on what will probably be one of the very interesting features of that particular part of the convention, namely: “An illustrated talk on the methods of creating demand for electricity.” This will include stereoptican views showing in detail the progress of the outline and sign lighting in large and small cities.