GIANT OIL TANKER.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 10297, 7 February 1930, Page 4

GIANT OIL TANKER.

TEXAS COMPANY'S OPERATIONS

An interesting visitor to New Zealand ports is the Texas Company s huge Diesel Tanker “Australia,” the largest Diesel tanker afloat, and by far the biggest vessel of its kind to visit these waters. Her over all length is 530 feet, beam 70 feet, with a; draft of 27 feet. The gross tonnage is 11,(128 tons and she has a capacity of 145,000 barrels.of refined petroleum products, a deadweight of 18,800 tons, 01 sufficient to fill over 1,000 raihvay tank cars The '‘Australia” is one unit of the Texas Company’s big fleet of 27 ocean going ships. She will be employed supplying the Company s bulk installations m Australia and New Zealand. Her arrival in this Dominion marks the Texas Company’s entry in real earnest, into this market in the bulk supply ol motor spirit. World’s Largest Independent UU Company. The Texas Corporation of ITS-A-is the largest independent sihgle oil company in the world, with a capital in excess of £100,000,000 1 he recent purchase of the California Oil Corporation for £30,000,000 made 1 it possible to open up profitablerclationships wth Australa, New Zealand and the Far East, and the Company immediately put in hand preparations for bulk installations in these countries. The New Zealand installations aie thorough and complete. The main terminals fur bulk spirit are at Auckland, Wellington, Lytllcton and Dunedin, with miniatures of these at principal provincial centres. A large sum has already been invested in New Zealand, including substantia] purchases of British Materials, It is interesting and pleasurable to note that out of the hundreds of Texaco pumps spread over every citv, town, village and hamlet throughout the length and breadth of the country; practically; all were made in New Zealand on a design invented by a New Zealander. The Company in addition to its large personnel of New Zealand employees has thus fostered a new Dominion industry. The tanks at the terminals are of the latest gas-proof type and will be painted with aluminum paint, which is riot- onlv very r pleasing in appearance, but is best for deflecting the sun’s ravs. This helps • considerably to prevent loss of spirit through evap oration. The Texas Company has the, largest ashphab refining plant in the world ai Port Neches. Texas. It has its own sulphur mines, sulphur

being used in refining of gasolene. Fuller’s earth is employed in tin: filtering process, and the Company owns it own Fuller’s earth mines at Riverside Texas. During the war it maintained its own shipyards and built its own ships for the United States Government afi Hath, Maine.