ROMANCE OF OIL

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 144, 21 June 1930, Page 14

ROMANCE OF OIL

PROBLEM OF ORIGIN

A SCIENTIFIC PUZZLE

BORES AND GUSHERS

What the'general'public sees of the oil industry," mostly, are petrol pumps, lubricating oil-tanks, and service stations, but nothing is seen and little is read of one of' the most fascinating and important phases of the industry—the work of reeeareh and development, involving highly scientific prolLms of improving existing products of petroleum, of inventing new ones, of-creating and perfecting new processes and methods, remarked Mr. H. H. Newton, .when recently addressing Kotary Club members on the subject of "Oil." In all its phases, from the dscovery and production of crude oil, its transportation, its manufacture into useful products,1-and its sale to the public, the oil industry has, since its inception, undergone gigantic changes,: Mr.. Newton went on to say. "Petroleum-does a great'deal more than provide power and lubrication for millions of automobiles, steamships, locomotives, and for industry in general. It will doubtless surprise most people that petroleum yields some 600 different products. Many of these Comprise different grades, of lubricating oil and greases, but each is an individual.product designed to fulfil some particular, purpose. The products range from the?'medicinal oils to asphalt pavement. There ;are insecticides, cleaning fluids, solvents, polishes, and even products forming the base of cosmetics. The puzzle as to the origin of oil, it was pomtedi'out, had been the subject of many theories. "But," said Mr. Newton, "by means of data gathered during the investigation ■■ of sedimentary formations by geologists and paleontologists, it has become possible to say with reasonable assurance that oil is of organic origin. The material is too universally and intimately associated -with limestones and shales, which have abundant fossil remains of animals and plants, for much doubt to be cast on this point. However, it has not yet been possible to state that one group of animals or plants has produced any considerable portion of the oil. Likewise, it has not been possible to determine how much of the substance of animals and plants, buried with the bottom sediments of the oceans, has been changed into the oily hydrocarbon." The question as to whether petroleum was still in the'course of formation, or whether, like the. formation of ores, it is the result of past activity, was not asked, out of idle speculation, for the right answer would be one of profound significance, to the world. At present, however, there were rival theories, and no definite answer was possible. With this question •was bound-up the origin of the gas that accompanies oij. It was not .altogether impossible that the oil and the gas were being replenished/by some chemical process in Nature, which would set the date of.; depletion further forward than is usually estimated.■ : THE OIL ERA. "While the nineteenth century will be known to history; as the" coal age, the twentieth century certainly will go down to .posterity as the oil era." Mr. Newton Trent on to say.." .... "Oil is becoming more and more indis-. pensable to our complex social and industrial existence; in fact, it is almost impossible to mention' a phase of human activity in which it does not play a more or less prominent part.in one form or another. At the sarriVtime, however, it must not be thought that oil and its uses conetitute a modern discovery—far from it. Oil was used for lighting and heating, if not for power, long before the fuel value of coal was recognised. v The earliest civilisations employed: it,:Jn'anasphaltic form, as a cement in i their, building operations. Two thousand years" ago the citizens of Agrigetitum, in Sicily, used oil as an illumiiiant, burning it in, crudely fashioned lamps.- and does- not the parable of, the Virgins indicate that oil was an acknowledged source of light at the dawn of the Christian era?. ~ 1 '■'In some countries, where it oozes from the ground in the form of natural springs, the aborigines have regarded it with reverential awe since,' times immemorial. Pilgrimages were made to the oil fires of Baku.for centuries. The/Red Men, long before the white man's invasion of North America, placed implicit faith in the properties of 'Seneca' oil. The tribes were ttfont to.gather at the-oil springs, where the medicine mail ministered oil treatment for illness and disease, and the braves apparently entertained high opinions concerning the therapeutic properties of this substance. Under these. circumstances the present movement may be characterised rather as' a revival, forced upon civilisation to-day by economic considerations." REMARKABLE SPRINGS. ■The speaker went on to contrast the primitive methods used in winning oil with the < modern • one's, '.remarking that Borne. of the crucle workings were, strange as it might seem, a financial success. "Possibly one of the most novel and interesting forms in which petroleum is found," Mr. Newton went on to say, "is revealed in Burma and Java, although.similar conditions formerly prevailed in the Baku region. This'is what is familiarly known as the 'mud volcano/ which is virtually a geyser, similar to- those found in New Zealand and the Yellowstone Park, only in this'instance'-salt"water and finely-divided detritus associated with oil are erupted. They are riot volcanoes in the strict sense of the word, being in reality oil-gas springs. and are encountered for the most part in the jungle. Here and there a dense bush will be found to be relieved by a large, patch of absolutely sterile barren soil, in the centre of which spasmodic agitation is observable. Suddenly a mound or dome of earth is forced a few feet into the auto burst with a report. The explosion ehivers the mound, from the cracks and crevices of which, clouds of steam issue. The earth subsides, and all is quiet for a few seconds, when another outbreak occurs. The collapse of the mound is always attended with the dispersion of fumes reeking of petroleum, which plainly indicates the agitation to be due to the subterranean pressure of petroleum gases. "The explanation of the phenomenon fs simple. The stratum of limestone covering and sealing the oil deposits has become broken and disrupted at places. The natural gas finds a means of escape through these fissures, and draws the oil with it. The oil, moving slowly, mixes tyith the soft soil immediately above the limestone seal, and forms a kind of slime. The gas pressure below increases, until finally it attains a sufficient ■ degree to force this slime;to the surface,' the emission being in the form of a big bubble. "When these volcanoes first burst into activity, eruptions_take place at'intervals of a few seconds; ■ but as the volume of escaping oil increases, and.forms a thicker skin of slime upon the limestone formation, the- escaping gases are confronted with a more, difficult' task, especially as the 'oil-saturated ■ detritus ejected to the surface oxidises from exposure to the air and becomes harder. Consequently, the periods v between discharges steadily lengthen, until at last the gas pressure becomes insufficient to effect an escape. The oxidised oil-mud; on the surface and the 6lime below form a seal over the fissures in'the limestone, effectively bottling the oil and gas below At times the natural gas", finding a suitable outlet through the rock near the ■-. geyser, comes to the surface, becomes ignited, and burns continuously. This ig the 'eternal fire of Demak,'> which, is regarded by the natives with a superstitious awe.'The territory in which this eruptive phenomenon occurs is at the heart of the famous Javanese oilfields. In fact, it was observation of the action of the mud volcanoes and of the strong odour of the petroleum accompanying the eruptions which prompted the first borings for oil, and served to reveal one of the richest deposits of high-grade petroleum in the world." BORING FOR OIL. ■Fluid oil, being the most abundant, had attracted the greatest measure of attention and capital. Petroleum is found in plenty among the rugged mountains, dense forests, sterile deserts, under the sea, and,; if the /'wild caltcr" is to be believed,''is' even-obtainable from the ocean andth'e air. above.. /In boring for it, petroleum wasf.found' at varying depths. In some places it will be struck in large fluaotitaei comparatively near the sur-

face of the earth; in others !fc is necessary to bore to 6000 and SOOO feet or more. ■ ■•:.■-. ■ ' , -i The popular impression was that oil occupied immense" cavities in the crust ot the earth,' forming huge lakes resembling the subterranean stretches of water about which one reads occasionally. This was a mistaken impression. Oil was found associated with sand, the latter acting somewhat in the ■■manner-of-.-a sponge, lhe sand filled..;thff cavity and' was saturated, with the oil. ■:..-/■•■■ ' '. . :. Generally speaking, oil never was found -in' districts where there had been . excea■siTe volcanic -disturbances.-This was due to"■■the fcsli that-at these points the upheaval o) theVcrust had ■been so terrific and such enormous pressure had • been exerted, that !,th;e •' oil-sands.;, had; been eXpelled or jelse-ha'd, been burned .up. 1-or this reason :oili?had not\,yet been found among the-Swiss. Alps,'.nor among the American Rockies. Likewise it was not apparent in the British lales. In the Caucasus, where volcanic energy had been exceedingly violent, the disturbance had had a different effect. The strata containing the oil appear to have been pushed to one side and super-imposed, with the result that there are successive layers ot oil-yielding sands. BRITISH DISCOVERY. "The mammoth oil industry of to-day," concluded' Mr. Newton,.. "owes its existencecprimarily to a British chemist, Mr. James. Youn,g, who wau'the, first man. to produce illuminating oil from crude petro"Young was apprenticed to his father, a humble cabinetmaker in Glasgow, but the boy devoted his evenings and spare time -to -the, mastjery of chemistry. .In. this he ■proveai'so*bnlhantly:successful that he was appointed assistant to Professor Graham, and subsequently abandoned working in wood for the Potion of industrial chemist in Manchester While there Lord Playfair drew his attention to a thick, viscous, liquid' matter jhich was oozing into a coal mine at Alfreton 'the material, /Young found that it was crude petroleum and, succeeding m distilling paraffin theiefrom, he left Manchester, erected a-small refinery near the. mine,, and .devoted h^ 8, diminished steadily until at the end ot two years it gave out completely. Young hid anticipated such'a contingency and had made arrangements accordingly. This period of activity had proved sufficient to enable him-to, perfect his ere?: idea. In 1850' he took out- his.,famous patent for he production-of paraffin by.' d»Wlafaon, which has proved to be one of the most hitoric and P momentous developments as: sociated with the oil industry. ENTER AMERICA. "Young's success had not escaped the attention of certain interests in the United States of America. The remains of the ancient oil workings and natural o springs were accepted as conclusive evi_ ST that oil existed in.plenty in the earth. Its extraction > could be converted into an attractive commercial propositon "The patent taken out by Young repiesented a triumph in refining, and as there wTs great scope for an illuminating oil to supersede the rush light,.the P^nsylvan.a Rock Oil Company came into being m ISoi, to sink wells for oil and to refine the product For two or three years the proposal languished, but in 1559 operations were commenced in grim carnes under Colonel Drake. He selected a spot on Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, which in those days, was a picturesque sylvan dale, through which the stream wound its tortuous way. "Drake in 1359 drove his well in the floor of the vale and essayed to tap the oil upon the lines generally practised insinkiiU an open water-well. He had not descended more than, a few feet when an in-vush of water and mud, filling his excavation, brought .about a sudden cessation of work. A pretty problem iorXliose days was presented/ Drake strove might and main to overcome the visitation, but in vain; thereupon he decided to drive a pipe into the ground • until he touched S°"Drake supervised the task, bringing his knowledge to bear upon the solution ot the troubles as they developed, and successfully breaking them down one after the other. ' It was pioneer work from beginning to end, and in the manner ot such operations, the troubles at times were of no mean description, while the tobls, primitive in comparison with those used to-day, had to be contrived specially to meet the situation. But perseverance brought its due rewards ■ ■ On 27th August, 1859, when the drill-pipe had been carried to a depth of 69% feet, petroleum was observed to be welling to the mouth of the bore-hole; the flow" increased slowly as the bit scattered the remaining thickness ot rock. Drake and his diligent toilers realised the goal of their ambitions had been reached. Oil had been struck! The yield was not imposing, judging from the modern standards,•• being only twenty barrels— S4O gallons—per day, which output was maintained for a year. . "Such was the beginning of the oil boom which prevails 10 this day. Drakes discovery, combined wft.h Young's invention for distilling paraffin from crude oil, changed tlie whole outlook of the world; then followed another important improvement, though-it was a mere detail. '•The paraflin of (he early days was burned in. open lamps, and,naturally on y gave'an-indifferent light under such conditions, while it emitted-considerable smoke. This defect prompted an inventor, Samuel Kier, a merchant of Pitisburg, who was interested in the -disposal of the product, to search for'some means to improve the light. He devised a burner, to-which., a movable glass chimney could be attached. The paraffin lanip was changed instantly and completely; Instead of giving a faint glimmer accompanied by nauseating black smoke,- a brilliant, smokeless, and steady light was produced. The doom of the rush light as an Illuminating agent was sealed, and a tremendous fillip was imparted to the young paraffin oil industry."