CHAPTER IIIHOW PETROLEUM IS PRODUCED

ROUMANIA: A FEW OF THE HAND DUG WELLS IN BUSTENARI

Roumania.—During comparatively recent time, Roumania has come prominently forward as one of the large petroleum-producing countries of the world, and its yearly output of crude oil, according to latest returns, is about 11,000,000 barrels, or, say, 1,600,000 tons. The production of petroleum in the country, however, has been proceeding for centuries, for, in the seventeenth century, the peasants were in the habit of digging wells by hand and selling the crude oil for medicinal purposes, the greasing of cart-wheels, as well as for lighting. There are many places in Roumania which are named from petroleum, a fact which points to the existence of the industry long before the present-day methods of extraction were thought of. Several hundreds of these hand-dug wells still exist round the fringe of the Transylvanian and Carpathian Alps, and though many of them have now fallen into decay, there are numerous others from which a payable quantity of petroleum is extracted by primitive methods.

The hand-dug wells in Roumania are highly interesting relics of a period which is now relegated to the past, though so long as the Roumanian petroleum industry exists, so long will the old hand-dug wells be associated with it. These wells are about 5 feet in diameter, and are sunk through alternate layers of clay, schisty clay, sandy clay, sandstone, and petroliferous sand to the more shallow oil horizons. They are dug by workmen who descend dressed with the minimum of clothing, usually saturated with oil, and wearing a tin hat to protect the head from falling stones, etc. The sides of the wells are lined with impermeable clay, which isprotected by wicker-work. The man is lowered by a rope, air being supplied to him by means of bellows. At some places the rotary fan was employed more recently, but somehow it frequently happened that it was operated in the wrong direction, and the unfortunate digger was asphyxiated. These old wells have a depth of about 450 feet, and though their yield of oil is not considerable, it has for many years been a paying proposition to those engaged in this primitive method of petroleum production. The excavated earth, when digging these wells, was brought to the surface in buckets, lowered and raised by means of either manual labour or horse traction. When the first oil source was reached and the extraction of the crude oil commenced, this was accomplished by means of the use of wooden buckets or leather skins, one being lowered empty while the other was raised full. By this means it was possible to raise as much as 20 tons of the oil per day—quite a considerable amount, considering the primitive means adopted.

Mechanical developments throughout the Roumanian oil-fields on a more or less serious scale began about 1898, as the result of the introduction of foreign capital, and, from that time to the present, the history of the Roumanian petroleum industry has been one steady period of continued expansion. Various systems of drilling have been introduced into the work of developing old fields or opening up new centres, but in regard to these I shall deal at length in another chapter. The advent of the rotary method of drilling, however, opened up a new era for expansion in 1912, and since that time Roumania has made more marked progress than at any time previously.

The Roumanian oil-fields, as at present defined, cover a region roughly 20 miles in width, and extend to alength of between 300 and 400 miles, with, of course, numerous breaks. Of the numerous petroliferous regions in Roumania, those of Campina-Bustenari, Gura-Ocnitza, Moreni, and Baicoi-Tzintea among them provide about 95 per cent. of the total production, and, with the one exception of the Moreni field, all have been previously exploited by hand-dug wells.

The prosperity of the Roumanian industry has been directly the result of the influx of foreign capital, and the majority of the 550,000,000 francs employed in it, is mostly made up of British, American, and German capital. The principal English Company in the fields is the Roumanian Consolidated Oil-fields, Ltd., which concern, with its capital of one and three-quarter millions sterling, represents an amalgamation of many small companies.

Space forbids my referring at length to the momentous happenings in the Roumanian fields towards the end of 1916, but they will ever form one of the most interesting—and at the same time the most tragic—incidents associated with Roumania’s petroleum industry. At that time, the German armies were pushing their way toward Roumania, and, in fact, having crossed the border, were marching on for possession not merely of territorial gains, but in order to secure themselves of large quantities of petroleum products by capturing the prolific oil-fields of the country. It was at that critical time that the British Government sent out its Military Mission, headed by Colonel (now Sir) John Norton Griffiths, completely to destroy all that was valuable in connection with the oil-fields, the refineries, and the installations. One night the Mission arrived at the offices of the Roumanian Consolidated Oil-fields, Ltd., and made its plan of campaign clear. There was nothing to be done but to fall in with it, and the followingmorning practically everything was destroyed, or rather, a start was made to destroy it. And the destruction was carried out in a complete manner, for not only one, but several concerns which had been steadily built up to perfection as the result of many years of careful and systematic expansion, were all wiped out, excepting in name. The oil-wells were plugged beyond all hope of repair, the refineries were dismantled, machinery broken, pipe-line connections damaged, and both crude and refined oil stocks burned. It was the most tragic proceeding ever recorded in oil-field history, but it was necessary, and not carried out one day too soon, for the incoming armies were dangerously near.

BUSTENARI—ROUMANIA’S FAMOUS OIL REGION

The Germans lost no time in making good a great deal of the damage to the fields, and at the time of the armistice it was stated that the crude oil output of Roumania was up to 80 per cent. of its pre-war level.

Now that the various allied interests are again operating in the Roumanian fields, considerable expansion of the country’s petroleum industry is being planned, though the pre-war German interests therein are now taken over by the Allies.

During the past decade Roumania has necessarily catered for the export trade, for the volume of crude oil produced has been far beyond its requirements. The great petroleum storage port of Constantza has been made the centre for this export business, and the completion of a trunk pipe-line from the Roumanian refineries to the port was one of the most recent enterprises undertaken by the Roumanian Government prior to the war. During the period when Roumania was under German control its terminal point was so changed that the line ran to a spot which rendered the transport of petroleum to Germany a matter of ease. Now,however, Germany’s plans have been frustrated, and Roumania’s great pipe-line will have its terminal point at Constantza, where all kinds of petroleum products can be pumped direct to the oil tankers.

The Dutch Indies.—The growth of the petroleum industry in the Dutch Indies has been surprisingly rapid, and this growth synchronizes with the advent of the “Shell” Company into the Far Eastern fields. It is stated that there are many hundreds of square miles of territory in the East Indian Islands which can be remuneratively developed; at the moment, however, though but the fringe of exploitation has been touched, the production has been amazing. Eighteen years ago, it was placed at 300,000 tons of crude oil; last year it nearly reached 2,000,000 tons. In Sumatra several companies successfully operated for many years, but most of them eventually became merged with the Royal Dutch Company, whose interests now are also those of the “Shell” Company. As to Borneo, the “Shell” Company commenced active developments in 1900, or thereabouts, for it had acquired an area of approximately 460 square miles. The fields rapidly responded to the drill, and the crude oil production rose by leaps and bounds. The crude was of a high-grade character, and for a long time it taxed the energies of those responsible for the good conduct of the concern, as to exactly what should be done with some of the refined products. As a matter of fact, some thousands of tons were burned, for at that time there was little or no demand for motor spirit. I well remember when the Company’s Chairman—Sir Marcus Samuel—faced the shareholders in 1900 and explained that if only the Company could realize 6d. per gallon for its motor spirit, what handsome profits would accrue. But events have marched quickly since those days. The motor-car hascome to stay, and what seemed a useless product of the Far Eastern oils in the early days of development, is now one of the chief sources of revenue. The advent of the heavier motor spirits has also been of great benefit to the Borneo petroleum industry, for the public has grown accustomed to recognize that it is not specific gravity which counts in the quality of motor spirit, but the closeness of the boiling points of its constituent fractions. To-day, the Far Eastern fields supply enormous quantities of refined products to the consuming markets of the Eastern hemisphere, and so longas the supplying centres continue their present productivity, there need be no talk of approaching famine, for, if necessary—providing facilities permitted—these regions could materially increase their present output of petroleum products.

OIL PRODUCTION IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE INDUSTRY IN BURMAH

Indiaalso ranks to-day as a very important petroleum producing region, the fields of Upper Burmah—in which the Burmah Oil Company operates—being responsible for practically the whole production. In another part of this little publication, I deal briefly with this Company’s operations, so, for the moment, it is sufficient to mention that, though to-day they produce large quantities of petroleum, there are several new districts which show much promise of new production. For many years the Upper Burmah fields were exploited by means of very shallow wells: it was only when the deeper strata were reached that the potentialities of the region became fully manifest.

AN OLD JAPANESE WAY OF OPERATING THE WELLS

Japan, as an oil-producing country, affords food for an interesting story, for it was here that very early attempts were made to develop production. Even in the seventh century, the Emperor was presented with “burning water” with which the Palace was lighted. The crude oil was collected from pools, or, alternately, wells were dug by hand, the process of extraction being very picturesque, if very primitive. To-day, Echigo is the centre of the industry, for which the introduction of European methods of drilling have worked wonders in regard to progress. The Celestials consume large quantities of petroleum, especially for lighting purposes, and in spite of the now considerable yields from the wells, a gigantic trade is regularly done in imported oils, especially those of American origin, for which there is a most up-to-date organization for distribution. The statement that American petroleum products find their way to every quarter of the globe is strangely exemplified in Japan (as also in China), where the ubiquitous tin container for petroleum can be seen in the most isolated parts.

THE GALICIAN FIELDS, SHOWING DAMAGE DONE BY THE RUSSIAN ARMIES WHEN RETREATING IN 1916

Galicia.—Since the commencement of the period when petroleum and its products assumed a degree of industrial importance, the Galician oil regions have attracted considerable attention. The area of the oil-fields extends over a length of 200 miles, and in width varies from 40 to 60 miles, and though in this territory several fields of considerable note have for many years been systematically developed, there is enormous scope for future operations. Its annual output of crude oil, which nearly reached 1,900,000 tons in 1909, is in itself suggestive of the extensive manner in which the oil-producing fields have been developed during late years. The oil-field history of Galicia is particularly interesting, for the oil seepages round Boryslaw have been exploitedfor very many years. Long before the introduction of the drilling methods of modern times, the shallow oil sources in the Galician fields were tapped by means of the hand-dug wells, but it was only when the first drilled well was sunk in 1862 that the real value of the Galician ozokerite, which abounds in many places in the oil-fields, was appreciated by the operators. This ozokerite is one of the most valuable of bitumens, and though found in several countries, is nowhere met with in such large quantities as in Galicia. The ozokerite there fills the fissures in the much disturbedcpaly, and evidently originates from a natural process of concentration. The mines are operated by modern machinery, and the industry in Galicia has reached a stage of great importance, some thousands of tons of the mineral being yearly raised. The material is refined, and the resulting wax serves numerous commercial purposes, the refining taking place in the Austro-Hungarian refineries. Considerable quantities of the raw material are exported to Germany and Russia, while the refined products are well known on the export markets. About seven years ago, serious water trouble materially reduced the production of the Galician oil-wells (for when the water courses are not properly shut off, water may encroach and cause the loss of the producing well), but the trouble was to some extent surmounted by the taking of greater care in cementing the wells. The introduction and consequent popularity of the modern drilling methods which were introduced by Mr. W. H. Margarvey in 1882 permitted the testing of the deeper horizons of the Galician fields, and to-day wells are by no means uncommon with depths up to and sometimes exceeding 4,000 feet. The Boryslaw-Tustanowice district still continues to be the centre of the crude oil production, but several new oil areas with great promise havebeen opened up during the past six years. Naturally, the European War has retarded development work considerably, and the Galician fields have on more than one occasion been the scene of battle. At one time in 1915 they passed over to the Russians, but when the Russian retreat occurred later from Lemberg, considerable damage was done to the fields in order to prevent their being of immediate use to the enemy. The wells were seriously damaged, and the State refinery at Drohobitz was partially dismantled, while immense reserves of refined oil stocks were burned.

The Galician oil industry has for years attracted the attention of foreign capitalists, for the highly remunerative nature of petroleum exploitation is generally appreciated. Prior to the European war German capital was very largely interested in the Galician industry, and the majority of Allied companies had Germans as their local representatives, but all this is now changed, and in the future Allied capital will be considerably increased. The Premier Company is the largest English concern in the Galician fields.

Germanyhas made great endeavours in the past to institute a petroleum industry of its own, but no great success has been recorded, for while it does possess several oil-producing areas, these are only small fields, with a very limited yield of heavy petroleums. The wells, though producing for many years steadily, do not give forth those large quantities of petroleum so characteristic of the best wells in other petroleum-producing fields, and flowing wells are indeed very rare. Germany, therefore, has to look to imported petroleum for its large demands.

In a succeeding chapter I refer at length to those oil regions which come within the limits of a chapter,“Petroleum in the British Empire”: there is no need at the moment to make reference to them here.

Space does not permit my even briefly touching upon the many other oil regions of the world which are now being successfully operated; it is certain, however, as time goes on that their number will be materially increased.

Time was when the engineering aspect of the production of petroleum was practically non-existent. The ancients, and even those of the last century, were content to resort to the most primitive means for winning petroleum from the earth. Shallow wells were sunk or dug by hand, the eventual securing of the oil being carried out by lowering primitive receptacles (generally leather bottles) into the hole. It was a period long before the advent of the Oil Age, and the methods employed were clearly in keeping with the mode of life of that day. In practically every oil-producing field of the world—though in this respect the United States is almost an exception—the history records the fact that for many years the extraction of oil from the ground was confined to the use of the primitive methods which held sway in those days—those associated with the operations of the hand-dug wells. In the Far East, notably in Japan, we find the first serious attempts to obtain and utilize petroleum, for as far back asA.D.615, there were shallow wells in existence, from which the “burning water,” as it was called, was collected. In Roumania and Russia, too, the earlier attempts to create a petroleum industry were confined to these methods.

It was only when the demand for petroleum became large and consistently increased with the opening up of new fields, that we find other and more practical methods were introduced for winning larger quantities of the oil from the earth. To-day, in every branch of the industry associated with petroleum—whether it bein producing the crude oil, in transporting it, or in refining Nature’s product into those numerous commodities which are part and parcel of everyday life—the engineering aspect is one of very great importance. In fact, throughout the petroleum industry, engineering science is the Alpha and Omega. By its means we are now able to carefully study the nature of the ground at depths of 6,000 feet, and to extract from the deep lying strata a wealth of minerals; we are able, too, to transport thousands of tons of crude oil daily across thousands of miles of continent, while is it not the direct result of engineering science which allows over 15,000 tons of petroleum products to be carried across the oceans of the world in one vessel with the same ease that one would take a rowing boat from one side of a lake to another?

Great, however, as have been the degrees of progress recorded in connection with drilling for petroleum, the old methods, generally speaking, and which date back to the days of early China, are still largely copied in all pole and percussion systems of drilling, and though steam has replaced manual labour (and electricity now bids fair to replace steam), the operating principles to-day are the same as then. The only exception, of course, is the advent and growing popularity of the rotary method of drilling, to which interesting phase of the subject I will briefly refer later.

The old Eastern method of drilling has obviously been the forerunner of the Canadian, standard, and other systems of to-day, the wire rope replacing the use of poles. In oil-field work, the principal types of percussion drills used are known (1) as the Pennsylvanian cable, (2) the Canadian pole, and (3) the Russian free-fall system, and though from time to time many attempts have been made to introduce modifications of these,the vast majority have been unsuccessful in their operation.

The Pennsylvanian cable system was used for drilling the earliest oil-wells in the United States, and doubtless took its name from the fact that it was so largely used in that oil region. As may also be gathered from the name, the principal feature in this system is the cable by which the tools are suspended and connected to the walking beam. There is no doubt that this system of drilling, which has been so universally used in the oil-fields, gives most satisfactory results. When first introduced in Pennsylvania, the cable system of drilling was particularly simple, and did remarkably good work, for the reason that the strata usually encountered was of such a nature that it did not cave, and, as a result, the well-pipe was only lowered when the full depth of that string had been drilled. The drilling bits were seldom more than 4 inches thick. In order to give a rotary motion to the bit, the continuous twisting of the cable to and fro was necessary; but when in other fields, where deeper strata had to be explored, the cable system was introduced, the semi-sandy nature of the strata called for wells of larger diameter with correspondingly larger drilling bits. As a consequence of the additional weight of the drilling bit, it was found that the swing of the tools was sufficient to give them a rotating movement for the drilling of a circular hole. In regions where caving-in of the walls of the wells was liable to occur, the string of pipe had to closely follow the tools, which, with the old Pennsylvanian type of rig, meant frequent winding of the cable from the bull wheel, so as to allow of the well pipes being handled.

In order to prevent the waste of time which these operations occasioned, the calf wheel was added, by means of which the pipe could be lowered into the holewithout the removal of the drilling cable. This cable almost invariably was of the Manila character, and in many instances this rope is retained to-day, though wire ropes have been introduced frequently.

The Canadian pole system, which is largely in use in oil-field operations, is, like the first-mentioned method of drilling, of the percussion type, the chief essential difference being that, instead of a cable connecting the tools to the surface, poles are used. In former times, these poles were of ash-wood, but with the extended use of the system, iron rods took their place. The introduction of these iron rods was a distinct advantage, for they could be welded to whatever lengths are required, whereas the wooden poles, which were seldom more than 20 feet long, had to be spliced for practical work. The rig used with the Canadian system is not so powerful as that for the Pennsylvanian method, but the one great advantage of the Canadian system is that, for the drilling of shallow oil-wells, it could be operated by men of less experience. The success which has attended the operation of the pole system lies in the fact that although drilling by its means is very slow—for seldom is 250 feet per month exceeded—it is one of the best methods of drilling through complicated strata, and, in the hands of conscientious men, does highly satisfactory work. It might be of interest to very briefly refer to the operations of the system when a well is being drilled. The rig (that is, the superstructure above ground) is quite a simple framing, 70 or more feet high, with a base of about 20 feet. The power is usually derived from a steam engine, with the usual means for operating the gear from the derrick; fuel found locally, natural gas, or other form of heating agent used. One shaft and two spools running in bearings transmit the various motions desired, the drivebeing taken up by a pulley attached to the main shaft. On this shaft are keyed two band pulleys, which communicate by belting with two spools running immediately overhead in the upper part of the framework. Fastened to one extremity of the main shaft is a disc crank, which, through the medium of a connecting rod, transmits an oscillating movement to an overhead pivoted walking beam. In all systems of percussion drilling, the drilling bit is raised and then dropped a distance of several feet, the result being that the strata to be drilled are steadily pounded away. As the ground is pulverized by the percussion tools, the debris has to be cleared away so as to enable the drill to fall freely and to deliver clean blows to the unbroken strata, and this work is performed by appliances known as bailers and sand pumps. There is no need for me to go into the numerous technical details regarding this or any other system of drilling, for my only desire is to give a general impression as to the usual methods adopted for the winning of petroleum.

I will therefore pass on to deal briefly with the Russian free-fall system so much in vogue in the Russian fields. Incidentally, I may here say that when drilling for oil in Russia, one has to recollect several features which are not common to the development of other oil-fields. Bearing in mind the great depth to which wells have to be sunk to reach the prolific oil horizons in the majority of the fields in Russia, which necessitates starting the well with a very large diameter—frequently 30 inches—it will be easily appreciated that the loss of a hole in the course of drilling is a very expensive affair. The Russian free-fall system of boring necessitates patient and hard manual labour. It is, as its name implies, of the percussion type, and is, in fact, a modified pole-tool system which well suits the local conditions.The clumsy drilling tools have a practically free drop, being picked up when the walking beam is at its lowest point, and released at the top of the stroke. When released, the tools naturally force their way downwards in the strata, and are released only with difficulty, although in a measure this difficulty is minimized on account of the fact that the under-reaming (slightly enlarging the diameter of the hole) is done simultaneously with the drilling.

After a Russian well has been started by means of a slip-hook suspended from a haulage rope, and a depth of some 30 feet obtained, the free-fall is added to the string of tools. This free-fall is composed of two separate parts—the rod and the body—and these are held together by means of a wedge working in vertical slots cut in the sides of the body. In operating the free-fall, the handles, fixed to the temper screw, are held by the driller. On the downward stroke these are pushed forward from right to left, but as soon as the downward stroke is completed, they are quickly pulled backwards. The steel wedge enters the recess and the tools are carried to the top of the stroke, where, by a quick forward jerk, the wedge is thrown clear of the recess, and the tools drop freely, the momentum of the string of tools driving the drilling bit deeper into the hole. After several feet of the hole are drilled, the tools have to be withdrawn in order to allow the pulverized mass of debris to be cleared away, while, owing to the caving nature of the strata, it is necessary to case the well as drilling proceeds.

As I have said, the system is very cumbersome, but, in the hands of experienced men, it does its work well, if but slowly. There are many cases on record where, when the well has assumed a considerable depth, it has been completely spoiled by the carelessness of theoperators, but, more often than not, this has been deliberate, for the Caucasian oil-field worker has many grievances, admittedly more or less imaginary.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE “OILWELL” HEAVY ROTARY OUTFIT, SHOWING RING AND WEDGE (ON LEFT-HAND SIDE OF FOREGROUND) TO GRIP THE CASING

During recent years, the rotary method of drilling has been successfully adopted, and it is in regard to this revolutionary method of speedy drilling that I will now touch upon. The rotary method of drilling made its début in Texas some fourteen years ago, and since then it is not any exaggeration to say that nearly 20,000 wells for oil have been drilled with the system, which has found popularity in all the oil-fields of the world. Its main operation is simplicity itself: a rigid stem of heavy pipe rotates a fish-tail drilling bit at the bottom of the hole, cutting and stirring up the formation to be drilled. It cuts its way through the underground formations, much in the same way as a screw when rotated forces its way through wood. It is the essence of speed in drilling, for, unlike the necessary principles to be adopted in the percussion methods of drilling, the rotary drill does not have to be lifted from the hole for the purposes of clearing. The pulverized strata are continuously washed from the hole by a stream of water reaching the bottom of the drill. Very frequently, a pressure-fed mud is used, and this serves a double purpose, for in its return to the surface it tends to plaster the walls of the well. The mud emerges in streams of high velocity from the two apertures in the drilling bit (for in its downward course it is carried through the drilling pipe or stem), but naturally loses this velocity considerably in its return to the surface. It is, however, very easy to detect the kind of stratum being drilled through from the returned cuttings, these reaching the surface but a few minutes after the drilling bit has entered the formation.

From time to time various grievances have beenventilated against this improved system of boring for petroleum, but to-day its adoption is world-wide, and by its use wells which, with the old-fashioned method of drilling would take many months if not two or three years, are now got down to the producing horizons in but a few weeks. It is, in fact, solely due to the ever-increasing use of the rotary drill that the universally increased demands for petroleum products have been met by an ever-increasing production of the crude oil.

Leaving the question of drilling methods, I cannot fail to mention the interesting fact that in oil-field operations progress is now being recorded in another direction, and that is by the increasing utilization of electrical power in the place of steam. At the time of writing, it is safe to say that fully 60 per cent. of the power requirements on the oil-fields is provided for by steam plants, with their attendant waste. Oil and gas engines, with their greater efficiency, may claim to be operated to an extent of 35 per cent., while not more than 5 per cent. of the requirements are satisfied by the use of electric motors. There is no doubt that prejudice has had a deal to do with the very minimized use of electrical power on the oil-fields in the past, but this is being gradually swept aside, and, in the next few years, I have no doubt that both electrical manufacturers and the petroleum industry generally will materially benefit from the use of this cheap and very economical form of power. In the past, many disastrous oil-field conflagrations have been due solely to the use of open-fired engines in close proximity to the wells, but with the use of electrical energy this fire danger will be rapidly removed.

Before closing this chapter, I would say a word or two with respect to the bringing into the producing stage of the oil-wells when once they have been drilled.In the early history of oil-held developments, it was not infrequent to find the crude oil ejected from the well by natural pressure, but to-day it is the exception to find those oil-fountains which have made the early history of the Russian oil-fields so famous. In many of the fields, explosives are used to promote the flow of oil, and when the well “comes in” to production, the ordinary methods of bailing or pumping are resorted to. Compressed air is also used for bringing about and sustaining production. The quantity of air and the periods of admission naturally vary with the diameters of the wells, the amount of gas present, the level of the liquid, etc., which latter also determines the pressure of air necessary.

The natural exhaustion of oil-wells can obviously have no remedy, but areas conveying that impression can often be revived by methods, the study of which is being carefully continued. As I write, I find that the officials of the United States Bureau of Mines, who have been studying this question of exhaustion, have arrived at the conclusion that from 20 to as much as 90 per cent. of the crude oil remains in the strata tapped by the well, even when it is abandoned as no longer capable of profitable production. This conclusion opens up what may prove some day to be a most interesting chapter in oil-field history.

Inasmuch as the aim of this little volume is to interest other than those who are directly associated with the petroleum industry, I shall endeavour in this chapter to refer to the refining of petroleum in a manner which shall be readily understood by the reader, and shall, wherever possible, refrain from entering into those highly technical matters which do not lend themselves to popular expression.

The refining of crude oil as it is produced from the earth, consists in the classification of its various hydrocarbons by means of fractional distillation, into the various products which so largely enter into our commercial and domestic life of to-day. The refined products, in the order in which they are received by distillation, are: motor spirit, illuminating oils, solar oils, lubricating oils, fuel oils, residuum, etc.—the first mentioned being the lightest and the last the heaviest in specific gravity.

Almost simultaneously with the discovery of petroleum, there sprung up the first attempts to refine Nature’s product, and though these early experiments were of a most primitive character, they doubtless served their purpose admirably. In this respect, probably the most primitive oil refinery in the world was built near the Tigris, in Mesopotamia.

Crude petroleum varies in its character, for while certain crudes are pale in colour and almost transparent, others are almost black and viscid. Some, indeed, would appear to have undergone a course of refiningby Nature itself, for in some fields the crude oil will freely burn in lamps without any refining treatment: in the vast majority of cases, however, the crude oil, as withdrawn from the producing wells, represents a liquid somewhat like molten tar.

The chemical composition of petroleum consists essentially of carbon and hydrogen, together with oxygen and varying amounts of nitrogen and sulphur. The crude from Pennsylvania—and this is the finest crude in the United States—consists chiefly of a large number of hydrocarbons of the paraffin series, whilst in the Russian petroleums, the predominant constituents are naphthenes or polymethylenes. Then the crude petroleum of the Dutch Indies and Burmah is of a different character from that found elsewhere, for in it aromatic hydrocarbons are largely present. The various series of hydrocarbons found in crude oils—the paraffins and naphthenes—readily lend themselves to conversion into other compounds of carbon and hydrogen by dissociation, and this conversion produces compounds of higher volatility, such as motor spirits, etc. When the compounds of hydrogen and carbon are submitted to distillation, certain chemical changes occur, as the result of which other series of hydrocarbons are formed, and, though it is not my intention here to dive into this comparatively new realm of chemical investigation, it is interesting to mention that, by carrying the treatment of the compounds still further, it is possible to obtain aromatic hydrocarbons, including trinitrotoluene (generally known as the explosive T.N.T.), in addition to various dye products.

In the earlier methods of refining, the stills usually consisted of a vertical cylinder in which the charge of crude oil was distilled almost to dryness, but this method was completely revolutionized many years ago,especially in the United States, by the introduction and immediate success of a principle known as the “cracking” process, and by the separation of the distillation into two portions, one for the removal of the more volatile constituents in the crude oil (such as motor spirit) and the other for the treatment of the heavier products.

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE PRODUCTS OF PETROLEUM BY FRACTIONAL DISTILLATIONClick here for larger image

I will first deal with the method of refining known as the “straight” process, or the process which does not involve “cracking.” At one time, the refiner had to consider the saleability of his refined products before he commenced to refine them, but to-day, with the perfect system which prevails for the handling of huge quantities of refined products, and the transporting of them to the most distant markets, the one desire of the refiner is, naturally, to secure from his treatment of the crude oil, as many refined products as possible, always keeping an eye on the production of the largest quantities of the higher priced products than upon those which are of low value.

The process of refining to be applied to any particular oil naturally depends upon its composition as shown by analysis. It may be that the crude oil to be treated, apart from containing a small percentage of distillates with a low boiling point (motor spirit), is principally made up of residues of little value except as fuel, or, on the other hand, it may be that the crude oil is of high quality and contains all possible products. In the former case, the process of distillation is brief, and the plant inexpensive, as compared with the lengthy process of full refining necessitated in the latter case.

The refining operations consist of three distinct branches: (1) the distillation, (2) the extracting of paraffin and refining, and (3) the chemical treatment. When only a small percentage of the low boiling fractionshas to be removed from the crude oil, the process is known as “topping,” and a convenient form of apparatus for the purpose is the tower still. This consists of a vertical cylinder fitted with perforated plates resting at intervals on pipes through which superheated steam travels. The pipes serve the double purpose of conveying the steam to its inlet and of heating the oil to be distilled. The steam, on entering the cylinder, ascends, meeting the crude oil, as it descends from plate to plate in a regulated stream, and carrying with it to the outlet the light fractions which the operation is intended to remove.

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE PRODUCTS OF PETROLEUM OBTAINED BY THE “CRACKING” PROCESSClick here for larger image

A few years ago, a Californian chemist invented an improvement of the principles of maximum heating and evaporating surfaces. His name was Trumble, and the process is known as the Trumble process. The crude oil is heated to the desired temperature in pipes or retorts set in a primary furnace, the hot gases of combustion from which are utilized to heat the distillation chamber proper. Entering the vertical cylinder at the top, the oil is spread over and through perforated plates falling on a cone-shaped plate to divert the continuous stream of oil to the sides of the still, down which it flows in a thin film. Other conical plates, arranged at intervals underneath, maintain the flow in the desired channel until it reaches the outlet at the bottom. When 60 or 70 per cent. (comprising the motor spirit series, the kerosenes, and perhaps the intermediate fractions) are to be removed, it is common practice to distil the crude oil in a series of stills, cylindrical in shape, connected continuously. The best-known system is that patented 35 years ago by Mr. Henderson, of the Broxburn Oil Company, Ltd., for the distillation of shale oil, and since adopted by many refiners of petroleum. In this system, the crude oil flows from acharging tank by gravity through a pre-heater, heated by the passage, from the second or other still, of distillates of suitable temperature, and thence into the first still. Here it is raised to distillation temperature, and the specific gravity of the distillate therefrom fixed. The feed of the crude oil is constant, the residue formed in the still passing through a connection at the bottom into the second still in the series, at the top, and led from back to front so that the inlet and outlet shall be as far apart as possible. It is here raised to a higher temperature, yielding a distillate of higher specific gravity, the residue passing on to the next still, and so on through the series of stills until it reaches the point where all the motor spirit (or benzine, as it is called), kerosene, and the intermediate distillates are removed.

The distillates obtained from the refining of the crude are usually purified by treatment successively with sulphuric acid and solution of caustic soda, this process of chemical treatment being necessary before the products are fit for the market.

The “cracking” process of distillation briefly consists in distilling the oils at a temperature higher than the normal boiling points of the constituents it is desired to decompose, and, in practice, the result is that the heavier oils are turned into lighter hydrocarbons of lower boiling points: thus the yield of the more valuable of the refined products is materially increased. The “cracking” process, which very largely obtains to-day, was quite accidentally discovered by a small refiner in America many years ago. The man in charge of the still left it with the intention of returning very shortly. He was, however, absent for several hours, and to his dismay found that; as the result of his neglect in attending to the still, a very light coloured distillateof much lower density than that which it was usual to obtain, was issuing from the condenser.

Upon investigation, it was found that a portion of the distillate had condensed upon the upper part of the still, which was cooler, and had dropped back into the still, where the temperature was sufficient to produce products of a lower boiling point—certainly a distinct improvement. As may be imagined, this “cracking” process does not commence until the lighter products of distillation have been removed, and is now so popular because by its use a greater yield can be obtained of those more valuable products for which there is an ever-increasing demand.

It is unnecessary here to enter into those various improvements which have been introduced from time to time, all of which have as their aim the production of larger quantities of refined oils, and it would likewise be invidious to enumerate even the more popular scientists to whose energies much of the resulting progress has been due, for the simple reason that it has ever been the aim of the petroleum chemist to turn his abilities in the direction indicated.

As may be imagined, the industry of petroleum refining has had to adapt itself to the altered conditions of to-day. For instance, prior to the advent of the internal combustion engine, which now is responsible for such a wide application of motor spirit, the demand for this, the lightest product of petroleum distillation, was non-existent. Consequently, when such spirit was produced, there was no market for it, and its production represented sheer loss to the refiners. Both in the Far East and in Russia, we have examples of the enormous loss which accrued to the refiners by reason of there being no market for this highly inflammable product. In the Far Eastern fields, in particular, this loss was veryheavy, for in the earlier days of its operations, the “Shell” Company had to remove thousands of tons of this now valuable motor spirit from its refineries and burn it in the open fields. The successful introduction of the internal combustion engine, however, completely changed the aspect of petroleum refining, and the desire became general, not to see how little motor spirit could be produced, but to perfect methods by which the yield of the benzene series of hydrocarbons should be as large as possible. Even to-day progress is still being recorded in this direction, and each American refiner is vying with his neighbour as to how far that output of gasoline, as it is there called, can be increased.

Many and varied are the means which have been resorted to for this purpose, but most of them have reference to improvements in the processes for refining the crude oil. One, however, is worthy of being mentioned in this little treatise, inasmuch as it deals with quite another aspect of the problem of increased motor spirit supply.

As I have mentioned in another chapter, enormous quantities of natural gas exude from the oil-wells, and this in the past has been for the most part allowed to go to waste in the air, causing an ever-present danger to oil-field operations on account of its liability to ignite. Being heavier than the air itself, for it is impregnated with oil gases, it remains for long periods in the lower air strata, and, consequently, not infrequently, has been the direct cause of great oil-field fires. This gas—casing-head gas, as it is termed—comes from the oil-wells between the casing and the tubing, and, in the case of numerous wells, the flow is remarkable, some wells giving forth 300,000 cubic feet of gas every 24 hours, and the only useful purpose that this vapour has served until recent years has been to light several townssituated comparatively near to the oil-producing fields. The great volume of the gas, however, has been allowed to go to waste.

But experiments have proved that the gas is capable of condensation into motor spirit, and the general yield of such spirit may be taken as fully 2 gallons per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas treated. What wonderful possibilities lie in the direction of the conversion of this vapour into motor spirit! The oil-producers in the United States have not been slow to appreciate this, and to-day there are hundreds of plants in the United States which have been erected solely to condense these oil-well gas vapours. Some of these plants are dealing with as much as 3,000,000 cubic feet of gas a day. The most recent official returns available from the United States show that the production of gasoline (motor spirit) from this process of oil gas condensation is, approximately, 150,000,000 gallons per annum, and even this substantial figure is being steadily increased.

There is also another phase of the oil-refining industry which, during recent years, has materially altered. I refer to the production of solar oil during distillation. It is an apt saying that we can scarcely look to any section of our commercial or domestic life without being confronted with the fact that oil products play some part therein: there are few, however, who, without reflection, would agree that when they light their gas they are dependent upon petroleum for much of the light the gas gives. It is, nevertheless, a fact, as I will proceed to show.

Many years ago, the oil refiners in Baku were confronted with a problem which appeared for some time to be insurmountable. After the distillation of their kerosene, or illuminating oil, and before they could commence to take off the lubricating oil fractions,there was an intermediary product which, while being of no use for lamp oil, did not possess the necessary constituents of viscosity to make it acceptable as a lubricant. It was a fairly decent volume of something for which there was no market at the time.

Experiments were made, and with these the name of Dr. Paul Dvorkovitz will ever be associated, and it was found that by the passage of a current of gas over the surface of this intermediate product, the gas caught up as it were a richness which materially increased the lighting power of the gas. To cut a long, but highly interesting, story short, this solar or gas oil was subsequently introduced by Dr. Dvorkovitz to England for gas enrichment purposes, and the extent of its employment to-day may be judged from the fact that the United Kingdom regularly imports between 60,000,000 and 70,000,000 gallons per annum for the enrichment of the coal gas which finds useful employment in practically every home throughout the land. As is known, the gas companies have to produce gas of a certain lighting quality, and it is in the upholding of the lighting strength of the gas that solar oil to-day plays so important a part. At first, the oil came almost exclusively from Russia, but now the competition from the United States has secured for our American friends the vast bulk of the trade, which, as I have shown, has reached enormous proportions.

Solar oil is also largely utilized for the production of refined perfumery oils, which are quite colourless and inodorous, while the finest quality is used in pharmacy and known asparaffinum liquidum, and is in much demand, but in this connection it is the Russian petroleums that have gained distinction. It was held for many years that such tasteless and colourless oils could not be produced from the United Statespetroleums, but from the commencement of the European War, and the consequent closure of Russia’s export port, whereby all overseas trade in Russian petroleums was held up, much progress was made in the manufacture of tasteless medicinal petroleums in the United States, such articles having now become popular throughout the world.

One of the most important discoveries made during recent years has been the finding of large quantities of toluol in petroleum. This article is necessary for the manufacture of high explosives. In Borneo heavy petroleum, toluol exists to a very large extent, and it was its discovery and consequent use by the allies—thanks to the offer made to the Governments by Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart.—that almost unlimited quantities of high explosives were manufactured.

Vaseline is another useful commodity which is derived from the refining of crude petroleum, and this article is turned out of the American refineries as well as those of Russia and Galicia, in large quantities, but, beyond mentioning this fact, no useful purpose would here be served by relating the various processes employed.

With reference to the methods generally adopted in the refining of the products from the distillation of the Scottish oil shales, these are briefly dealt with in the chapter devoted to the Scottish oil industry.

It is safe to say that the past two or three decades have witnessed marked progress in perfecting the methods by which crude petroleums are refined into the innumerable common commodities of commerce, and it is doubtful whether in any branch of chemical research there has been such concerted energy shown as in regard to the refining of mineral oils. Signs, however, are not wanting to show that the zenith of this progress has by no means been reached.

The remarkably perfect methods by which petroleum and its products are transported by land and sea before they reach the consumer may not at first sight appear to be anything but commonplace, but a moment’s reflection will be sufficient to suggest that a vast and complete organization must be required in order that petroleum may be brought from practically the ends of the earth to the consumer in the most remote village in the British Isles. But it is the demands of necessity that have been responsible for the building up of this vast organization of transportation which represents, in the United States alone, the investment of many millions of pounds sterling.

Taking first the methods of oil transportation by land, in no other oil-producing country do we find such an elaborate system for dealing with enormous quantities of petroleum as in America, for it is safe to say that at least 500,000 barrels of crude oil have to be dealt with daily at the present time.

Going back to the time when petroleum first became a commercial commodity—when the first wells in Oil Creek commenced to open up a period of new prosperity for the United States—these wells were situated so close to the water that their product could easily be loaded into canoes and barges, and floated down the Alleghany river. In the dry season, the flow was insufficient to float the craft, and then some hundreds of the boats, carrying each from 50 to 1,000 barrels, would be assembled in a mill-pond near the wells, and the waterimpounded while the loading was in progress. Then the gates would be opened, and the fleet, carried on the flood of rushing water, would be hurried down the river in charge of pilots. The fleet of creek and river boats engaged in this novel work at one time numbered 2,000.

But, as the production of oil increased, and new districts were successfully tapped, it became obvious that some different method of handling the crude oil would have to be adopted. The inland wells could not get rid of their production, and it is not surprising to find that at one time—about 1862—crude oil prices at the well fell to 10 cents per barrel. A system of horse haulage was initiated, and in time thousands of animals were required to haul the oil from the inland wells to shipping points. The waggon train of the oil country in the pre-pipe-line days at its maximum consisted of 6,000 two-horse teams and waggons, and a traveller in the oil region in those early sixties could not lose sight of an endless train of waggons each laden with from five to seven barrels. The roads were almost bottomless, and the teamsters tore down fences and drove where they liked. These men, always of the roving, picturesque type, would earn anything from 10 to 25 dollars per day, spending the most part in revelry on the Saturday night.

It was at this time that a Bill was introduced into the States legislature authorizing the construction of a pipe-line from Oil Creek to a spot known as Kittanning, but the opposition of 4,000 teamsters defeated the Bill and the first effort to organize an oil pipe-line company. The modest beginning of the present-day system of oil transportation on land by pipe-line was due to the enterprise of a Jerseyman named Hutchings, who laid a 2-inch pipe from some wells to the Humbolt refinery.The teamsters, foreseeing the possibilities of this innovation, proceeded to tear up the line, and warned the oil-producers not to adopt these new methods of oil transportation.

But Hutchings was undismayed, for he laid a second line, this being composed of cast-iron joints caulked with lead. Although this was impracticable, the teamsters again wrought vengeance on the proposition, and completely destroyed it. Hutchings still persisted in his efforts, but died—disappointed and penniless—a genius living a little before his time.

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