ITS HISToRY 
 
 * USES AND 
 
 TESTS 
 
 EoRGE THoPIPSoN WALKER 
 

PETROLEUM 
 
 ITS HISTORY, OCCURRENCE, 
 PRODUCTION. USES an d TESTS. 
 
 By 
 GEO. T. WALKER, A. B. 
 
 Member of the American Chemical Society. 
 Chief Chemist for The Van Tilbi * Co. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 Price $1-00 
 
 MINNEAPOLIS 
 
 IMPERIAL PRINTING COMPANY 
 1915 
 
T 
 
 Copyright, 1915. 
 
 THE. VAN T1LBURG OIL COMPANY 
 Published December, 1915 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 Introductory 1 
 
 T. Origin and Occurrence of Petroleum ... 3 
 
 II. History of Petroleum 10 
 
 III. Production and Transportation of Pe- 
 troleum 16 
 
 IV. Testing Petroleum Products 27 
 
 V. Refining Crude Petroleum 30 
 
 VI. Petroleum Products and Their Uses. . 36 
 Bibliography 40 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 American Valveless Diesel Engine . . .Frontispiece 
 
 Diagram of Anticline and Syncline 4 
 
 55,000 Barrel Tank on Fire 5 
 
 The Boynton Field, Okla,, Mar. 7, 1914 6 
 
 The Boynton Field, Okla., Aug. 20, 1915 7 
 
 Crude Oil Stills 14 
 
 Diagram of Oil Derrick 18 
 
 Big Gusher in the Caddo, La., Field 22 
 
 Vendor of Oil Cans, Constantinople 23 
 
 Oil Wells in a Bayou, Louisiana 26 
 
 Oil Wells in the Ocean 34 
 
 Producing Casing Head Gasoline 40 
 
 Oil Wells on the Cimarron River, Oklahoma . . 42 
 
 Oil Well at Katalla, Alaska. . . 44 
 
 349284 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There are few articles so generally used as petroleum, con- 
 cerning which the general public has so little information. The 
 average man or woman uses some of these products daily in 
 fact, modern civilization would be almost impossible without 
 them, but very few know anything about their production and 
 proper uses. How many know why there are different grades 
 of gasolines, or kerosenes, of lubricating oils, etc., and have any 
 idea which grade to buy for their special purpose? 
 
 This little book is intended to give real information concern- 
 ing some of these matters and to give this information within 
 a small compass, so that those who read it will not be discour- 
 aged by the prospect of wading through a large volume filled 
 with statistics and tables. It is hoped that the book will be 
 readily understood by young people of high school age, and 
 yet not too childish to prove of value to those of more mature 
 age, who have never known much about the modern petroleum 
 industry. 
 
 Those who wish to go further into this interesting subject are 
 referred to the bibliography given at the back of this book. 
 
 Great care has been used to prevent errors, but doubtless 
 some have occurred, and the author would greatly appreciate 
 it if his readers would notify him of any errors they may no- 
 tice, so that they may be corrected in a future edition. 
 
 G. T. W. 
 
 Minneapolis, December 20, 1915. 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 To realize more fully the importance of petroleum to modern 
 civilization, let us consider for a moment what would happen 
 if we were to remove all petroleum products from the world. 
 Practically all of the rural districts would be left in darkness 
 throughout the night; all the work now done by gasoline en- 
 gines would cease, nearly all automobiles would be worthless; 
 practically all machinery would stop for lack of lubrication, 
 many of the modern battleships would be without means of 
 propulsion; Rocky Mountain railroads could not operate; the 
 present great war itself would be entirely changed, for the lack 
 of petroleum products would do away with the aeroplane, the 
 Zeppelin, the automobile, and auto truck, the motorcycle, and 
 even the submarine; in fact, temporarily the world would be 
 almost completely paralyzed. 
 
 And what would serve as substitutes for these products? Un- 
 til some better means was found for distributing electricity in 
 thinly settled districts, the average country household would 
 be thrown back on the tallow dips of our grandfathers (the 
 modern candles would disappear for they are made of paraffine 
 wax). Steam engines would replace the larger gasoline en- 
 gines but could never take the place of the smaller ones, only 
 manual labor could replace them. 
 
 For lubricants we would have to fall back on animal and 
 vegetable oils and fats, expensive and unsatisfactory. High 
 pressure steam engines could not be run at all for petroleum 
 furnishes the only satisfactory lubricant for them. True, auto- 
 mobiles, gasoline engines', etc., can be run on denatured alcohol 
 or on coal tar products, but these are high-priced, denatured 
 alcohol depends for its production on agriculture, and coal tar 
 products are merely by-products which are not even now pro- 
 
PETROLEUM 
 
 duced in 'sufficient quantity to meet the demand for use in the 
 manufacture of explosives, dyes and drugs. 
 
 All of the possible substitutes for petroleum products are 
 even now two or three times as expensive, they are practically 
 all products of agriculture in one form or another and the ne- 
 cessity of turning so many of these products into other chan- 
 nels would greatly increase the cost of foods. The United 
 States exports annually over 1,000,000,000 gallons of kerosene 
 alone. This enormous quantity represents only the excess pro- 
 duced over requirements for domestic consumption. Imagine 
 the enormous number of cattle required to yield tallow enough 
 to replace this one item. Where would we raise them and what 
 would we feed them? The world would drop back to the old 
 fashioned ways and our promising youths would again have to 
 study by fire light as Lincoln did. It is almost possible to de- 
 termine the degree of education prevalent in a country by not- 
 ing the amount of kerosene used per capita, as shown in the 
 table below : 
 
 PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION OF KEROSENE DURING 1911. 
 (Compiled by Sir Boverton Redwood). 
 
 GALLONS 
 
 United States 
 
 7.3 
 
 Rouinania 
 
 1.8 
 
 Canada 
 
 4.0 
 
 Austria 
 
 1.8 
 
 * England 
 
 3.9 
 
 Japan 
 
 1.6 
 
 * Germany 
 
 3.6 
 
 Brazil 
 
 1.2 
 
 Australia 
 
 3.4 
 
 Italy 
 
 1.0 
 
 France 
 
 2.5 
 
 Mexico 
 
 .7 
 
 Russia 
 
 2.0 
 
 India 
 
 .6 
 
 South Africa 
 
 2.0 
 
 Spain 
 
 .5 
 
 Egypt 
 
 1.9 
 
 China 
 
 .4 
 
 Petroleum ranks second in value of all our mineral products, 
 being exceeded in value by iron alone. The United States pro- 
 duces more than all the other countries of the world combined. 
 Certainly then it behooves each of us to have some general in- 
 formation concerning this product. 
 
 *The figures for some of the more thickly populated countries would be considerably increased 
 if the population of all cities having lighting systems were to be deducted before determining per 
 capita consumption. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORIGIN AND OCCURRENCE OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Petroleum (from the Greek petros, rock and oleum, oil) also 
 known as rock oil, earth oil, or mineral oil, occurs very widely 
 distributed throughout the world, and is evidently the product 
 of strata of widely separated geological periods. 
 
 There has been a great deal of controversy regarding the 
 origin of petroleum. Some of the highest authorities claim 
 that it is produced by tfre action of water on metallic carbides 
 which they assume to be present in large quantities far below 
 the earth's surface. The simplest illustration of such a reac- 
 tion is the preparation of acetylene gas from calcium carbide 
 and water. Chemists have actually produced products closely 
 resembling petroleum by the action of water on mixed carbides, 
 but this theory, however attractive, is too fanciful for general 
 acceptance. 
 
 The more commonly accepted theory attributes petroleum to 
 large deposits of organic matter which have been subjected to 
 the action of water, or steam under tremendous pressure, at an 
 elevated temperature, through long periods of time. Whether 
 this organic-matter was of animal or vegetable origin is still a 
 question. However, one of the most plausible theories would 
 have us believe that the petroleum found in the Eastern part 
 of the United States is of vegetable origin while the crude oils 
 found in the central and western portions are almost certainly 
 of animal, or mixed animal and vegetable origin. It is almost 
 necessary to adopt some such theory to account for the presence 
 of considerable amounts of sulphur and large amounts of nitro- 
 gen compounds in some of these oils. These sulphur and nitro- 
 gen compounds closely resemble compounds 1 which can actually 
 be produced in the laboratory by destructive distillation of vari- 
 ous kinds of animal matter but could scarcely be accounted for 
 by any theory which attributes all petroleum to a purely vege- 
 table origin. 
 
 In the early days of the petroleum industry, it was generally 
 considered that the oil occurred in crevices and cavities in the 
 rocks, so that there were actual rivers and lakes of oil. This 
 theory was supposed to explain the fact that an abundant sup- 
 ply of oil might be struck in one well and little or none in an- 
 other one only a short distance away. It is, however, very well 
 
PETROLEUM 
 
ORIGIN AND OCCURRENCE 
 
 known that under the tremendous pressure which would exist 
 at a depth of several hundred feet, there could be no large cavi- 
 ties, for the rock under these conditions would gradually fill 
 in any crevices which might be formed. So tremendous is the 
 pressure that most rocks are in a plastic form and could a large 
 cavity be produced, it would very shortly be filled in by the rock 
 surrounding it. 
 
 Petroleum and natural gas deposits always occur below an 
 impervious layer which is generally a shale. Wherever a porous 
 limestone, sandstone or conglomnierate occur, just below such 
 a layer of shale, gas or oil or both are very apt to be found. 
 These rocks are sufficiently porous to hold anywhere from one- 
 tenth to one-fifth of their volume of oil, and even if they held 
 only one-tenth, this would account for even the very largest 
 yields of petroleum without any necessity of imagining enor- 
 mous lakes of oil. Even though at present we do not believe 
 that the oil exists in cavities, oil fields are still frequently 
 spoken of as "pools." 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleum News 
 A 55,000 Barrel Tank on Fire 
 
 Of course, when they were originally deposited, the layers of 
 sandstone or other porous rock were horizontal, but as the 
 earth's crust has cooled and contracted, this horizontal layer 
 has formed folds more or less pronounced. These folds in 
 places have given rise to mountain ranges, but throughout the 
 greater part of the world, there may be only a few feet between 
 
G 
 
 PETROLEUM 
 
 J 
 
 the top and bottom of one of these rises. The top of the fold 
 is called an anticline and the trough between is called a syn- 
 cline. As the oil rises through the porous rock, it naturally ac- 
 cumulates in the anticline. Generally salt water occurs in con- 
 nection with petroleum deposits and, of course, the petroleum , 
 being lighter, accumulates in a layer above the water. When- 
 ever gas is present, it will be found under great pressure in a 
 layer above the oil. By referring to the accompanying diagram, 
 it is easy to see how wells comparatively close together may 
 strike either oil, gas, or water. It is also easy to see why wells 
 drilled even in streams or lakes, may strike oil just as well as 
 those drilled on the tops of the hills, for it would be very sel- 
 dom that the valleys on the surface would follow the same lines 
 as these valleys or troughs several hundred feet below the sur- 
 face. 
 
 R16JS: QKUVfQMA 
 
 Y///. 
 
 SAoto of Oil \ rA Xecwcv* secured later 
 
 Dry hole \JYTar ^ J9J4. & by Jnerntt Oil Co 
 JRty Fee purchased later 
 
 T>re<s.J*rerr/tt Oil Co. 
 
 Courtesy of the Fuel Oil Journal. 
 
 The early drillers did not understand this and thought that 
 it was necessary always to drill in the valleys. They also had 
 many other peculiar notions regarding the best places to drill. 
 Very few, if any of these notions, were based on actual facts. 
 Some would depend on people who claimed special ability to 
 detect oil by the means of twigs or by second sight. Others 
 would always drill in a certain direction from a well which was 
 
ORIGIN AND OCCURRENCE 
 
 already producing oil, as they believed that the "veins" of oil 
 all ran in the same direction. Or, perhaps, they might select a 
 place on account of some special character of the soil or vege- 
 tation, not considering the fact that conditions several hun- 
 dred feet below the surface would probably be entirely differ- 
 ent in the two places. 
 
 Since the anticline theory has been proved correct, it is pos- 
 sible to select sites for wells much more intelligently. The 
 anticline may be in the form of a dome underlying only a few 
 square miles of surface, or it may take the form of a long fold, 
 perhaps only a mile or two wide, but many miles in length. Of 
 course, these domes or folds are not perfectly uniform and they 
 are often crossed by other smaller folds at other angles so that 
 even though a well may be drilled over an anticline, it may not 
 strike oil. 
 
 * Show Of Oil \AltCf 2O /9I5 
 
 * JDri/ hote 
 
 o Location ) 
 
 free, 
 oil Co. 
 
 Courtesy of the Fuel Oil Journal 
 
 The two illustrations of a portion of the Boynton field in 
 Oklahoma before and after development, give a very good ex- 
 ample of what can be done by geologists at the present time 
 toward locating a profitable territory. The oval on these two 
 diagrams represents the outside limit where it would be possible 
 to secure oil, according to the geologists' theory before any 
 wells had been drilled. The second diagram shows how nearly 
 
PETROLEUM 
 
 correct he was. Of course, not every well was profitable, but 
 the majority of those within this territory produced oil or gas, 
 while practically all of those outside of the territory are fail- 
 ures. In spite of geology, it is still very common, whenever 
 one well strikes oil, for others to rush in and lease any prop- 
 erty possible within several miles and immediately commence 
 to drill. This "wild catting" generally means a dry well but oc- 
 casionally oil will be found where its presence had not been 
 suspected before. Other wells will immediately be drilled 
 around this one, and after a few have been finished, the geolo- 
 gist can mark out very definitely what should be profitable ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 The diagram shown on page 4, of course, represents only a 
 typical anticline. In many cases there is no salt water below 
 the oil. In other cases there will be no gas in any part of a 
 pool, although this is not often true. When the wells are first 
 drilled, the pressure of the gas is sometimes tremendous, 
 amounting to several hundred and even a thousand pounds per 
 square inch, a pressure sufficient to blow all the tools and some- 
 times the casing also, out of the hole. This gas pressure also 
 produces the pressure in the oil wells, causing them to flow more 
 or less violently and very frequently a well which first produces 
 gas, later produces oil, and finally after the oil is exhausted, 
 may yield only brine. The appearance of brine in wells, gen- 
 erally indicates an early exhaustion of the field. 
 
 There have been a number of theories as to the cause of this 
 tremendous pressure. In some fields, at any rate, it seems prob- 
 able that the pressure is merely artesian, being due to the head 
 of water which has penetrated the porous rock from some high- 
 er point. It has been discovered in Ohio and Indiana that the 
 brine will rise in an exhausted well to practically the same level 
 as that of the water in the Great Lakes, where the same lime- 
 stone, in which the oil occurs, out-crops just below water level. 
 Of course, the water in flowing through the earth, takes up salt 
 and other soluble matter and thus becomes a strong brine. 
 However, in general, the pressure is much stronger than could 
 be produced by this cause, and it seems more likely that both 
 the oil and water are confined so that they cannot escape, while 
 the gas is produced by decomposition of the oil and thus ac- 
 cumulates under tremendous pressure, and wherever the well is 
 drilled, either gas, oil, or water, according to which is struck 
 first, will be driven out under the full gas pressure. As the 
 flow continues, the pressure will gradually decrease until in 
 time the flow will cease. 
 
 At first it was believed that the oil and gas were being con- 
 stantly formed so that the supply would be indefinite. On 
 the contrary, every field has proved that the supply is limited 
 and although there may be parts of the world where petroleum 
 and gas are now being formed, these parts evidently are not lo- 
 
ORIGIN AND OCCURRENCE 9 
 
 cated in the fields which are being drilled and it is only a mat- 
 ter of time, in some cases a year or so, in others a quarter of a 
 century, before this supply is completely exhausted and a field 
 must be abondoned. 
 
 Chemically crude petroleum consists chiefly of compounds 
 of carbon and hydrogen, known as hydro-carbons. Penn- 
 sylvania crude oils are nearly pure hydro-carbons. Ohio crudes 
 contain compounds of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur, in addi- 
 tion to the pure hydro-carbons. California crude oils contain 
 some hydro-carbons of a different series, the same as some of 
 those which are produced by distilling coal tar. In addition, 
 they contain various compounds of carbon, hydrogen and nitro- 
 gen, with or without oxygen. Russian crude oils consist large- 
 ly of the coal tar series of hydro-carbons. 
 
 Petroleum occurs very widely distributed throughout the 
 whole world. In 1913 the United States alone produced over 
 248,000,000 barrels, or over 65% out of a total production for 
 the entire world of over 381,000,000 barrels. The other coun- 
 tries credited with production were in order as follows : Rus- 
 sia, Mexico, Roumania, Dutch East Indies, Galicia, India 
 Japan, Peru, Germany, Canada and Italy, with a half million 
 barrels credited to "other countries." 
 
 In the United States, we find California in the lead, produc- 
 ing about 40% of the entire amount produced by the country. 
 Then follow in order, 
 
 Oklahoma, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Ohio, 
 Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Indiana, Kansas, New York, Ken- 
 tucky, Colorado and "other states," producing only .004% of 
 the entire amount. 
 
 However, there is scarcely a state in the Union where indica- 
 tions of petroleum have not been found and it is entirely pos- 
 sible that a few years may entirely change the rank of the states 
 in petroleum production. 
 
 Pennsylvania and New York held the lead until 1895, when 
 Ohio was first and remained so until 1903, when California 
 came to the front, only to lose first place to Oklahoma in 1907. 
 But California came back strong in 1909 and has ever since 
 been the greatest producing state in the nation, producing more 
 petroleum in 1913 than the entire country had produced in any 
 year previous to 1903. In fact, California alone in 1913, pro- 
 duced more petroleum than Russia and Mexico together, al- 
 though they are the second and third greatest petroleum produc- 
 ing countries in the world. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 HISTORY OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 Probably the oldest reference to a petroleum product is that 
 in Genesis IX, 3, where we learn that "slime" was used for 
 mortar in building the tower of Babel this "slime" was evi- 
 dently a bitumen or asphalt naturally produced from petro- 
 leum and occurring in those regions. A number of other ref- 
 erences are also found in the Bible, while a number of Greek 
 historians also mention bitumen. Herodotus describes a well 
 which yielded petroleum and water, while Strabo, Pliny, and 
 others mention its use as an illuminant. Natural gas was used 
 as a fuel and illuminant in China, long before the Christian 
 era. 
 
 The Apsheron Penninsula on the Caspian Sea in Russia, prob- 
 ably gave more natural indications of petroleum than any 
 spot in the world. This field has been worked for an unknown 
 length of time and oil was already being exported in the tenth 
 century. Marco Polo describes a large fountain of oil here and 
 
 " mentions that people came for great distances to get the oil 
 which they used for fuel and as an ointment for camels which 
 
 ^ had the mange. It was in this vicinity that the fire- worshippers 
 
 ' held sway for centuries. Temples were built and lighted by the 
 "Eternal fires" from natural gas escaping from the ground. 
 
 Hanway, writing in the middle of the 18th century says that, 
 by removing a little of the surface soil and applying a flame to 
 the exposed surface, the ground would catch fire and burn for 
 a long time. When a tube was thrust into the ground the gas 
 could be lighted at its upper end and this property was utilized 
 by the natives in lighting their homes, also for cooking. He 
 also mentions the transportation of petroleum in bulk on the 
 Caspian Sea. One variety was used medicinally, both internal- 
 ly and externally and was also used for removing spots from 
 woolen goods. 
 
 All of the early wells were hand-dug pits and it was not until 
 some time after wells were drilled for oil in large numbers in 
 
 the United States, that the Russian oil was produced in notable 
 quantities. 
 
 In Galicia a form of petroleum known as "earth balsam" was 
 known as far back as 1506. In the early part of the 19th cen- 
 tury small amounts of petroleum were refined for illuminating 
 
 10 
 
HISTORICAL 
 
 purposes and by 1853 it was replacing candles in Vienna. This 
 distillate was purified by treating with sulphuric acid and caus- 
 tic soda in a manner similar to that used in modern refineries. 
 " The earliest mention of petroleum in the U. S. A. is found in 
 a letter written by a Frenchman/ dated 1629, in which he refers 
 to the oil-springs in what is now New York State. In the early 
 part of the 18th century petroleum, obtained near Lake Seneca, 
 New York, was known as "Seneca Oil" on account of its use 
 by the Indian tribe of that name. It oozed up with water in 
 springs and was skimmed off the surface by means of broad 
 wooden paddles. It was then refined by heating and straining 
 and used as a remedy for rheumatism, burns, coughs, strains, 
 etc., "for man or beast." 
 
 Petroleum was obtained quite extensively in drilling for 
 brine on the banks of the Kanawha River, West Virginia. In 
 some cases it was such a nuisance that the wells had to be aban- 
 doned. The bottled oil sold for medicinal purposes at 40 or 50 
 cents for a few ounces. 
 
 The first rock-bored brine-well was sunk in 1806 and this 
 method was soon used for other brine-wells, some of which 
 proved to be flowing wells yielding several barrels daily of oil, 
 and in one case "many thousands of gallons 1 per day." The 
 latter well yielded for thirty years and the oil was sold as "The 
 American Medicinal Oil, Burkesville, Ky." Much of the oil 
 from these wells was turned into the rivers and became a 
 menace to those down-stream. 
 
 In some parts of the country efforts had been made to utilize 
 crude petroleum as an illuminant, but the smoke and odor- 
 were so bad that it could not be used for household purposes. 
 About 1832 the manufacture of illuminating oils from coal and 
 shale was commenced in France. In. 1846 Abraham Gesner 
 commenced the manufacture of such rf" product in Prince Ed- 
 ward Island and commenced selling it in the U. S. under the 
 name of "kerosene." Refineries for its manufacture were soon 
 established in this country. At first they used the coal from 
 Prince Edward Island, but soon commenced to use domestic 
 shale and coal. The use of the product increased until there 
 were 50 or 60 of these refineries scattered from Portland, Maine, 
 to St. Louis. 
 
 About the year 1849, S. M. Kier, a Pittsburgh druggist, com- 
 menced selling the oil from the salt wells in small bottles la- 
 beled as follows: 
 
 KIER'S 
 
 PETROLEUM OR ROCK OIL, 
 Celebrated for its wonderful curing power. 
 
 A NATURAL MEDICINE. 
 
 Pumped from a well in Allegheny county, 
 
 Pennsylvania, 400 feet below the 
 
 surface of the ground. 
 
12 PETROLEUM 
 
 The sale of the product was pushed by various means, in a 
 manner very similar to that used by patent medicines at the 
 present day, until it reached three barrels per day. But the 
 taste and odor were so disagreeable that this outlet for the oil 
 did not take care of the supply. Kier then attempted to sell it 
 as an illuminant, but had very little success since the oil burned 
 very badly and had such a disagreeable odor. 
 
 In a further effort to develop a market, Kier tried distillation, 
 probably following the practice in shale oil plants, and pro- 
 duced an oil which was quite satisfactory. This "Carbon Oil" 
 was first used in Pittsburgh and the demand soon exceeded the 
 supply, so much so that the price went as high as |2.00 per 
 gallon. 
 
 The high price and scarcity of the oil led to the formation of 
 the "Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company" with a capitalization 
 of |25,000.00. This Company acquired some land on Oil Creek. 
 Venango County, Penu. This site was selected because oil 
 springs had been known here for a long time. Great difficulty 
 was experienced in selling the stock, for fraudulent companies 
 were common then as now, and money was scarce. Finally the 
 company was reorganized Avith a capitalization of $300,000.00. 
 This company, too, found that the springs did not yield a suffi- 
 cient supply of oil, so it was finally decided to drill a well in 
 order to secure a more abundant supply. The company secured 
 a railroad conductor, Edwin L. Drake, to manage the work, 
 giving him the title of "Colonel." 
 
 | Repeated attempts were made to dig down to rock in order 
 to start drilling but the soil caved so badly that this could not 
 be accomplished. As a last resort an iron pipe was driven 50 
 feet to bed-rock and the boring and drilling tools were operated 
 inside of this pipe without special difficulty. Progress was 
 slow, only two or three feet per day. But on returning to 
 work the next morning after reaching a depth of 69 feet, the 
 well was found nearly full of oil, August 29th, 1859. 
 
 Thus was completed the first well ever drilled in the United 
 States for oil. At first the well yielded 25 barrels per day, but 
 by the close of the year had dropped to 15 barrels and the total 
 yield for the year was about 2,000 barrels. 
 
 As soon as the news of this wonderful discovery of petroleum 
 spread, people came in great numbers out of curiosity, to see it 
 for themselves. Within a very short time all the surrounding 
 land was taken up, either by purchase or lease and many other 
 wells were started. As no one had any idea where oil might 
 be found, and everyone felt that if they were lucky they could 
 make a fortune in a few days, many sacrificed everything in 
 order to secure a lease on even the smallest piece of property 
 and associations of those who could not raise enough capital 
 alone were formed to put in wells even when most exorbitant 
 
HISTORICAL 13 
 
 royalties were demanded. In many cases they were not able 
 to afford the necessary machinery and the wells were drilled by 
 means of spring poles or other primitive methods. Of course, 
 only shallow wells could be drilled by these means, so that a 
 great many were unable to reach oil and lost everything they 
 had invested. 
 
 On the other hand, wages were high and many a man who 
 started as a day laborer, by good fortune soon found himself a 
 rich man. Within two years' time an enormous number of 
 wells had been drilled extending up and down the Valley of 
 Oil Creek for about 10 miles, and Oil City at the mouth of the 
 Creek, where it entered the Allegheny Eiver, boasted a popula- 
 tion of about 10,000 people. Extremely high prices were paid 
 for land and leases, as at first it was thought necessary to be 
 close to the original wells. In one instance, two acres were 
 sold for half a million dollars. In another case, |4,000,000.00 
 was refused for a 50-acre farm. 
 
 For the first two or three years, all the wells put down were 
 comparatively shallow and produced only a few barrels of oil 
 per day. None of them were flowing wells. However, in June, 
 1861, the first flowing w r ell was secured at a depth of 460 feet. 
 This well yielded 300 barrels per day. Soon after another one 
 was drilled which yielded 2,500 barrels per day and in 1863 
 a well was brought in which yielded 3,000 barrels per day. It 
 is estimated that this well produced $3,000,000.00 worth of oil. 
 
 This sudden and tremendous increase in production, lowered 
 prices very rapidly. The first oil had brought as high as f 1.00 
 per gallon. Soon the price dropped to lOc per barrel and even 
 less, but in 1861 several refineries were started along Oil Creek 
 and soon the shale oil refineries changed over to petroleum 
 refineries, since they found otherwise they would be forced out 
 of business. 
 
 The first shipment to Europe consisting of 27,000 barrels, 
 was made at about this time. Although this shipment proved 
 a loss, it was only the first and many others later were more 
 profitable, so that export trade was soon established. 
 /*" On account of low prices and hard times, excitement soon 
 died down on Oil Creek and by 1865 the production had greatly 
 decreased. Then in January, 1865, the first well was finished 
 on Pit Hole Creek. This proved to be a flowing well and a new 
 boom was started. While it lasted, there was as much excite- 
 ment as occurs when a new gold field is discovered. By Sep- 
 tember, Pit Hole, which had only been platted in March, had a 
 population of 12,000 or 15,000 people and town lots were bring- 
 ing as high as f 10,000.00 each. Fortunes were made and lost so 
 suddenly that speculation rather than slow profits in safe busi- 
 ness became the rule. A great many speculative concerns were 
 organized and stock put on the market. One of these was capi- 
 talized at 15,000,000.00, divided into 1,000,000 shares. In most 
 cases the stock was sold at only a fraction of its value in order 
 
14 PETROLEUM 
 
 to secure a little money and enormous dividends were promised 
 even though the Company did not own any land which had 
 proved to be oil bearing property. 
 
 The fall of the Pit Hole boom was almost as rapid as its rise. 
 Within two years the town was almost deserted. This was 
 caused by the rapid decrease in production of the wells together 
 with hard times, low prices and a number of disastrous fires. 
 All of these results combined resulted in the failure of most of 
 the speculative companies and by 1868 the oil producing busi- 
 ness had reached a very low stage. 
 
 No better example of the usual result can be given than the 
 fact that Drake who produced the first well, after accumulating 
 quite a sum of money went to New York City and lost it all in 
 speculating on petroleum stock, so that he became practically 
 a pauper. His friends then took up a collection of several thou- 
 sands of dollars to help him out and the State of Pennsylvania 
 
 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleum News. 
 
 A Set of 1,000 Barrel Crude Oil Stills and Condensers. 
 
 gave him a pension of $1,500.00 per year. This, however, was 
 the only permanent benefit he obtained and this was the case 
 with very many others, for a man who had once struck oil was 
 very seldom willing to stop there, but had to try again and again 
 until he had lost all he had made. 
 
 However, the demand for petroleum at home and abroad rap- 
 idly increased and with better means of transportation and 
 refining conditions rapidly improved and production was con- 
 stantly increased until the Pennsylvania field reached a maxi- 
 mum in 1891 of 33,000,000 barrels, this being 3/5 of the entire 
 production of the United States for that year. 
 
 The next field to be developed was Ohio, which first appears 
 in statistics in 1876 and reached its maximum production of 
 about 24,000,000 barrels in 1896. West Virginia commencing 
 with the same year, reached a maximum of 16,000,000 barrels 
 in 1900. Indiana commencing in 1889 reached a maximum of 
 
HISTORICAL 15 
 
 11,000,000 barrels in 1904. Kentucky commencing in 1883 
 reached its maximum of one and one-quarter million barrels in 
 1905. Texas commencing in 1896 reached a production of 28,- 
 000,000 barrels in 1905, but in 1906 the production was only 
 12,000,000 and dropped still lower, although at the present time 
 it is increasing again. Illinois commencing production in 1905 
 reached its maximum of 33,000,000 barrels in 1910. It will be 
 noted that all of these fields have passed their maximum pro- 
 duction and most of them are falling off rapidly, Pennsylvania 
 producing less than one-quarter of its maximum, in 1913. 
 
 On the other hand, California which commenced to produce 
 in 1876 had reached 98,000,000 barrels in 1913 and the 1914 
 production was estimated to be 104,000,000 barrels. Oklahoma 
 commencing production in 1900, reached 63% million in 1913 
 with a still larger production in 1914. The only other produc- 
 ing states of any importance are Louisiana, which commencing 
 in 1902 reached 12% million in 1913 and Wyoming which com- 
 mencing in 1894, reached 2% million in 1913 
 
 Undoubtedly some, if not all, of the latter states will yield 
 even larger amounts in the future but there is no question that 
 within a few years time their production will begin to decline 
 unless new fields are discovered. New pools are being con- 
 stantly opened up but in many cases their production is not 
 sufficient to offset the decrease in production of the older wells 
 and it must be borne in mind that in the latter part of 1914 and 
 early part of 1915, production was greatly stimulated by the 
 unusually high market price for crude petroleum and every 
 effort possible was made to increase production in order to take 
 advantage of this high price. 
 
 The United States has furnished practically 60% of the en- 
 tire amount of petroleum produced from oil fields throughout 
 the whole world. Russia ranks second, with 30%. No other 
 country has produced more than a small fraction of this 
 amount. The total production of the United States for 1913 
 alone was almost one-quarter billion barrels or 10% billion 
 gallons, enough to fill 1 1/3 million tank cars of standard size. 
 This amount equals the total production of the United States 
 for the first 25 years and is more than the world's entire pro- 
 duction in 1906. 
 
 It is needless to say that this rapid increase cannot be kept up 
 indefinitely although it is useless to attempt to state how long 
 it will be before production will commence to decrease. Every 
 year it has been a question whether the country would produce 
 as much as the year before, yet the estimated increase of 1914 
 over 1913 was double that of 1913 over 1912. At any rate, 
 we are rapidly using up the supply of a valuable resource, 
 which once exhausted can never be replaced and it is certainly 
 very important that all petroleum products should be used so 
 as to produce the best possible results and do away with all 
 possible waste. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION OF PETROLEUM. 
 
 The earliest method of producing petroleum, as mentioned 
 before, was that of skimming it off the surface of water where it 
 had accumulated from springs. In China, Japan and India, 
 from earliest times wells have been dug by hand for petroleum. 
 These wells have reached depths as great as 900 feet, although 
 ordinarily not more than one or two hundred feet deep. It 
 would seem that the cost would be prohibitive, but in the east- 
 ern countries where time is of no value and wages extremely 
 low, the cost of such wells is not very great. Even in the latter 
 half of the 19th century, oil was still secured from ancient hand 
 dug wells in Burma. 
 
 Not even a windlass was used for raising the oil, but the rope 
 was drawn over a timber at the top of the well and 2 or 3 men 
 would seize it and run over to one side far enough to bring up 
 the jar of oil. By this primitive method a few gallons of oil per 
 day would be secured from each well. Undoubtedly the same 
 method was used for raising the earth when the wells were 
 dug. When rock was struck which was too hard for digging, a 
 large angular lump of iron would be suspended at the mouth 
 of the well by a rope. The rope would be cut and the fall of the 
 iron would crush a little of the rock in the bottom of the well. 
 Then a man would climb down, attach the rope again, the iron 
 would be raised and this method repeated indefinitely. All of 
 this was accomplished where the vapor of oil was so strong that 
 a man could work only a few minutes at a time. 
 
 In China, (Jiailiijg was early developed. This method was 
 used particularly in securing brine and is really very similar 
 to the American method of drilling oil wells, showing again 
 that there is nothing new under the sun. The Chinese would 
 dig down by hand until they struck rock and case the hole with 
 bamboo tubing. Then they would arrange a heavy plank pivot- 
 ed at the center and supported so that one end was directly over 
 the opening. To this end would be attached a cable which sup- 
 ported the heavy drilling tools. Small platforms were arranged 
 at each side of the plank and for each stroke, a man would 
 jump from one of the platforms onto the end of the plank and 
 back again. Sometimes two men would jump together, then 
 
 16 
 
PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION 17 
 
 two from the other side. By means of this primitive walking- 
 beam, wells were put down to considerable depths and it will 
 be noted that the modern method simply substitutes the steam 
 engine for man power. Otherwise we have only improved the 
 scheme by making everything heavier, larger and stronger. 
 
 The first drilleiwell of which we have record in this country, 
 was put down a little over one hundred years ago in order to 
 secure brine. This was drilled with a spring pole, a flexible 
 sapling about 50 feet long, inclined at an angle of 30 so that 
 the top was just over the well. The drill was attached to a rope 
 which was attached to the end of the spring pole. By pulling 
 on this rope the necessary motion was given to the drill. Be- 
 fore drilling, a hollow tree trunk was sunk through the quick- 
 sand to bed rock and by means of thin wedges the surface water 
 was cut off so that it would not flow in and dilute the brine. 
 When the well was finished it was cased with a long wooden 
 tube which was tightly wrapped at the bottom, in order to cut 
 off any water which might flow through the rock above the vein 
 of brine w T hich it was desired to reach. This crude outfit em- 
 bodied most of the principles used later in drilling for oil. A 
 great many of the early oil wells were put down with spring- 
 poles, others by the method known as "kicking down, 77 which 
 was very similar to the Chinese method referred to above ex- 
 cept that the walking beam was weighted sufficiently to raise 
 the drill above the bottom of the well. A stirrup was fastened 
 to the cable and the driller imparted the necessary motion by 
 kicking down with his foot in this stirrup. 
 
 Under the more modern system of drilling, a derrick is always 
 used. This is a heavy frame- work which was formerly built of 
 wood, but is now built of steel and is very similar to a wind- 
 mill tow r er. This derrick is erected over the spot which has 
 been selected for the well. It is generally necessary first to dig- 
 down a few feet to rock or to a firm layer of soil. This opening- 
 is cased with a wooden conductor somewhat larger than the 
 diameter of the well which is to be drilled and great care is 
 taken to secure a close joint between the bottom of the conduc- 
 tor and the surface of the rock. When the surface soil is too 
 deep to admit of digging, a steel shod pipe is driven down some- 
 times to the depth of 200 or 300 feet. When the rock is nearer 
 the surface than 60 feet, the full string of tools can not be used 
 in the ordinary way. In this case, a special outfit called "scujj- 
 4in^tools" is used. (See Plate If. The derrick is here shown 
 erected and the spudding tools in use). The cable supporting 
 the tools is rolled up on the bull wheel (b) and just enough is 
 let out so that the spudding tools will reach the bottom of the 
 well. Then by means of the short cable (e) connected to the 
 crank of the band wheel (c) the tools are lifted and dropped so 
 that they gradually work down until a depth is reached where 
 the regular tools can be used. 
 
18 
 
 PETROLEUM 
 
 Copyright by International Text Book Co 
 
 Diagram of Oil Derrick 
 
 Walking-beam 
 
 Bull Wheel 
 
 Band Wheel 
 
 Cable to operate Spudding Tools 
 
 Spudding Tools 
 
 Sand Pump 
 
 Sand Pump Line 
 
 Sand Pump Reel 
 
 Lever which controls Sand Pump Ree 
 
PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION 19 
 
 The regular string of tools consists of the rope socket which 
 is attached to the end of the cable; then a heavy sinker bar; 
 then the jars, which are like a long flat pair of chain links, al- 
 lowing about 13 inches play; then the auger stem and finally 
 the bit. The entire string is about 60 feet long and will weigh 
 about a ton. When the tools have been lowered into the well, 
 the cable (e) is disconnected and the walking beam (a) is con- 
 nected with the crank of the band wheel (c ) . The cable is then 
 lowered just enough to allow a little slack in the jars and at- 
 tached to the end of the walking beam by means of a clamp with 
 a long threaded screw known as the "temper screw." Then 
 a few feet of cable are slacked off from the bull wheel and every- 
 thing is ready to commence drilling. Of course, the power is 
 furnished by a steam engine which drives the band wheel. The 
 boiler is located at a considerable distance, in order to mini- 
 mize the danger of fire. 
 
 As the band wheel revolves, the walking-beam goes up and 
 down, raising and lowering the tools. It is usual to adjust 
 the cable so that there will be about 4 inches rise before the 
 jars strike. Then the tools are raised about 20 inches and 
 dropped again. By this means the heavy sinker bar gives a 
 strong upward stroke to loosen the drill, instead of putting all 
 the strain on the cable. This is the object of the jars. The 
 driller constantly walks around the mouth of the well, 
 first one way and then the other, in order to rotate the 
 drill by means of a lever in the temper screw, and thus 
 produce a perfectly round hole. He also lets out the temper 
 screw from time to time as drilling progresses. When it has 
 been run out nearly to the top of the well or when the progress 
 becomes slow, showing that the drill is dull, the cable is tight- 
 ened up on the bull wheel, the temper screw is disconnected, 
 and the tools are drawn up. Then the sand pump (g) is raised 
 by means of the line (h) and the sand pump reel (i) which is 
 operated through the lever (k). The sand pump consists of a 
 hollow tube about 10 or 12 feet long with a valve at the bottom. 
 This valve has a projecting plunger which is pushed up as soon 
 as it strikes the bottom of the well. Then the pump is pulled 
 up and let down on the dump pile when the plunger again rises, 
 allowing the water and sand to flow out. If the well is dry, a 
 little water is added from time to time to aid in the removal 
 of sand. While the sand pump is being used, a sharp drill is 
 attached to the tools and as soon as the sand pump has been 
 withdrawn, the tools are again run down and drilling contin- 
 ues. This is kept up day and night without interruption unless 
 an accident occurs. 
 
 When gas begins to issue from the well, it is piped to the 
 boiler to furnish fuel. In many cases, oil will also flow out 
 and the pipe is arranged so that the cable runs through a stuf- 
 fing box and the oil flows off into a tank. As soon as the well 
 
20 PETROLEUM 
 
 has reached sufficient depth to penetrate the last water bear- 
 ing stratum, the tools are removed and the hole is cased with 
 iron pipe, which is screwed together in sections. Formerly it 
 was customary to fasten a buckskin sack full of flax seed near 
 the bottom of this pipe. When this was forced down into the 
 hole, the water soon swelled the flax seed and was thus effec- 
 tually cut off from entering the well. At present it is generally 
 customary to make a beveled shoulder in the rock and the pipe 
 is beveled to fit this. Any slight leakage will soon be stopped 
 by the sand and mud which the water carries. The drilling can 
 then be continued with only the necessary amount of water. 
 This is much more effective since the tools then act under full 
 weight instead of being buoyed up by the water. The rate of 
 drilling depends entirely upon the condition of the strata to be 
 penetrated and varies all the way from a few feet to two or 
 three hundred feet, per day. One well at Corsicana, Texas, was 
 put down to a depth of 1,000 feet in 32 hours. The first produc- 
 tive well in the Spindle top field, Texas, was drilled to a depth 
 of 1,139 feet in 75 days. At this depth the pressure of the oil 
 was so great as to blow the casing out of the well. 
 
 In deep wells, it is often necessary from time to time to put 
 in another string of casing, which, of course, must be small 
 enough to fit inside of the casing previously set. Sometimes 
 several different sizes are used. In the Russian fields the strata 
 are so broken up that caving is very apt to occur and only com- 
 paratively short distances can be drilled before a casing must 
 be inserted, so that these wells are often started with a diameter 
 as great as 2 feet. The deepest well in the Spindletop field which 
 reached a depth of 4,720 feet, was commenced Nov. 16th, 1914, 
 and finished June 5th, 1915. For the first thousand feet a 
 14%" bit was used; then a 10" casing was set. For the next 
 1,000 feet a 9%" bit was used, when an 8" casing was set. 
 Then a 7%" bit for 1,370 feet and a 6" casing was set. The well 
 was finished with a 5%" bit. Sometimes it is necessary to re- 
 duce the size of the casing so many times that the finished well 
 does not yield very rapidly, since the final casing is too small. 
 
 If it were not for accidents the well driller's life would be 
 quite monotonous but at any time a drill may break or the 
 cable may wear out and the whole string of tools and cable be 
 left in the hole. It is cases such as this that all the driller's 
 ingenuity is called upon. There are a great number of so-called 
 "fishing" tools, which are used in an endeavor to remove the 
 cable and drill, and it has even been found possible to cut a 
 new thread on the end of a broken drill and pull it out. Some- 
 times these "fishing" jobs require weeks, and occasionally a 
 w r ell must actually be abandoned on this account. 
 
 The cost of wells increases very rapidly with the depth. The 
 first Pennsylvania wells cost only a few hundred dollars, but 
 in other fields where deep wells are necessary and drilling is 
 
PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION 
 
 difficult, the cost runs up rapidly. The deep well referred to, in 
 the Spindletop field, cost from $25,000.00 to f30,000.00 and 
 then did not yield any oil. Some of the California wells cost 
 even more, for boring is very difficult there and it may take a 
 year or more to put down one well. In Galicia there are report- 
 ed to be over 250 wells over 4,000 feet deep and one is 5,400 feet 
 or a little over a mile. 
 
 There are many other methods of drilling^ised in_different 
 fields. Many of them are based on some form ^xF rotary drlfl- 
 mg^This is the same in principle as the common well boring 
 outfits which are used where rock is not encountered. For hard 
 strata, the diamond core drill may be used. In some systems, 
 a continuous stream of water passes down through the hollow 
 auger stem and up through the casing so that the sand is con- 
 stantly washed out of the well. This method is especially fa- 
 vored where the strata are loose and caving is apt to occur, for 
 the water pressure helps a great deal in preventing caving. 
 
 When it is known that the drill should soon strike oil, prepa- 
 rations are made and every effort is used to close or cap the well 
 at once, so that all of the oil may be saved. However, the oil 
 often comes in with a tremendous flow which is sufficient to 
 throw all of the tools and even sometimes the casing out of 
 the well. Even this may not do a great deal of harm provided 
 the oil does not catch fire. This may happen and then it is 
 very difficult to extinguish the fire where the flow of oil is great. 
 In some cases it has been necessary to tunnel underground on 
 a slant for over 100 feet and bore into the pipe by means of a 
 special tool, so that the flow of oil was shut off and diverted 
 through the tunnel away from the fire. In some cases the top 
 of the pipe is shot off with a cannon and the flame is thus put 
 out, or a large pipe may be erected over the opening and sud- 
 denly jerked away. The last two methods, of course, apply to 
 gas wells and can be very easily demonstrated on a small scale 
 by means of a Bunsen burner. 
 
 In 1913 a well in the Caddo field, Louisiana, gave an initial 
 production of 18,000 barrels per day. One in the Sunset Mid- 
 way field, California, finished in April, 1913, was a 20,000 bar- 
 rel well. One well in Mexico is estimated to have yielded over 
 30,000,000 barrels during its flow. However, the greatest gush- 
 ers ever produced were some of those in Russia. Probably the 
 most famous was the Droojba Fountain which commenced flow- 
 ing at a rate of about 50,000 barrels valued at over |55,000.00 
 daily. This had all the appearance of a geyser in action. The 
 oil rose in a solid stream 18 inches thick to a height of from 
 two to three hundred feet. Enormous amounts of sand were 
 brought up and formed a mound 6 or 7 feet high. The ail 
 flowed out in a whole series of lakes, some deep enough to float 
 a boat and finally ran out into the Caspian Sea, where it was 
 wasted. 
 
22 
 
 PETROLEUM 
 
 An even more remarkable well was struck at a depth of only 
 714 feet in 1886 and was described as follows : 
 
 *"From the town the fountain had the appearance of a colos- 
 sal pillar of smoke, from the crest of which clouds of oil-sand 
 detached themselves and floated away a great distance without 
 touching the ground. Owing to the prevalence of southerly 
 winds, the oil was blowing in the direction of Bailoff Point, cov- 
 ering hill and dale with sand and oil and drenching the houses 
 of Bailoff, a mile and a half away. * * * The whole district 
 of Bibi-Eibat was covered with oil, which filled up the cavities, 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleum News 
 
 Big Gusher in the Caddo, La. Field. 
 
 formed a lake, and on the fifth day began flowing into the sea. 
 The outflow during three days was estimated at 5,000 or 6,000 
 tons daily. * * * On the eighth day the maximum was reached, 
 the oil then spouting at the rate of 11,000 tons, or 2,750,000 gal- 
 lons (65,000 bbls.) a day. After the tenth day it began to di- 
 minish and by the fifteenth day the engineers had so far got it 
 under control that the outflow was only 250,000 gallons a day. 
 Altogether over 10,000,000 gallons of oil came to the surface, 
 and most of this was lost for want of storage accommodation." 
 
 * Redwood's Petroleum; 2nd Edition, pajre 8. 
 
PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION 
 
 23 
 
 Even larger flows than this have been recorded, running up 
 a maximum of 190,000 barrels per day. However, such enor- 
 mous gushers are a misfortune rather than a benefit for they 
 frequently cannot be controlled and a great deal of the oil goes 
 to waste. Then fires are very apt to result and destroy many of 
 the surrounding derricks and the oil which is in storage. A 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleum News 
 
 Vendor of Oil Cans in Constantinople. 
 
 flowing well is desirable but one which is more moderate and 
 can be controlled is of more value. 
 
 In contrast with these wells, we find that in the Pennsylva- 
 nia field out of over 4,000 wells drilled in 1913, over 500 were 
 dry wells and the average initial yield of the producing wells 
 was only 2.6 barrels per day. However, as we go on to the 
 newer fields, the average yield of new wells increases, Illinois 
 
24 PETROLEUM 
 
 showing an average of 35 barrels, Oklahoma, 48 barrels, the 
 Gulf Field, 312 barrels and Louisiana 475 barrels, while in 
 California w r ells yielding anywhere from 1 to 20,000 barrels 
 per day are not at all uncommon. In California alone there 
 are nearly 7,000 producing wells. 
 
 It is generally customary to drill first near the edge of the 
 property in order to secure as much oil as possible before those 
 on adjoining property put down wells. On account of this de- 
 sire to increase production, more wells are drilled than would 
 be really necessary to remove all of the oil within a reasonable 
 length of time. For the same reason the oil is generally al- 
 lowed to flow or is pumped from the wells just as rapidly as 
 possible, regardless of selling price, since those who do not re- 
 move the oil now, may find very little left if they allow others 
 to get ahead of them. It would be extremely desirable if some 
 means could be arranged so that wells would be handled in a 
 more scientific manner. 
 
 No matter how rapidly a well may flow at first, as the press- 
 ure decreases, the flow ceases. When this occurs it is generally 
 customary to torpedo the well. This is done by means of nitro- 
 glycerine which is put up in long tubes. These are care full}' 
 lowered into the well one above the other. Sometimes as much 
 as 200 quarts of nitroglycerine are used for one charge. A 
 priming cap is inserted in the top of the last cylinder and the 
 nitro-glyceriue is exploded by dropping a weight called the "go 
 devil." When the explosion occurs, very little sound is heard 
 but within a few minutes, if successful, there will be a great 
 rush of water and oil which may rise far above the top of the 
 derrick. There is generally time between the explosion and 
 the rise of the oil to connect the well with a tank, so that the 
 oil may be saved. Sometimes a well is torpedoed three or four 
 times at intervals, with less effect each time. Torpedoing is 
 also frequently tried on wells which would otherwise be dry and 
 sometimes they yield oil after this treatment. 
 
 But whatever means may be adopted, sooner or later it be- 
 comes necessary to resort to pgujnjring. This is done by means 
 of a sucker-rod which fits inside tlie casing and is supplied 
 with several cup-shaped valves of leather or rubber. The weight 
 of the oil causes these to fit snugly against the side of the pipe 
 on the up stroke. In order to economize, it is customary to con- 
 nect several wells with one engine by means of a pumping 
 jack, similar to that often used on farms for operating pumps. 
 In some cases, as man} 7 as 15 wells are operated by one engine 
 and the rod lines connecting the engine with the pump may be 
 over 2,000 feet long. By this means, wells in Pennsylvania 
 which yield as little as half a barrel per day, can be pumped 
 profitably and it is only by pumping large numbers of these 
 small wells that the yield of Pennsylvania oil is kept up to the 
 present figure. 
 
PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION 25 
 
 When a well no longer yields oil, it is customary to pull out 
 the casing for use in a new well. The hole is then plugged up 
 with concrete so that water may not enter the oil bearing strata 
 and damage other wells. 
 
 In ancient times, earthenware baskets daubed with clay, or 
 earthenware jars were used for t^p spotting and storing oil. 
 In the early days on Oil Creek, wooden barrels were used en- 
 tirely and these had to be hauled a good many miles to the near- 
 est railway. As the country was practically unsettled, there were 
 no decent roads and such as there were soon became almost 
 impassable. Then a great many boats and barges were built 
 to transport the oil down the Creek to Oil City and from there 
 down the Allegheny River to Pittsburgh. The water was very 
 shallow in Oil Creek and at many times of the year was not 
 sufficient to float the barges. Therefore, it became customary 
 to arrange with the mill owners to open their dams and form a 
 small freshet. Sometimes as much as 20,000 barrels went down 
 the Creek on a single freshet. However, jams often occurred 
 and many boats were damaged with the loss'of a great deal of 
 oil. At one time at least 1,000 boats were used for this form 
 of transportation, but even at the best it was objectionable 
 since the barrels leaked badly and the loss was heavy. Efforts 
 were made to carry the oil in bulk in open barges, but these 
 were readily capsized and the scheme did not prove satisfac- 
 tory until the barges were divided into compartments and cov- 
 ered over. 
 
 After a few years railroads were built in to the oil fields. At 
 first rail shipments were made in wooden tanks fastened on an 
 ordinary flat car. From this evolved the modern all steel tank 
 car holding from 6,000 to 12,000 gallons. However, most of the 
 oil had to be hauled from the wells to the railway in barrels 
 and this hauling often cost more than the rail freight. 
 
 Various parties planned to put in pipeJines and in 1865 the 
 first successful line was built from the United States well at 
 Pit Hole to the railroad. This line, which was 5 miles long, 
 consisted of 2" pipe and had three pumping stations. The 
 teamsters greatly objected to this innovation and it was neces- 
 sary to station armed guards to protect the pipe line. Gradu- 
 ally the pipe lines were increased until now they connect nearly 
 all of the oil fields east of the Rocky Mountains with either the 
 Gulf or the Atlantic Coast and it is now possible to pump crude 
 oil from the Oklahoma fields direct to the great refineries along 
 the Atlantic Coast. In order to handle oil through the pipe 
 lines, it is necessary to have large storage tanks at the wells, 
 where the oil is accumulated until the pipe line is ready to take 
 it. Where the pipe lines go through mountainous districts, it 
 is necessary to have pumping stations at frequent intervals. 
 It is by this means that practically all of the crude oil produced 
 
26 
 
 PETROLEUM 
 
 in the United States is transported to the refineries. From the 
 refinery the product goes out on land by tank cars, on water in 
 tank steamers. 
 
 It was not until about 1880 that bulk transportation across 
 the ocean really became successful, but now large numbers of 
 steamers built especially for this purpose are constantly en- 
 gaged in transporting petroleum and its products to all parts 
 
 m 
 
 Courtesy of th 
 
 Oil Wells in a Bayou, Louisiana. 
 
 National Petroleum News 
 
 of the world. However, for distribution in uncivilized countries 
 which lack railroad facilities, kerosene is generally exported 
 in boxed cans and in this form it is transported over mountains 
 and deserts on the backs of men, camels, donkeys or elephants 
 to the remotest parts of the world. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TESTING PETROLEUM PRODUCTS. 
 
 The tests commonly made on petroleum products are chiefly 
 physical and actual chemical analysis would only show that 
 carbon and hydrogen were present in certain proportions and 
 possibly small percentages of sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and 
 other elements. An analysis of this sort would be of no value 
 in determining the quality and lubricating properties of an oil. 
 
 The color of a lubricating oil is ordinarily stated in terms 
 of standard colors which have been arbitrarily selected. Some- 
 times these standards are kept as actual bottles of oil; some- 
 times as colored glasses. The latter are preferable, since most 
 oils will change in color in time. (To give an idea of the col- 
 ors, No. 20 in the cabinet is No. 2 color. No. 19 is No. 3, while 
 No. 22 is No. 5). For oils prepared from the same source and 
 by the same method, for equal viscosities the lighter col- 
 ored oil will give less carbon than the darker colored one. It 
 will also be more expensive and will run somewhat lower in 
 viscosity than the darker oil, from which it was made, for filter- 
 ing removes viscosity as well as color. 
 
 The gravity of petroleum products is generally determined 
 by means of hydrometers, which consist of an elongated glass 
 bulb with a weight at the bottom and a slender stem at the top. 
 This stem is arbitrarily divided into degrees on the Baume 
 scale. This scale commences at 10, for liquids as heavy as 
 water and goes up as the liquid is lighter. Of course, the lighter 
 the liquid, the further the hydrometer sinks into it, so the higher 
 figures are toward the top. As the gravity of oils is nearly 
 always referred to in terms of the Baume scale, it is for this 
 reason that heavy oils are spoken of as low gravity oils and 
 light products as high gravity products, although, of course, 
 in actual specific gravity, those showing a low Baume figure, 
 run higher than those showing a high Baume gravity. The 
 specific gravity of water is 1, which is represented by 10 on the 
 Baume scale. The specific gravity of .75, corresponds to 57 on 
 the Baume scale. 
 
 For accurate work it is necessary to correct the reading of 
 the hydrometer to the reading which would be shown at 60 F. 
 Petroleum products expand decidedly on heating. The aver- 
 age amount is about 1% for every 20 change in temperature, 
 
 27 
 
28 PETROLEUM 
 
 so that 50 gallons at a temperature of 60 would measure 51 
 gallons at a temperature of 100 F. For the same reason, the 
 approximate correction to the hydrometer reading is 1 Baurne 
 for every 10 F. The neglect to use this correction, very often 
 decidedly misleads those who have a small hydrometer and feel 
 that they can tell all about the quality of the goods they are 
 purchasing by this means. 
 
 The viscosity of an oil, as commonly referred to, is a meas- 
 ure of the cohesion of the molecules to one another and the 
 adhesion of the oil to the surface of the container. When the 
 user refers to the body of an oil, he really means the viscosity in 
 this sense. It is the property which causes an oil to string and 
 drop slowly from the bottom of the sample bottle when it is in- 
 verted, and some slight notion of the comparative viscosity can 
 be obtained by this rough method. However, viscosity is or- 
 dinarily determined by noting the length of time required for 
 a definite amount of oil under a definite head to flow through 
 an opening of definite size at a definite temperature. There 
 are various instruments for this purpose, but either the Saybolt 
 or Tagliabue viscosimeters are ordinarily used. It is customary 
 to use a temperature of 70 for all oils except steam cylinder 
 stocks. These are tested at 212 F. 
 
 In the case of the Tagliabue Viscosimeter, the actual num- 
 ber of seconds required for the oil to run through, is multiplied 
 by two and this figure represents the viscosity of the oil. (By 
 referring to the cabinet, some idea of comparative viscosities 
 can be obtained. No. 16 is of about 110 viscosity ; Nos. 18 and 
 19, about 210 ; No. 22 about 300 and No. 24 about 3,000, all 
 at 70 F., while Nos. 25 and 26 will run from 150 to 175 at 
 212 F.). 
 
 The Cold Test of an oil is determined by freezing it and then 
 stirring with a thermometer and warming it up until the point 
 is reached where it will just commence to flow. This point is 
 somewhat lower than the temperature at which the oil would 
 flow through a faucet from a barrel, but yet it gives a compara- 
 tive measure of the amount of cold oils will stand and still 
 serve as lubricants. 
 
 The Flash Test is determined by heating the oil, using a 
 thermometer to determine the temperature. When the point is 
 reached where a small flame passed over the surface will cause 
 a slight puff due to the explosion of the vapors produced, the 
 temperature shown on the thermometer is known as the flash 
 point. The heating is continued until the point is reached 
 where the oil will catch fire and continue to burn. This is 
 known as the fire point. Many people have very erroneous ideas 
 regarding the inflammability of petroleum products. Of course, 
 gasoline and benzine are inflammable at practically any ordi- 
 nary temperature. However, a lighted match thrown into kero- 
 
TESTING 
 
 sene will be extinguished. In fact, it would prove very diffi- 
 cult to light kerosene, by means of a match, when exposed in 
 any considerable volume. If a large amount of kerosene is 
 suddenly poured on a small fire, it will put it out just as water- 
 would do. Lubricating oils have fire tests of from 400 to 500 
 F., while steam cylinder stocks may have fire tests up to 700 
 F., meaning that they must be raised to this very high tempera- 
 ture before they can be ignited. Of course, the condition is 
 changed when the oils are distributed over the surface of paper, 
 cloth or wood. Here we have a very small amount of the prod- 
 uct so placed that the heat cannot be carried away when a match 
 is applied and combustion takes place readily. 
 
 Distillation on a small scale is an important test when ap- 
 plied to gasoline, benzine or kerosene. It is usually carried 
 out in a small glass flask to which a thermometer is fitted. The 
 flask is connected with a water cooled condenser and distilla- 
 tion is carried out on a small scale, very much as it is on the 
 large scale in a refinery. It will give the average person a 
 rather strange feeling at first to step into a laboratory and 
 learn that the liquid which is boiling so briskly in a thin glass 
 flask, is gasoline, and to note that the chemist seems to feel 
 no fear. But when we consider that a vessel completely filled 
 with vapors of petroleum products will extinguish a flame just 
 as quickly as it would if filled with carbon dioxide gas, it is 
 easy to see that there is no danger of an explosion connected 
 with the process. It is only when the vapors are mixed with a 
 large excess of air that eombustiofi assumes explosive violence 
 and it is the kerosene can which is practically empty and which 
 has been allowed to stand near the stove so that vapors have 
 formed, which usually produces the terrible accidents so com- 
 monly reported. On general principles, no one but an expert 
 should ever undertake to handle such products near a flame. 
 Nine times out of ten or perhaps 99 times out of 100, there will 
 be no accident, but with circumstances slightly altered, trou- 
 ble may occur. 
 
 To determine the amount of carbon which a lubricating oil 
 will give in an automobile or gas engine cylinder, a weighed 
 amount of oil is distilled in a Aveighed flask. The distillation 
 is carried to dryness, so that only coke remains. The coke is 
 heated red hot to drive off all oil, and then weighed. 
 
 In testing cylinder- stocks, the tar test is frequently referred 
 to. This consists in mixing 5 parts of the stock with 95 parts 
 of high gravity gasoline. The mixture is allowed to stand and 
 any products insoluble in gasoline, such as asphalt, water or 
 dirt, will settle out. The test is carried out in a graduated 
 tube so that the percentage can be stated in terms of volume. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 REFINING CRUDE PETROLEUM. 
 
 The various crude oils from different sources have very differ- 
 ent compositions. A method that is very satisfactory for re- 
 fining one grade of crude oil, has to be decidedly modified to 
 produce good results with another grade. However, whatever 
 process is used, distillation generally comes first. This is car- 
 ried out in horizontal cylindrical tanks with a capacity of 
 about 600 barrels. For the first distillation, these "stills" as 
 they are called, are heated by fire. Very frequently natural 
 gas or gas produced during the refining is used for fuel. At 
 the top of the still is a dome, very similar to that on an ordinary 
 steam boiler. From this an outlet pipe passes to a coil of pipe 
 surrounded by cold water. This coil is known as the condenser. 
 The principle is exactly the same as that adopted in steam heat- 
 ing. The oil is boiled in the still just as water is boiled in the 
 boiler. The vapors of oil pass through the condenser, and are 
 condensed to a liquid just as the steam is condensed in the 
 heating coils or radiators. Near the end of the coil there is a 
 U-shaped trap similar to that used in plumbing. The con- 
 denser is fitted with a small vertical pipe just above the trap. 
 This pipe serves to carry off any uncondensed gases. These are 
 generally fed to the burners under the boiler and used as fuel. 
 
 Just beyond the trap there is a triangular box with a glass 
 front so that the still-man can observe the rate of flow and the 
 color of the distillate. There is also a valve so that he can 
 draw out a sample at any time in order to determine the grav- 
 ity. Beyond this "sight box" there is a series of valves con- 
 nected with pipes leading to the different tanks. As the distil- 
 late changes in color and gravity, the still-man cuts off from 
 one tank and turns the distillate into another, in accordance 
 with rules which have been set. The following description ap- 
 plies to the distillation and refining of Pennsylvania Crude Oil, 
 using the method which is called "running to cylinder stock." 
 This is the process which is used on the highest grade of crude 
 oils. 
 
 When the still has been filled about three-quarters full, the 
 fire is started. At first gas is driven out which cannot be con- 
 densed unless the condenser coil is surrounded by a freezing 
 mixture. In most cases this gas is used as fuel. At the same 
 
 30 
 
REFINING 31 
 
 time, water distills off if any is present. As soon as the oil com- 
 mences to distill regularly, the distillate is run into the ben- 
 zine tank. In some cases all of the benzine distillate is run into 
 one tank. In other cases it is divided into two cuts, light and 
 heavy. When the gravity has dropped to a point which has 
 been determined by experiment, the distillate is switched to 
 the kerosene tank. At this point high pressure steam is gen- 
 erally blown into the oil in the still by means of perforated 
 pipes. This prevents overheating and produces a sweeter oil. 
 The kerosene distillate is generally divided into- two or three 
 cuts. The next fraction is the gas oil distillate which of course 
 is run into a separate tank. Wax distillate follows this and it- 
 is the still-man's effort to drive out all of the paraffine wax 
 possible in this distillate in order that there may be as little 
 as possible in the residue left in the still. This residue is the 
 source of cylinder stock to be used in the manufacture of steam 
 cylinder oils. Each of these distillates must be refined by ap- 
 propriate processes in order to produce satisfactory products. 
 
 The benzine distillate is pumped into a still similar to the 
 crude oil still except that it is heated by steam instead of fire. 
 Here it is carefully re-distilled, being divided into several cuts, 
 the first of which will be high test gasoline of about 76 gravity. 
 This fraction must be cooled by means of a freezing mixture. 
 Then follow the 68 and 65 gasolines. The next cut furnishes 
 naptha or benzine. The residue together with the light prod- 
 uct first produced from the kerosene distillate furnishes tur- 
 pentine substitute. Each of these distillates is placed in an 
 agitator which is simply a tall lead-lined tank furnished with 
 perforated pipes. The agitating is done by means of com- 
 pressed air blown through these pipes. Here the distillate is 
 treated first with sulphuric acid and then with caustic soda 
 solution. The distillate is finally washed with water and al- 
 lowed to settle, when it is pumped off into the storage tanks 
 ready for shipment. 
 
 The kerosene distillates are re-distilled in a fire heated still. 
 The distillates from this process are further treated in steam 
 stills to remove the light products which would give the kero- 
 sene a low flash and fire test. Then the oil is treated Avith acid 
 and lye in agitators just as with the gasoline and benzine dis- 
 tillates. These treatments remove most of the impurities- which 
 were so objectionable in the first illuminating oils produced by 
 distillation. It is these impurities which cause the oil to turn 
 yellow and to crust and clog the wick. The refining process 
 requires great care and skill and when properly conducted 
 yields a very high grade of kerosene. By this means kerosenes 
 i of different fire tests are produced ; also mineral seal oil, which 
 has a 300 fire test. The final residue goes into gas oil distil- 
 late. This distillate may be sold untreated or it may also be 
 re-distilled. 
 
32 PETROLEUM 
 
 The wax distillate consists of a solution of paraffine wax 
 in lubricating oils. When this is cooled it forms a mushy mix- 
 ture but the wax does not crystalize so that it can be filtered out 
 successfully. It is necessary to re-distill this oil in a fire heated 
 still in order to "crack" the wax so that it will crystalize. This 
 distillate is then chilled by means of liquid ammonia and 
 pressed in filter presses. The paraffine wax is removed and the 
 oil passes on into another tank. The filtrate is reduced (as the 
 process of removing light oil is called) by live steam. This also 
 removes most of the odor produced by high temperature during 
 distillation and sweetens the oil. This light distillate, which is 
 very thin, is again slightly reduced by live steam and filtered 
 through bone black or fuller's earth. At present fuller's earth 
 is generally used. That which is best for this purpose comes 
 from Florida. It is used in a finely powdered form. The filters 
 are simply tall conical tanks which are filled w T ith the earth to 
 a depth of 20 or 30 feet. The oil is allowed to filter through 
 this earth which removes most of the color and at the same 
 time decreases the viscosity and increases the gravity. The 
 filtered product is known as- a non-viscous neutral oil. Where 
 an especially fine grade is required, this oil is exposed to sun- 
 light in shallow tanks. This treatment still further bleaches 
 the oil and also removes the fluorescence or "bloom" which can 
 ordinarily be observed on looking at a sample of mineral oil, 
 whereas, the color which is 1 ordinarily referred to is that shown 
 by looking through the oil toward a light. The heavier oil left 
 after the removal of the non-viscous neutrals, after similar treat- 
 ment furnishes the oil known as viscous neutrals. The crude 
 paraffine wax which was removed by the filter press is filtered 
 hot through bone black and pressed again. This gives crude 
 scale wax which is used, for many purposes. When it is to be 
 further refined, the scale wax is dissolved in benzine. This so- 
 lution is chilled and put through the filter press again. This 
 gives a refined wax, but in order to raise the melting point, the 
 product must be "sweated." This sweating consists in submit- 
 ting the cakes of wax, for several hours, to a temperature about 
 equal to the desired melting point. All of the oil and lower 
 melting products run off and the cakes 1 become honeycombed. 
 This refined wax is again melted and poured in cakes of various 
 sizes, yielding the paraffine wax so well known to every one. 
 The melting point of the finished product will depend somewhat 
 upon the crude oil used. 
 
 The residue which was left in the still after the wax distil- 
 late was run off, is reduced with high pressure or superheated 
 steam in order to raise the fire test. The exact fire test of the 
 finished oil, of course, depends on the point to which the origi- 
 nal distillation was carried. Cylinder stocks are made in vari- 
 ous tests such as 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 F. The lower fiiv 
 test stocks are often filtered, yielding oils which are very heavy 
 
REFINING 
 
 and viscous but yet perfectly transparent. The higher fire test 
 oils are not filtered. Filtering lowers the viscosity and raises 
 the gravity and cold test. 
 
 Another process which is largely used on poorer qualities of 
 crude oil, is known as "running to tar." This process is prac- 
 tically the same as the other until the regular kerosene distil- 
 late has all come off. Then instead of increasing the fire, the 
 heat is lowered so that the vapors will condense in the top of 
 the still and drop back into the heated oil. By this means de- 
 composition occurs and a considerable amount of light distil- 
 late can be obtained in place of gas oils and light lubricating 
 oils. However, this "cracked" distillate does not yield high grade 
 illuminating oils such as that which is produced by the previ- 
 ous process. It requires more extensive treatment with acid 
 and lye and even then yields a product which will crust and 
 clog the wick. The tar left from this process is transferred to 
 small heavily built "tar stills." The wax is distilled off in the 
 form of a paraffine distillate by fire heat. Toward the end of 
 the process the bottom of the still will be at a bright red heat. 
 The residue is petroleum coke. The paraffine distillate is treat- 
 ed just as the wax distillate is, in the other process. The oil 
 pressed from the wax, furnishes the product commonly known 
 as paraffine oil. 
 
 In the case of illuminating oil distillation, from Ohio crude 
 oils, special treatment is required, since so much sulphur is 
 present. One process consists in using granular copper oxide 
 in the still or re-distilling with this compound. The sulphur 
 unites with this to form a sulphide. The copper oxide can be 
 recovered by roasting which drives off the sulphur again. An- 
 other process consists in agitating the oil with lye and lead 
 oxide or litharge. This removes the sulphur in the form of lead 
 >mlphide. Until these processes were devised, the Ohio crudes 
 could scarcely be used for producing illuminating oils. 
 
 Black Oil is produced by practically the same process as 
 cylinder stocks but from a cheaper grade of crude oil and with 
 a good deal less care. Mid-Continent crude oils which come 
 from the Kansas and Oklahoma fields, generally contain asphal- 
 tum, with or without paraffine w T ax. These oils with an asphal- 
 tum base do not yield satisfactory cylinder stocks since asphal- 
 tum is not a gOQd lubricant. The residue left in the still after 
 driving off lubricating oil and wax is a thick tarry liquid which 
 is largely used in the manufacture of paving materials and 
 oils for treating roads. When this asphaltum is oxidized by 
 blowing air through it, it forms a rubbery substance or when 
 the oxidation is pushed further, we get a brittle solid resmbling 
 I coal tar pitch. 
 
 The Texas Crude Oil does not contain paraffine wax and does 
 not furnish cylinder stock. However, the general distilling 
 
PETROLEUM 
 
 processes are similar for all grades of crude oil. The gravities 
 of the different distillates vary with the crude oil used. 
 
 Petrolatum, commonly sold under the trade name of "vase- 
 line", is produced by filtering cylinder stocks from carefully 
 selected crude oils. This filtering can be carried to a point 
 which will yield a perfectly white product. The melting points 
 are raised by adding refined paraffine wax. The white mineral 
 oils which have become so popular lately for medicinal use 
 are simply viscous neutrals which have been filtered until all 
 color and' odor is removed. 
 
 In the early days of oil refining, kerosene was the most valu- 
 able product and every effort was made to increase the yield. 
 It was for this reason that the cracking process referred to, 
 was used so extensively. However, with the introduction of the 
 gasoline engine, gasoline became more valuable and a great 
 
 Courtesy of Robert B. Moran. 
 Oil Wells Drilled in the Bed of the Ocean in the Summerland Field California. 
 
 many processes were patented for increasing the yield of gaso- 
 line. Most of these are based on distillation at a high tempera- 
 ture and considerable pressure. The process used by The 
 Standard Oil Company for producing their motor spirits, is 
 based on this principle. Another somewhat similar process is 
 the new Rittman method w T hich has been worked out by govern- 
 ment scientists and is now being tried out on a large scale. 
 It is claimed that this process can be arranged either to pro- 
 duce considerable percentages' of hydro-carbons of the coal tar 
 series, or the regular paraffine hydro-carbons such as occur in 
 the light distillates of Pennsylvania kerosene. In either case 
 these hydro-.carbons are produced by some decomposition of 
 the higher boiling constituents of the oil. 
 
 Still another process consists in the addition of aluminum 
 
REFINING 35 
 
 chloride to the contents of the still. It is claimed that by this 
 process hydrogen is abstracted from the higher boiling con- 
 stituents and caused to combine with hydro-carbons contain- 
 ining a smaller percentage of hydrogen thus producing paraf- 
 fine hydro-carbons and leaving a deposit of coke. Hundreds of 
 other "processes have been patented, for this purpose, but have 
 not proved practical. 
 
 There are certain characteristics of the different crude oils 
 which appear throughout all their products and make it pos- 
 sible generally to determine from what crude any particular 
 oil was produced. Starting in the eastern part of the United 
 States, we find that the products of Pennsylvania crude are 
 characterized by their high gravity, high flash and fire test, and 
 high cold test, with only a moderate viscosity. The best Penn- 
 sylvania lubricating oils will have a viscosity of from 200 to 
 240. The gravities will run from 30 to 32 B, decreasing 
 as the viscosity increases. The flash test would be about 415, 
 fire test about 480, cold test 20 F. above zero. These oils can 
 be readily produced in No. 2 and No. 3 colors. 
 
 The oils from the central states run much lower in gravity, 
 from 23 to 25 B, the viscosities running from 200 to 400 F. 
 The colors are much darker, these being the popular "red oils." 
 The oils from the Mid-Continent field ( Kansas and Oklahoma ) 
 have gravities of from 25 to 26 B. ; viscosities from 200 to 
 325; flash test is about 410, fire test 470. The colors will 
 vary from No. 2 for the thinner oils to No. 5 for the thick oils, 
 cold test is about 10 above zero. 
 
 The Texas oils are characterized by their high viscosities, 
 running up as high as 3,000. At the same time, they have a low 
 cold test, about 5 below zero, gravity 19 to 20 B, flash about 
 390, fire test about 450. 
 
 Another distinction lies in the difference in the bloom or 
 fluoresence of the oil. The Pennsylvania and other central state 
 oils, have a greenish bloom. Those from the Mid-Continent field 
 are slightly bluish while the Texas oils have a decidedly blue 
 bloom. The Russian oils, as has already been mentioned, are 
 of a decidedly different character from the American oils. They 
 are characterized by very low cold tests and high viscosities. 
 These high viscosity oils can be produced in very light colors. 
 Some of the best are perfectly colorless and tasteless and yet 
 almost as thick as glycerine. 
 
 Of course the gasolines and kerosenes do not show differences 
 in color, nor can they be judged by the viscosity, but it is a fact 
 that a 70 to 72 Pennsylvania gasoline has practically the same 
 distilling temperature and the same rate of evaporation as a 
 68 Mid-Continent gasoline and the high grade 49 Pennsylva- 
 nia kerosene is equaled if not exceeded in quality by the 46 
 Mid-Continent kerosene. In the same manner, an eastern ben- 
 zine or naptha has a gravity of 58 to 60, while the Mid-Conti- 
 nent product of the same quality has a gravity of 53 to 55. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND THEIR USES. 
 
 Natural gas furnishes one of the most desirable fuels known. 
 It is largely used in melting iron and manufacturing steel; 
 also in burning cement and for all purposes where a clean 
 ashless fuel is desired. It can be piped for long distances so 
 that whenever a good natural gas field is discovered, arrange- 
 ments are soon made to carry it to some large manufacturing 
 city where there will be plenty of use for it. In many places 
 it is piped throughout the cities and used for illuminating and 
 domestic purposes also. 
 
 In the early days of the petroleum industry, enormous 
 amounts of gas were wasted. In many cases street lights were 
 allowed to burn all of the time since it was considered cheaper 
 to do this than to pay someone to turn them off. A great deal 
 of gas is still wasted at times in new fields for lack of pipe 
 lines, to carry the gas to market. In some cases after giving 
 gas for some time, wells will yield oil, so the gas may be al- 
 lowed to escape in the hope that this will occur. 
 
 Crude petroleum from some sources is used as a natural lu- 
 bricant, but very few wells yield a crude oil which is satisfac- 
 tory for this purpose without refining. Beaumont crude oil 
 from Texas has been largely used in dipping cattle for Texas 
 fever. Crude oil is also considerably used as a hog dip. Many 
 people have a strong belief that it is valuable as a preventative 
 of baldness and many efforts have been made to put it up in a 
 popular form by disguising the odor, but no very great market 
 has been developed. In fact, Kier probably had more success 
 in selling crude petroleum for medicinal purposes, than any of 
 his successors. 
 
 Until recent years 86 gasoline was commonly sold as lamp 
 gasoline. This product was produced from Pennsylvania petro- 
 leum, but only obtained in small amounts. It is extremely vola- 
 tile and when properly distilled leaves no oily residue. Some 
 of it when re-distilled and carefully refined is put out as petro- 
 leum spirit or petroleum ether which is used as a solvent in 
 place of ether or chloroform, also in the extraction of some per- 
 fume oils. Petroleum ether is valuable for these purposes be- 
 cause it can be completely evaporated at a low temperature and 
 
 36 
 
PRODUCTS 
 
 does not leave a trace of odor. At one time it was customary 
 to prepare an even more volatile product which was used for 
 cooling purposes since it produced a low temperature by evapo- 
 ration, very much as can be done with ether. Within the past 
 'few years it has been found possible to produce, from natural 
 gas, a product similar to this 86 gasoline. This is accomplished 
 by subjecting the gas to great pressure and low temperature. 
 At first this process was applied particularly to the gas pro- 
 duced from wells which were pumped, since the gas produced 
 under several inches of vacuum would naturally contain some 
 of the low boiling ingredients of the petroleum from which the 
 gas was evolved. It is very natural, as gas escapes from petro- 
 leum, that it should carry with it a small amount of all of the 
 volatile ingredients. Of course, those most volatile will be pres- 
 ent in large amounts and the higher boiling ingredients in 
 smaller proportions. The gasoline produced by this process 
 may have a gravity as high as 100 B. and when placed in a 
 closed container will develop a great deal of pressure, since 
 the process liquifies substances which are naturally gaseous at 
 the ordinary temperature. 
 
 For this reason when poured out in an open vessel, a violent 
 effervescence occurs, very much the same as that produced when 
 a bottle of pop is poured out into a glass. Gasoline having this 
 characteristic is said to be "wild." Effervescence, of course, is 
 due to the escape of the gas produced from these low boiling in- 
 gredients ; also to the fa,ct that pressure has charged the liquid 
 with uncondensable gases which escape as soon as the pressure 
 is removed. In order to make the product safe to ship, it is 
 necessary to let it stand for some time in tanks, so that the 
 gas may escape. This process is known as "weathering." The 
 weathered product is sold as "casing head" or "natural gas" 
 gasoline. While this is very volatile, at the same time it con- 
 tains some higher boiling ingredients, so that when equal 
 amounts of this product and of a gasoline distilled from crude 
 petroleum are allowed to stand in open dishes, it will be found 
 that although the natural gas gasoline evaporates faster at 
 first, it will leave an oily residue which will not evaporate, until 
 long after the straight run product has entirely disappeared. 
 The product is generally used for mixing with lower gravity 
 gasolines, and of course imparts to them some of this oiliness, 
 so that they are no longer "dry." (This term does not refer to 
 the absence of moisture, but to the fact that a gasoline evapo- 
 rates rapidly and leaves no oily stain). At first a great deal 
 of dissatisfaction and many complaints were produced by 
 efforts to use the product, but recently it has become customary 
 to re-distill it and by this means a product of about 75 gravity 
 can be produced from western gas, which is equally as 1 satis- 
 factory for lamp gasoline as the 86 eastern straight run gaso- 
 line. Distillation gives the only satisfactory means of testing 
 
38 PETROLEUM 
 
 these products. It will be found that a high grade re-distilled 
 article will have an end point of about 275 F. 
 
 The gasoline ordinarily sold as a high grade automobile gaso- 
 line, will have a gravity of TO to 72 if produced from Pennsyl- 
 vania crude, or 68 to 70, if produced from Mid-Continent crude. 
 Distillation will show that the western product is really more 
 readily volatilized than the eastern, since it will have an end 
 point of about 325 while the eastern will often leave 2 or 3% 
 of residue at 350 F. A product of similar gravity, of course, 
 can be produced by mixing naptha or benzine with natural gas 
 gasoline. These mixed products are known as "blended gaso- 
 line." They yield gas 1 more readily than the straight run of 
 the same gravity but will not entirely evaporate so quickly. 
 When stored in tanks where the gas can evaporate, there will be 
 a greater percentage of evaporation from the blended product 
 in warm weather. Otherwise it is equally as satisfactory and 
 in cold weather perhaps more satisfactory for automobile use 
 than the straight run goods, provided the products used in 
 blending are dry. 
 
 The ordinary stove gasoline will have ii gravity of anywhere 
 from 60 to 65, when produced from Pennsylvania crude, or 58 
 to 60 from Mid-Continent crude. On distillation, these prod- 
 ucts, when well made, Avill leave about 3^^ residue above 
 350 F. The uses of gasoline are so well known, that it is 
 scarcely necessary to enumerate them. A few of the uses are, 
 for automobiles, gasoline engines of all kinds, aeroplanes, gaso- 
 line launches and boats, in fact, for running nearly any kind 
 of small machinery where electric power is not available. It 
 is also used for cooking and lighting purposes. 
 
 Benzine or naptha from Pennsylvania crude, has a gravity of 
 58 to 60, from Mid-Continent, 53 to 55. On distillation these 
 products will leave about the same amount of residue above 
 3*50 as that from stove gasoline, but it will be found that the 
 greater part of the distillate is between 200 and 300 whereas, 
 the lighter gravity products give a much larger percentage be- 
 low 200. Benzine is the product commonly used by dry clean- 
 ers and is also largely used in the manufacture of varnishes 
 and paints, when it is more commonly referred to as "painters' 
 naptha." It is also used as a solvent for extracting various 
 kinds of oils from waste products or from crushed seeds. For 
 instance, a low grade olive oil is produced by extracting the 
 crushed seeds with naptha after as much oil as possible has been 
 removed by pressure. The same thing is done in the case of 
 cocoanut oil, corn oil and many others. The naptha is removed 
 by heat and blowing air or steam through the oil. Naptha is 
 also used in some processes for extracting rosin and turpentine 
 from sawdust and other wood waste. 
 
 Turpentine substitute may be considered to be either a very 
 high boiling benzine or a very volatile kerosene. It has a flash 
 
PRODUCTS 39 
 
 test at least as high as 105 and vet will evaporate completely 
 leaving no oily residue. As its name indicates, it is largely 
 used as a substitute for turpentine in the manufacture of paints, 
 varnishes, shoe polish, etc.; also as a general solvent wherever 
 its high boiling point is not objectionable. 
 
 From Pennsylvania crude, it is customary to produce kero- 
 senes of about 49 and 45 gravities. The high gravity product 
 has generally been considered the best grade of kerosene it is 
 possible to produce. However, the 46 gravity kerosene, manu- 
 factured from Mid-Continent Crude, will generally prove at 
 least as good and oftentimes better, although it is slightly 
 cheaper.* From the Mid-Continent Crude, one or two lower 
 grades are produced also; the second grade will have about 42 
 gravity and the third, 40 to 41 gravity. Just as we have found 
 to be the case with gasolines from different crudes, it will be 
 found that the 46 western kerosene is more volatile than the 49 
 eastern. This can be shown by distillation tests. It will be 
 found that the 49 eastern kerosene will give perhaps 5% of 
 distillate below 280 and leave a 4 or % c / c residue above 570, 
 while the range of the 4C> western will be between 300 and 500. 
 
 It has been the custom to judge kerosene by gravity just as 
 has been done with gasoline. It will readily be seen from the 
 conditions mentioned, that the method is no more reliable for 
 kerosene than for gasoline, for a 46 western kerosene would 'be 
 far superior to the same gravity from eastern crude and at 
 least equal to the 49 gravity. For this reason state inspection 
 laws which require the inspector to determine the gravity, fur- 
 nish very little protection to the consumer. The only correct 
 way to determine the quality of kerosene is to actually burn it, 
 using a clean lamp, new wick, and clean chimney. By apply- 
 ing this test, it does not take an expert to tell the difference. 
 High grade kerosene whether eastern or western, will leave the 
 chimney practically clean, and the wick will show only a slight 
 charring even if the kerosene is allowed to burn out dry, where- 
 as, with poor grades of kerosene, the chimney will be badly 
 fogged or frosted and the wick will be found heavily crusted. 
 These tests can be brought out even more strongly by repeating 
 the tests several times with the same wick. It will soon be 
 found that in using poor kerosene it is impossible to get satisfac- 
 tory results unless the wick is changed very frequently. As this 
 is not the common custom, it is easy to see why so much kero- 
 sene gives such unsatisfactor}^ results. Many states require 
 inspection to determine either the flash or fire point of kerosene. 
 This requirement dates from the time when gasoline was prac- 
 tically unsaleable and every effort was made to increase the 
 yield of kerosene. It was natural enough that some manufac- 
 turers in doing this would put in enough gasoline or benzine to 
 
 * References to comparative cost of production frpm Pennsylvania and Mid-Continent Crudes 
 are of course based on costs at the refinery. For eastern localities, the great difference in freight 
 rates may reverse the figures. 
 
40 
 
 PETROLEUM 
 
 produce a very low flash test and it was necessary then to have 
 the goods tested in order to determine whether or not they had 
 a safe flash or fire point, but for many years gasoline has been 
 far more expensive than kerosene and the refiners efforts are 
 devoted to increasing the yield of gasoline at the expense of 
 kerosene, so that it would be practically impossible to buy any 
 kerosene which would show an unsafe flash or fire test. On 
 account of the emphasis which has been placed on the fire test, 
 many make the mistake of judging the quality of the kerosene 
 by the fire test, considering that the higher the fire test the bet- 
 ter the goods. The reverse is the truth, that is, the higher grav- 
 ity kerosenes have the lower flash tests, while the low gravity, 
 poor products, have high fire and flash tests. 
 
 Mineral Seal Oil, also known as Mineral Colza or Mineral 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleui 
 Machinery Used in Producing Casing Head Gasoline at Glenpool, Oklahoma, 
 
 Sperm, has a fire test of 300 and is used in some cases for man- 
 ufacturing signal oil, or wherever a very high test illuminating 
 oil is required. 
 
 Engine distillate largely used in kerosene tractors, is prac- 
 tically, a very low grade of unrefined kerosene. Gas oil, 
 as its name implies, is largely used by gas plants to impart 
 illuminating qualities to gas. This is accomplished by spraying 
 the oil on very highly heated brick work, so that it is decom- 
 posed into gases of high illuminating power. Gas oil is also 
 used in internal combustion engines and sometimes as a fuel 
 oil for burning purposes. 
 
 Soap Stock Oil is a very thin light colored non-viscous neu- 
 tral oil. Oils of this class are used as adulterants in soaps, for 
 burning in miners' lamps, for lubricating presses in brick plants 
 
PRODUCTS 41 
 
 and in compounding oils for many different purposes. 
 
 The Non- Viscous Neutral oils in various viscosities and col- 
 ors are used for lubricating hand separators, sewing machines 
 and other light, fast running machinery. The highly refined 
 grades are used for greasing the slabs on which candy is poured 
 to cool, in candy factories. Non-viscous neutrals which have 
 been bleached to a very light color, are especially useful for lu- 
 brication of machinery in woolen mills, since these oils do not 
 produce stains if they get on the goods. 
 
 Parafflne Oil, which runs a little higher in viscosity, is used in 
 the manufacture of sweeping compound, floor oils, as a lubri- 
 cant for light machinery, and as an insulating medium for 
 transformers. 
 
 The Viscous Neutral Oils furnish the lubricating oils which 
 are most commonly used for automobiles, gas engines, aero- 
 planes, dynamos, turbines and air compressers. It must be 
 borne in mind that oils very similar in appearance can be pro- 
 duced either from Pennsylvania or Mid-Continent crudes. These 
 oils will have equal viscosities and provided they are properly 
 manufactured, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to distin- 
 guish them in actual use. There has been considerable preju- 
 dice against western oils, for automobiles especially. Undoubt- 
 edly there was ground for this at first for refiners had not 
 learned how to produce high grade lubricants from these new 
 crudes. In many cases, the oils were refined with acid and 
 alkali, instead of being filtered, in order to produce light col- 
 ors. Oils so refined, generally contain a little acid and corrode 
 bearings. They also give much more carbon in gas engines and 
 automobile cylinders, than are produced by oils which are fil- 
 tered to a light color, but at the same time, high grade filtered 
 oils are produced from crudes from either source, and are prac- 
 tically equivalent for all practical purposes. 
 
 As the Pennsylvania crude oil is becoming very scarce and in 
 some cases people will only use Pennsylvania oil, these prod- 
 ucts bring a higher price than those from western crudes. Un- 
 doubtedly several times as much Pennsylvania lubricating oil 
 is sold as is produced in a year, the case being very similar to 
 that of "pure Vermont Maple Syrup." The average consumer 
 is absolutely unable to tell the difference and must depend en- 
 tirely upon the reliability of the company from whom he buys. 
 This same statement applies to most of the petroleum products, 
 for only the large buyers purchasing in tank car lots can afford 
 to have all of the tests made which would be necessary to deter- 
 mine whether they are securing just what they pay for. Re- 
 liable jobbers have their own laboratories completely equipped 
 for this purpose and therefore are in position to know abso- 
 lutely what they are selling. They will not misinform dealers 
 who purchase from them and if the dealers are also honest, the 
 consumer will be certain that he is getting what he is paying 
 for. It is a fact that a great many automobiles and other high 
 
I'ETlKK.Ki M 
 
 n 
 
PRODUCTS 
 
 grade machines have been successfully lubricated for a good 
 many years from oils produced from western crudes and there 
 seems absolutely no reason for believing that an oil must be 
 made from Pennsylvania crude to be satisfactory. Poor oils 
 are produced from either source and are expensive at any price. 
 
 Red oils in viscosities of from 200 to 300 are produced from 
 Ohio or Indiana crudes. These are very largely used for engine 
 oils and general purpose machine oil. Oils very similar and of 
 similar viscosities are also produced from Mid-Continent crudes 
 but are not as red in color for the same viscosity. The Texas 
 oils, as mentioned before, are especially notable for their low 
 cold test. For this reason they are especially used for lubricat- 
 ing windmills, ice machines and other machinery exposed to low 
 temperatures. In addition, these oils can be produced in much 
 higher viscosities than those from other crudes. Therefore, 
 *hey are largely used for harvester oil, and for lubricating other 
 jeavy slow running machinery. These oils can be produced 
 ranging as high as 3,000 viscosity. 
 
 Filtered Cylinder Stocks are not ordinarily used for steam 
 cylinder oils except those of the highest grade. They are con- 
 siderably used for compounding with viscous neutrals to pro- 
 duce oils of higher viscosity than can be produced by distilla- 
 tion. By this means, of course, it is possible to make oils of 
 almost any required viscosity. These stocks, also make fine mo- 
 torcycle oils. 
 
 The Steam Refined Cylinder Stocks which are commonly used 
 for steam cylinder oils, range from 600 to 700 fire test. Those of 
 lower fire test are particularly used for low pressure engines 
 and are usually compounded with from 6 to 12% of acideless 
 tallow oil, lard oil, or neatsfoot oil. As the pressure of the 
 steam to be used increases-, the amount of animal oil is decreased 
 and for very high pressure or superheated steam, only straight 
 mineral stocks of high fire test, are used. Until the introduc- 
 tion of petroleum cylinder stocks, it was practically impos- 
 sible to run steam engines with high pressure steam on account 
 of the difficulty in properly lubricating the cylinders. If ani- 
 mal or vegetable oils are used for this purpose, they will be de- 
 composed by the high temperature, forming fatty acids which 
 corrode the metal of the cylinders, uniting with it to form soaps, 
 which will greatly increase the friction and in the course of 
 time, ruin the cylinders. High grade cylinder stocks are of a 
 greenish, not a brownish color. It is necessary in applying this 
 test to compare stocks of the same fire test, for those of high 
 fire test, even though of the best quality, are more brownish 
 than those of low fire test. It is also important that they 
 should be free from tar or other matter insoluble in gasoline. 
 The best stocks are as free from odor and taste as vaseline. 
 
 Fuel oil consists of the residue left after distillation of gaso- 
 line and kerosene from the crude. This, of course, will be of 
 various gravities and consistencies, depending on the source 
 
PETROLEUM 
 
 of the crude. In a good many cases, light oils which are not 
 especially valuable for other purposes may be added to the fuel 
 oil, so that it is very apt to represent a mixture of various prod- 
 ucts and residues, which can be more profitably sold this way 
 than as refined products. 
 
 Koad Oils are very similar to fuel oils, but usually of higher 
 viscosity and containing a considerable amount of asphalt, 
 which may all have been present in the crude oil, or part of it 
 may have been added to produce the necessary consistency. 
 
 Petroleum Coke furnishes a very high grade fuel, since it is 
 practically pure carbon and contains very little ash. It is 
 
 Courtesy of the National Petroleum News 
 
 Oil Well at Katalla, Alaska. 
 
 sometimes used in the manufacture of artists' crayons, etc., or 
 wherever a practically pure form of carbon is desired. Petro- 
 leum asphalts of various consistencies are very largely used 
 in the manufacture of paving compounds, roofing paper, paint 
 and cement ; also in rubber substitutes. 
 
 Paraffine Wax in various melting points is used for forming 
 an air and water tight coating for cheese, meats, sausages and 
 other food products ; also for coating the inside of barrels, cheese 
 boxes and butter tubs; for polishing wooden handles, spokes 
 and other wooden ware, and in the manufacture of water proof 
 paper from which signs, ice cream pails, milk bottle caps and 
 sanitary drinking cups are produced. As is well known it is 
 also largely used for various household purposes, especially for 
 sealing fruits and jellies. 
 
PRODUCTS 
 
 Petrolatum ("vaseline") in various colors both with and with- 
 out medication, is largely used as an ointment, and in the manu- 
 facture of salves and other medicinal products. 
 
 White Mineral Oil, produced from either Russian or Penn 
 sylvania crude, is largely used in the manufacture of cold 
 creams ; also for various medicinal purposes. The chief require- 
 ment is that it shall be absolutely tasteless, odorless and color- 
 l"ss and that it shall not turn yellow on exposure to light. 
 
 Mineral Castor Oil is used as a cheap lubricant wherever an 
 oil of a very high viscosity is required. It is manufactured from 
 cheap non-viscous oils to which is added aluminum soap. This 
 is not a soap in the ordinary sense of the word, for it is not 
 soluble in water, but it is referred to chemically as a soap, since 
 it is a compound of a metal with fatty acids. When the metal 
 is sodium or potassium, we have ordinary soap. When it is 
 aluminum, calcium, lead, or some other metal, we have an in- 
 soluble soap. The lead plaster frequently used in pharmacy 
 is a lead soap of this class. The particular soap, used in the 
 production of mineral castor oil, is an aluminum soap which is 
 generally manufactured from cotton seed oil. This oil is very 
 stringy and appears to have a very high viscosity, but actually 
 its lubricating value is very slight and it is not at all to be rec- 
 ommended for any lubricating purposes. In a great many cases 
 part of the soap separates from the oil, especially in the pres- 
 ence of moisture, and it is then of even less value. 
 
 Ordinary Cup Grease and Transmission Grease are similar- 
 products made with calcium or lime soaps. Their manufacture 
 requires a great deal of skill and care, but essentially they are 
 composed of mineral oil and the insoluble lime soap. The grease 
 is made by boiling the animal fat with milk of lime until it is 
 all changed into lime soap and the moisture has practically all 
 been driven out. This soap is then thinned down with mineral 
 oil to the consistency desired. The lubricating value of the 
 grease depends chiefly on the quality of the mineral oil used. 
 So-called fibre greases are produced from mineral oil and soda 
 soap. The ordinary soda soap, which is common hard soap, 
 when thoroughly dry will dissolve to a small amount in mineral 
 oils. These mixtures furnish the fibre greases. 
 
 All of the greases referred to above are known as "made" 
 greases since they have to be produced by the aid of heat and 
 long continued stirring and cooking. Axle Greases, on the other 
 hand, are known as "set" greases. They consist of mineral oil 
 and lime rosin soap and are made without heat. The ingre- 
 dients are made up in two separate mixtures. These mixtures 
 when stirred together in the proper proportion form the grease, 
 which "sets" in a few minutes. 
 
. 
 " 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Petroleum : By Sir Boverton Kedwood. D. So., F. K. S. E. 
 Three volumes, 138 tables, 32 plates and maps, 345 figures in 
 
 the text, 1,167 pages. 
 $15.00. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Oil Fuel: Its Supply, Composition & Application. By Ed- 
 ward Butler, M. I. M. E. 
 150 illustrations, 328 pages. 
 $2.25. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Lubrication & Lubricants. By Leonard Archbutt and R. Mount 
 
 ford Deeley. 
 
 103 tables, 157 figures in the text. 
 $7.50 J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 A Handbook on Petroleum. By Capt. J. M. Thomson, Sir Bov 
 
 erton Redwood and A. Cooper-Key. 
 $3.00. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 The Story of Oil. By Walter Sheldon Tower. 
 
 271 pages, 35 illustrations. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 
 
 International Correspondence Schools Reference Library, Vol 
 
 85. 
 International Text Book Co., Scranton, Pa. 
 
 Mineral Resources of the United States. Department of the 
 Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Technology of Petroleum. By H. Neuburger and H. Noalhat 
 153 ill., *25 plates, 670 pp. $10.00. D. Van Nostrand Co, 
 
 N. Y. 
 
 Oil Production Methods. By P. M. Paine and B. K. Stroud 
 21 6 ill., 37 forms. $3.00. D. Van Nostrand Co., N. Y. 
 
 Oil Prospecting and Extraction. By F. J. S. Sur. 
 64 pp. $1.00. D. Van NostramfCo., N. Y. 
 
 Oil Fields of Russia and the Russian Petroleum Industry By 
 
 A. B. Thompson. 
 93 ill. $7.50. D Van Nostrand Co., N. Y. 
 
 46 
 
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 University of California 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY