RUSSIA'S PETROLEUM KINGS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1483, 15 February 1887, Page 2

RUSSIA'S PETROLEUM KINGS.

The cable despatch last week reporting that tSe Standard Oil Company intended to bay the oil interests of Nobel Bros, of Russia d d not look plausible, and was promptly denied In tbiu olty. If it were traa it would indeed be noteworthy news, for Nobel Bros, are the kings of the Rnsa'an petroleum Industry. It was they who revolutionized the oil business at Baku, and made the Caspian petroleum a formidable rival of tbe American product. The Nobel family are Swedes, and they have a remarkable record. The father invented a torpedo whioh he sold to Russia for a large sum of money. Hit s.m Alfred, an experimental ohemlst, is famous as the inventor of dynamite. Two other sons, Ludwig and Albert, oreated the petroleum industry of Baku m its present enlarged form. Eleven years ago, when they went (o Baku, the town aud its oil refineries were eoaroely known. This is what the Nobels did to make Baku and its petroleum famous. Oil at that time was delivered to toe refineries from the wells, twelve miles distant, m ox carts. The Nobels startled old fogies by building a pipe line, and to-day there are s|xty miles of pipe and an average dally discharge of 2,000,000 gallons of crude oil at Baku. Their second reform was an improved method of boring whioh doubled tbe yield of oil. Their third innovation was to build oistern steamers on the Caspian, which carried the refined product m built up the great V >lga river, thus superseding the oiumsy and expansive system of transport m b trreis. Now oil is constantly being pum* p sd on board Nobel Brothers' at'-amera at Baku, and the entire load of 200,000 gals Is shipped m f ur and a half hours. . Then the Nobels organisad a system for the obeap transportation of their oil far aud wide m Europe. The product ts pumped from the oistern steamers Into tank oars, each carrying ten tons of oil. This one firm is now constantly running s xty oil trains, with twenty-live cars m each train. _ Their fifth innovation was also a startling novelty. During the winter months no oil can bo carried Into Russia over the frozen Volya. This is the very time of conns when the greatest quantity of oil is needed. Tbe Nobels therefore built m various parts N of the empire twenty-six great storage depots, which are so large that they will hold Russia's entire oil supply for a year. In the summer tbese depots are filled with oil whioh is distributed by oar loads daring the winter months all over the empire The NobeU' oil is sold largely m Germany, and In Russia the firm Is now selling 54,000,000 gallons a year. Here is an illustration of the perfect system to which tbese men have redaoed their great business. In their office at St. Petersburg htngs a large scale map of the Russian empire. It it the business of one of the olerks to map on these maps the position of the oil trains m accord* anoe with the tele^rapblo information he iajconatantly receiving. The members of the firm are therefore* able at any moment to tell the exact position of each of their sixty oil trains. — N.T. Sun.