OIL IN ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 106, 7 May 1934, Page 9

OIL IN ENGLAND

MUCH WORK INVOLVED

A DOUBTFUL BLESSING

! WHAT HAS BEEN I)0^E

The Government having announced its intention -to legislate on the question of the State ownership of mineral oil, a few memories of one who took an active though obscure part in the former attempt by the first Lord Cowdray's firm to find oil in Great Britain may be of interest, writes Lient.-Colonel the Hon. Ben Bathurst in . the London '.'Daily/Telegraph:" : ; ■

Two' points live in my mind in connection with *the venture. The first is that on a, visit to London, other duties during the earlier days of the war having kept me elsewhere, I met Lord Cowdray. On our return from lunchoou together, I happened to say that it would not surprise' me if oil were found in England.

He asked my reason for the remark, and my answer was that, from what one of the geologists had told me, it seemed that he had formed that impression. After we parted, it so happened that I w.ent to the room of, the firm's chief geologist, who was lost'rin the study of certain papers, and remarked that the proposition was an1 interesting one—oil-in England.' ;;!..■

It was no doubt a mere coincidence, but those papers, and that day, marked the commencement ■of tli c intensive, study on which Lord Cowdray founded the final proposal which ho made to the Government of the iime.

The other recollection is of going up to Derbyshire to take part in recording the search fox- oil by film. The; sceno was an oat field with the stooks still standing. , The geologist, and I walked along with' a map open, and stopped at a certain point. There a peg was driven. At that precise point the Hardstoft wjell was drilled, whence was obtained, in May, 1919, the first free oil in any quantity drawn from English soil. '..■■ ■•. '." ■..'" ./'■■,

HOW IT IS DONE,

la view of ,the immense v amount of nonsense that has" already been written on the subject, and with the certainty that the \Tolumo will increasel as time goes on, it' is as well to state tjje facts of the case quite plainly.1 First of all, petroleum,: .or oil, being liquid,:is not like a solid mineral that is a fixture beneath the surface of the soil. If, therefore; a bore-hole is drilled at one/point, the oU'may be pumped or may be drawn by independent force from beneath the surrounding land, and the oil lying beneath'one property maybe drained by a well sunk on the next. Two • points thus arise, economical drilling, affecting the industry, and the Tights of the property owner. As to the industry, it is most import? ant that drilling should be carried.out with due regard to the geological circumstances and without risk of interference with' neighbouring wells. The waste of oil due to lack of organisation in drilling has in Axneriea been colossal. So far as this country is concerned, even the present conditions provide some safety, for a liceriee to drill for oil must be obtained. ■■''•.

As to the landowner, if there is a possibility pf oil on his property he will, in the ,■ absence of regulation, of course encourage drilling for the sake of royalties—in part payable on , oil from his neighbour's land. Presumably : the man who drills under the conditions now proposed will have'to'pay a royalty to the Government for the oil extracted, and will also have to pay the owner of the land compensation for surface damage. / .

OPEN AGREEMENT.

It would seem that the arrangement between the,party drilling.and the,landowner as to payment on results was left open to agreement betweon the. two. ■ The ..danger on both sides may be stated as:— ■ . " ■

(a) The possibility/of a landowner preventing the development of oil by holding out for too stifE terms; and .. (b) The , holder .of '-a,' licence .offering inadequatel consideration for the obvious nuisance that he would be committing in certain circumstances. In truth, the idea of developing an oil fieldlin England is one that demands some consideration. It" cannot bo said that it would add to tho beauty or the amenities of the district where oil is found. If by a:ny chance a really prolific well were to be brought in, there is a possibility that the injury to vegetation might be-widespread. In any ease, the erection of derricks can oaly sadly disfigure the skyline. In the event of the discovery of oil, due provision must needs be made for its storage, probably in 'tanks, .which are not picturesque. The transport of the oil by tank-wagon, rail, or pipeline offers other disturbing prospects for the countryside. A further need, in the case of an ample find of. oil, would be a refinery—and. it would puzzle an architect to make a refinery attractive. On the special point of interest at the moment—that of the projected legislation—there is little reason to doubt the wisdom of making the position cleaT as regards -the ownership. of' oil. If the State claims ownership, it.is much, better to have tho -matter settled before what may be called a "vested interest" on any considerable scale has been'established.

MUOH WORK.

Stated very /briefly, the history of oil in Great Britain is this. In any great firm ideas of all kinds, or as they are called "propositions," are received from sanguine people, who' hope to obtain finance for their schemes.

From such a source came one for the recovery of petroleum from oil-shale Toy distillation, which, in fact, was the- proposition alluded to at the beginning of this article. The geologist in question then argued on these lines. The oilsliale contains f roe oil, as a sponge contains water, which must have come from somewhere. .Tho problem was then to consider the conditions necessary for finding.it in. tho free state.

This involves the intensive study of the geological strata over'a-wide area, a species of labour that by its tedious'ness would wear out tho ordinary man. The proportion of outdoor work to that of hard plugging at figuros in tlio office is surprisingly . small. Anyone who thinks an oil geologist's life is spent in open air is doomed to grave disappointment.

Admittedly, the first Lord Cowdray's idea was that his firm should undertake the search in England as a commercial venture. Tho fact that he wished to safeguard the geological work and the future of the industry from outsiders gave tho idea of his desire for a monopoly. This catchword had effoct, and Lord Cowdray, in view of the dire want of oil, made the offer that his firm would put their research work-at the, disposal of the Government, and would carry out tho drilling at the charge of and for the advantage of the Government.

ONE TON PER DAY.

Tho drilling on tho well at Hardstoft, near Chesterfield, was started on October 15, 1918, and after a depth of some 3000 ft oil of high quality was struck. The yield was not very largo (thirtysix, barrels per day), and the well flowed for some time, constantly yielding one ton per day. ■ Elegea.."otheß wells Mere^rillecUunder