THE STORY OF BEAUMONT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8124, 1 June 1906, Page 4

THE STORY OF BEAUMONT.

MAGIC OIL CITY.

In tko year 1829, upon a grant of land received by Mm from the Mexican Government, that borders on the Necb.es River, one Noah Tevis built a little log cabin, and therein placed his family. For five years they abote here, neighbourless, before the Beau, monts and other families came in' o the vicinity. In 1876 the Texas and New Orleans railway of the Southern Pacific system, moving westward, halted at the sm il town of Beaumont, and thence was t ie beginning of a vigorous lumber industry. In 1891 the rice industry was commenced, and within a decade three enormous rico mills were ere.'ted.

" But the red letter day of Beaumont's existence was not until January lOlli, 1901, when the famous Lucas gusher leaped heavenward, a stream of glorious yellow—then her name went biunding over the wires, and the wi. 1 vranted to listen, Beaumont, with its famous spindle-top, is the father of the petroleum industry of the south. In 1900 the United States census gave the town a population of 9470 souls. To-day it is easy to believe she has upward of 27,000. So luueh has the discovery of oil done for her. In less than six months after the word went forth, the far-famed spindle-top was peppered with dorricks, and she was shipping traiu loads of oil. TREMENDOUS OUTPUT. Since the memorablo 10th of January, 1901, over sixty million barrels of oil have been produced in the southeast Texas oil fields. Over forty million dollars have been invested in storage tanks, pipe lines, and refineries. Beaumont's storage tanks for exporting purposes have a capacity of 4,552,000

barrels. Of the seven large refineries in the Beaumont vicjmty, two claim to be the second and third largest in the world. All of the six producing fields of the Texas-Louisiana district have pipe hues to Beaumont, including the' new field of Humble.

Speaking on the subject of the oil industry, Secretary Woodhcad, of the Chamber of Commerce, said:

The daily production of the TexasLouisiana fields in comparison with other fields nukes the others seem somewhat small. In the Pennysylyania district they will pump a well that is producing thirty or forty barrels'. Here wells are abandoned when they give less tli.in one hundred barrels. The estimate! production of the several southern oil fields for the past month is as follows: Spindletop 125,000 barrels, Saratoga 300,000 barrels, Sour Lake 315,000 barrels, Batson 405,000 barrels, Humble 1,950,000 barrels, Jennings Louisiana 850,000 barrels. . Total production of the month of April, 3,953,200 barrels, which means practical ly a yearly production, based on the month of April, of 47,000,000 barrels, which is greater than the produ-tiuii uf any other district in this countrj. Of course the production varies in the different months. Humble is a new field, and has not yet got to wlul is.calied the pumping stage. Some of the wells on the Humblo field are (lowing several thousand barrels per day. WHEN WILL THUV CEiSS. • "As to how long it will be before these fields give out, it is impossible to tell. The field at Spindletop is producing now at the rate of -1000 barrels per day, and the production ut the present timo is actually increasing, so that it is safe to conclude that the fields that have been already discovered will at least continue to yield until other fields which are beiujj prospected for take their place. All of lliese wells start up as gushers. There is an enoruiois gas pressure, which at Humble registers over sis hundred pounds tu the square inch; and tins necessarily forces the oil out in an extraordinary large volume, the flow of these wells under the gas pressure ranging from one thousand to as high as sixty thousand barrels in twenty-fotr hours. "The length of timo which tlies.- ivel Is flow is exceedingly valuable, some flowing for months with a constantly diminishing pressure, and others only a few hours. After the gas pressure is exhausted, the wells become'what is known as bumpers, and the field gradually diminishes in production from that time on."

" The process of sinking an oil well?"

" They use here what is called the rotary process of drilling. " A pipe with a hit on the end of it

is rotated by what is called a rotary, which occupies a place at the upper end of the pipe, being connected with a swivel joint to a long hose running to the pump. This pump forces water at a high pressure through the inside of the pipe, and in coming in contact with the earth, which is ground up at the bottom of the hole by th« rotating of the pipe, it picks up and carries it on to the outside of the pipe to the top of the well, and deposits it on the ground. They use the cable system in Pennsylvania, and in all fields where they do not have the sand formation -that they have here With this system they cau go through the sand easily. The average cost of sinking a well is about GOOOdols., the depth usually being from 1000 to 1200 feet. On the Jennings, La., field wells are sunk to a depth of about 2100 feet. As to [ the origin of the oils, that is purely conjectural.

" By looking at the map you will see that all these fields seemed to be centred around the coast about the same dislance from the gulf; which tends to he theory that the oil is a deposit of either vegetablo matter or past marine matter that has been covered by the ocean and acted up<n chemically by the silt that has been deposited by the receding of the ocean and afterwards by heat generated by pressure of overlying earth. This country was once the bed of the ocean."

The cheapness of oil in the TcxasI Louisiana district offers splendid natural possibilities. Cheap fuel was the one thing lacking to make Beaumont a manufacturing centre. Since this want has been overcome, she has made noticeable strides along manufacturing lines.