PETROLEUM NEWS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 107, 13 August 1910, Page 8

PETROLEUM NEWS

. The decision of the British Admiralty to utilise crude petroleum as the sole fuel in the special service ocean destroyers, and: also as an auxiliary to coal in the latest battleships and cruisers, has aroused the attention of steamship owners to the question of a more general adoption of liquid fuel. The recent boom in oil-producing enterprises and the discovery of new sources of supply (says a Home paper), promise to lower the price of oil considerably; and if this comes to pass it is believed that there will be many ventures with oil fuel, particularly on vesses engaged on routes where coal has a high selling value. Australians at present viisted by but few steamers driven by liquid fuel, but such vessels as arrive there under this method of propulsion all give most favorable reports concerning it.' The steamers of the Royal Dutch Packet Company supply instances. They have always an ample supply of steam, and are ready for every emergency. Many advantages are claimed for oil fuel, the most striking amongst them being economy, Even at the present selling price it is computed that a vessel like, the Mauretania could save on the round trip from New York to Liverpool and back the very considerable sum of £12,000 by using oil in preference to coal. Cleanliness—always an important factor—is another of the advantages gained by the use of oil.