THE FUTURE OF OIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 221, 18 March 1914, Page 6

THE FUTURE OF OIL.

AN ADDRESS RY Silt EDWARD lIOVERTON. As president of the Junior Institution of "Engineers. Sir liovcrloii Redwood, liart., recently delivered an address on "The Future of Oil Fuel." After tracing the growth in the output .of petroleum in various countries, lie touched on the possibility of supplies of oil fuel being obtained by tie distillation of shale and coal and cm the prospects of alcohol, in connection with which he mentioned that in America bills have lieuit introduced to enable the Federal (lovernmcnt to subsidise distilleries for the manufacture of that substance, and to authorise the appropriation of a sum of money for its production at the Government experimental farm iu Virginia. He also described the methods of utilising oil fuel for the production of power, by means of the internal combustion engine, and by employing it to lire boilers for the generation of steam. He remarked that the forecasting of the future of oil fuel in general was a complicated problem. To a large extent the immediate future depended on the evolution of the internal combustion engine, and, as regards the mercantile 'marine, upon the measure of success attending the efforts to construct satisfactory engines of the Deisel . type of larger cylinder capacity. In this I connection it must be remembered that the advent of the steam turbine and the economies resulting from the use of superheated steam, together with other recent improvements in the efficiency of the steam engine, had rendered ' the task of the advocates of the internal combustion engine more difficult. Moreover, the replacement of the turbine steam engine by the oil engine involved a return to the reciprocating type of machinery, which was in itself a ground of objection as being in a sense a retrograde step, for at present there seemed no prospect of the evolution of a successful turbine oil engine. The substitution of oil fuel for coal in steamraising was. however, a wasteful method of using that source of power, for whereas with the steam engine not more than 12 per cent of the. Nmcrgy of the fuel was ordinarily obtained in the form of the work, in the cnae of the Deisel engine the return was as much as 37 per cent.

CAPITAL AXD THE PETROLEUM IX- I DUSTEY. The future of, oil fuel depended not only on the extent to which it wns reasonable to assume that the output could be increased, but largely upon the manner in which the fuel was used, for I in the light of present knowledge it 1 would obviously be wrong to suggest ' that the supply could ever become so abundant as to give consumers in general a free choice in substituting oil for coal as a source of power for industrial purposes, especially if the oil was not used in an economical manner. The petroleum industry was one of great magnitude and' importance; it never had been in a more vigorous condition than it was to-d.ay; it was unquestionably capable of 'much further development, and it would undoubtedly largely increase. Vet although it was impossible to say that further stores of petroleum remained to be discovered, it was evident that,' notwithstanding the rapid development of the remarkably prolific fields of California and Mexico,' the success which was attending the drilling operations in Persia and Sarawak, nd the promise of a large yield in Trinidad it would require a very considerable expenditure of capital to increase greatly the average rate of expansion of the petroleum industry, having regard to the circumstance that some of the older fields were showing signs of exhaustion.

UN't'ERTAIX FACTORS IN' TIIJC PROBLKM. What illicit In. the position in tin' immediate future it was impossible to predict with any approach to precision, •wing to tb« uncertainty of the factors. There would doubtless be a continuous and large increase in the reipiivements of the navies of the world and as tbis demand was not primarih- gov««1 by price, it might be described as irresistibly preferential in character, taking precedence therefore over all industrial needs. Further rapid progress might also be exneetecl in the use of l V more volatile products in road motor vehicles, and in some, countries favourably situated in respect of supplies there would doubtless be a greatly extended employment of oil fuel on railways.

In respect, however, to the general substitution of oil for coal as a source of power in industrial establishments on land, and it did not seem reasonable to anticipate more than the. adoption of the former fuel to the limitod extent commensurate with a general in crease in the output, and with the surplus available After other demands had been satisfied. There would, therefore, be competition among consumers to obtain supplies, and as regards stationary sources of power, it was improbable that, excluding exceptional.cases, the oil would be used otherwise than in an engine of the Deisel or semi-TJeisel type. Except as regards the belligerent' navies of the world, in respect of which the rdomimmt factor was efficiency, it was evident that any increased use of oil as a source of power must depend upon the price at which the fuel could be. obtained. To some extent the price might be controlled by commercial combinations, but in the long run it. was the measure of the extent of the supply in relation to the demand In the use- of oil for steam-raising, and in other industrial operations, the consumer could afford to pay about twice as much for oil as he paid'for coal, in view of the higher then.ial efficiency of oil and other advantages attaching to its use; but if the market value of oil fuel became established on what might be termed the Deisel engine basis, only those who occupied exceptionally favourable geographical positions in respect to the sources of supply could hope to employ that description of fuel in steam-raising.

MILLIONS OF MONEY WASTED. In conclusion, he wished to plead for economy in the production of petroleum no less than in its use, and to point ou 1 that without a highly efficient stiill the fullest economy was not possible. .Millions of pounds' sterling had been thrown away in haphazard drilling operations, and valuable oil fields had been destroyed by reckless procedure. The importance of obtaining the advice of competent field geologists w'th special experience in petroleum before spvii(lin h r money in sinking wells, and of being similarly guided in the work of systematic development, was now generally, though not invariably, recognised. Tn those cases in which it was not, it would usually be found that the owner of the property had been unfortunate in the selection of his adviser. , There were now in most oil fields stringent regulations as to the exclusion of water from the oil-bearing strata, guarding againßt the risk of flre, control of violent outflow, and other

necessary precautions, so that the eui])li),vincut of competent engineers in tlie producing territory was, to some extent, compulsory. There wan at least as much need for cllicicney in the various operations incidental' to the conversion of the raw materia] into various commercial products, and here the chemist should be associated with engineer. Again, in order that the business mh'ht he profitably conducted, there must he skillul management of the storage,- transport, and marketing of the product of the wells. The petroleum industry demanded genius for its most successful conduct, for it was one which presented unusual dilliculties, and unless the services of trained geologists, engineers and chemists were iecurid,the prcspects of good results were more than doubtful. Moreover, every oil Held was a national asset, and in view of the facility with which its value might he impaired hv unskilful treatment, it was the duty of every (government, and of every loyal subject who might have influence, to prevent t.n exploitation from being placed in tile hands of incompetent persons. THAIXIXr; OF I'ICTROLKUM KXOINEEKS. Within recent years the creation of so many additional centres of activity in the production of petroleum had rendered it increasingly difficult to find men of adequate training to occupy positions demanding knowledge, judgement, and initiative, and to meet the want a special course of instruction, practical and theoretical, leading np to the degree of Bachelor of Science (Petroleum) had been instituted at the t'niversity of Birmingham, under Prof. Carman, and had already attracted a considerable number of students. Analogous facilities were also given at the Imperial College of Science and Technology (Royal School of Mines) and concurrently on the other side of the Atlantic the University of Pittsburg was making provision for education in the technology of petroleum. Another step in the desired direction had been taken by the formation of the. Institution of Petroleum Technologists, the objects of this organisation being, among others, to promote the better education of 7>ersons desirous of becoming consulting technologists, petroleum engineers, geologists or chemists, and to elevate the professional status of those employed in the pctrolum industry by setting up a high standard of scientific and practical proficiency.