Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1886-08-08

oaon Conrneclai nUElssin
"a 1854 tie enGire peEf0Isum pr1-
dne4 Of Russia nmoun1ed % $3.50
tons. u le1S. Il had risan - 500 60
ioa4 II tWo decades tie result Of
twenty-five esntnrles 81 progress was
/ increased more thzn = hundred fold
/ Petroleum Ia ihs Caucasus il as old
- ere woEuhip. which aafedaies TIE
nleEa0TY 81 maa. The peninsula q
Apsharon hes been : holy shrine for
Ere worshipers, ancient Persian Cue
berz and modern Rnrsees, since the
days Of Cyrus TIE Great, whea he
blazing natural "a was ad0rsd -
the visible presence 81 the CreaEOr.
America got the sfart Of this most
ancient oil Geld partly on account of
the isolation Of BakH from he czyi-
lized world, f0T The Russian rAiiroad
/. from the Caspian % the Black Sea
was only completed three years since.
Another Eeason even more potent Is
the eroWn's monopoly Of the oil fields,
/ the entire tiela being farmed out 20
one man until 1872, when the fields
we're thrown open a4d an excise duty
substituted. In 1877 this was aboi-
ished and The industry ever since has
advanced BY leaps.
The oil centre Of the Caspian Is
Baku. city situated shout midway
on the western shore directly oppo-
site the ancienE mouth Of the Oxus.
In twenty years the number Of oil
wellB has Increased from enc 70 four
hundred. vita Z yield which 10 sim
| ply enoFmous One Of these wells
has been spOuiing d the rate OF
z. 000. 600 gallons day. and L Is esti-
mated thai two Of the wells together
yield IS much as the entire product
Of America. So abundant and so
plentiful Is the dow that many oil
wells have been capped during the
recent depression, the owners pre-
lerring 70 wait for rise in the price
Of petroleum.
These wells are bored and operated
after the American fashion, the
methods having been obtained BY ex-
perts sent for that purpose TO the
United States. Il should be said,
however, thai the tubes sunk in the
Russian well are generally larger than
ours. the bore of the Caspian tubes
ranging from ten 70 fourteen inches
'ruFpedoes ara never used, q little
deeper boring Invariably bringing q
new supply. OH bubbles up through
the waves Of the Caspian at times,
and light fame can be kindled on
the surface Of the water. So near
The surface Is the supply that the
drills seldom 20 down more than 200
or 800 feet before striking oil. In
this country wells 600 and even l, 800
feet in depth are therule, and not the
exceptions.
The peninsula Of BaIakhaRi, on
which Baku Is situated, comprises an
oil bearing area of ], 200 square miles,
Of which only three square miles
have been developed. The wells are
about eight miles distant from Baku,
where the radneries are situated, and
the oil is pumped from the wells 70
the city through a series of pipe lines.
The Russians are ahead Of Us In one
respect. They utilize the refuse oil
as fuel, net only in the pumping en-
gines but 10 the Tefineries, the steam
boats, the locomotives and even in
the houses Of the employees. A jet
OF steam at high pressure is brought
TO bear on 3 regular low Of naphlha
coming from another pipe, and the
ignited spray maintains steady sheet
OF fame beneath the boiler whose
intensity can be regulated by q stop
cock as easily as the flame Of q gas
ljet. Not only Is the cost Of the crude
oil used one-thirtieth that Of coal,
but as one ton Of oil gives the heat
of-two tons Of coal, the bulk Of fuel
is reduced one-halt, an important
item in the economy Of running an
engine at sea. The expense Of coal
beavers which is also avoided In the
course Of year is no small item. At
tempts to utilize petroleum products
for steam fuel in the United States
have hitherto been unsuccessful, ow-
| ing chiefly to the complication Of the
machinery and the necessity Of burn
ing tolerably pure oil
| In 1888, when Charles Marvin
wrote his Region of the Eternal
Fire, y 2li $40, $50 gallons Of oil were
pumped yearly from the fields TO the
refiners 81 Baku. The pumps chiefly
used are our own Yankee Blake
pumps. The inaugurators Of these
pipe lines are the Nobel Brothers, a
Swedish house, who began business
but ten years ago, and are now the
acknowledged Oil Kings Of Russia,
controlling pipe lines. owners Of q
feet of steamers on the Caspian, and
the acknowledged leaders in every
advance in boring, refining and trans.
portation. Their refinery turns out
the largest product 10 the world, and
their refined petroleum stands q flash.
ing test Of 30 degrees Celsius.
Once refined the oil is conveyed on
board OF one of the feet Of oil steam
ers. These steamers are built Of
steel, are about $50 feet in length,
q feet beam and draw II feet when
loaded. Each vessel is fitted with
tanks with capacity Of $50 tons Of
kerosene. These vessels, burning
petroleum as fuel, run 10 the head OF
the Caspian IN three days. The
mouth Of tbs Volga Is too shallow 20
permit Of their passage. There the
oil Is transferred 20 light draught
barges and towed up the river 70
Tzarizin, railway eeatre, whence il
is distributed by means Of tank cars,
holding ten tons each, throughout
the Russian Empire, and even 70 Ger
many.
The Volga, however, Is not the on
" road 70 market, for millions Of
gallons 90 on tank cars 70 Bafoum,
on the Black Sea. where the oil is
canned or harreled and shipped TO
the Mediterranean ports The con-
struction Of 3 pipe line covering the
Eve hundred miles from Baku on the
Caspian to Batoum on the Black Sea
l. oBly question OF time. Already
Russian oil Is shipped m tanks from
Batoum 70 London. and German and
Australian railways favor IL with
special freight rates.