Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-06-22
THE LAST, BEST GIFT.
An interesting 0piaion as to Nat
ural Gas.
The Theory That the Supply will
Soon Become Exhausted, ef-
fectiyeIy combatted,

MI. T. P. Roberts, a prominent fitts-
burg civil engineer, gave expression In
Yesterdays Pittsburg Dispatch, to some
ideas regarding natural gas, which our
business men and manufacturers will read
with interest. Referring to the opinions
expressed in many parts Of this country
and Europe that the supply OF gas would
soon become exhausted, at the present rate
of consumption, he ridiculed the PROPOSE
ton, and said it had never been proven
that q deep, strong gas well had ceased to
flow. He said:
Il imagine that the rich gas sand. such
as that at Murrsysville, is q reservoir ike
q steam drum over a boiler. We may
rapidly exhaust the blow of q steam
drum, but give it time and the constant
Are below will again replenish it with steam.
So a multitude Of gas wells may draw
the gas from the reservoir sands faster
than the ducts fill it from below, but OF the
inexhaustibilty OF the source of the supply
| have no doubt.
II have seen the gas ~,bubbliug up at low
water over the surface Of the Monongadela
river for q distance Of q half mile, at a
point a few miles above Morgantown, West
Virginia. Fancy how long the gas has
been going to waste there2 At frequent
places throughout West Pennsylvania,
West Virginia and New York, it has been
known and seen bubbling in springs from
the earliest period of which we have
records. 1t would only be noticed over
water, bat l have no doubt it wastes imper-
ceptibly into the atmosphere, through fs.
sures, porous rocks and earth, in thousands
of places. This may account for the bar.
renness of the soil in some regions. 1t
NAV thus rise and accumulate under some
areas which have, like an inverted basin in
water, no outlet upwards. until a we'll is
bored down to them. This theory will &C.
count for the multitude of so-cslled surface
pockets, and the varying pressures OF differ.
emit wells, also the varying composition OF
the gas, for wells in close proximity may be
supplied with ducts striking at angles to the
depth Of several miles, and hence the pro-
duct of the decomposition Of material speci-
fcally different in constitution and gener-
ated at different heats, as the depth OF the
sources may vary, with their sources miles
apart"
Abiding to the calculations made BY be.
levers in the theory that the supply of gas
would 1901 be exhausted, Mr.. Roberts
said -
"Let us take the Murraysville district,
which, however, IS not accurately circum-
scribed. 1t may be said to have been pro-
ducing 200, 000, 900 cubic feet of gas daily
for two years. The rock from which it
comes may average, say, 20 feet thick.
An allowance OF 10 per G porosity or
gas space in this rock would about hit the
mark for its storage capacity. The aver
age pressure may be called 500 pounds per
square inch. A cubic foot Of such gas ex-
banded to normal conditions would pro-
duce 80 cubic feet, as measured and con-
sumed, in this city. Therefore, our daily
consumption of 200, O00, 900 cubic feet
must originate from only 100000 cubic
feet of gas space in the rock reservoir. AS
only 10 per cent. OF the rock is available
for storage it follows that in 20 feet Of
thickness we have only two feet Of
gas space. We may, therefore, consider
that we have for the field q gas strata Of
two feet thickness, which we are draining
at the rate of 5000, 900 cubic feet or 3 ,000.-
600 superficial feet per diem. AS in each
acre there would be s7,l20 cubic feet of
gas space, it follows that we are exhausting
the field at the rate OF SO acres daily. or
Is, 1875 acres per annum.
$50, then, we have already used up So
900 acres Of Gods last best gift; that is
Is square miles, or a township almost nine
miles square. If | have underestimated
the thickness OF the rock, l believe / have
made up for it by al overestimate of the
pressure Of the gas. At this rate, if the
entire area of Allegheny county was as
productive of gas as the Murrsysville field,
it would serve Pittsburg for only ten years,
but taking the entire county's consumption
and keeping in view the rapidly increasing
demand, a county would suffice us o~niy.ive
years. Pittsburg, Wheeling. McKeesport,
Beaver Falls, Youngstown, New Castle and
the other cities and towns, would, on this
basis of calculation, take all the gas of
Western Pennsylvania before the century
is out"
Then you have no faith in the 6gures2'
"Of course figures never lie, but they
can be ieartully twisted to support error.
| think that the circumscribed deposit
theory will not comport with facts and ex.
periencs. 1t is inconceivsble 10 me that
the Murraysville gas field is being depleted
at such a rate. 1t is more reasonable to |
think that MurrsysVi,le il a raVorably 10.
Gated spot over vents reaching down to
illimitsble depths Of the great Silurian
rock deposits, which abound with organic
matter and underly for profound depths
the entire coal basin of Pennsylvania and
Mr.. Roberts proposes the novel plan of
increasing the outpu. Of weak gas wells by
pumping, saying in reference to his plan -
Il think some of these weak wells can be
made to yield a permanent increase of dis.
charge within certain limits OF production. |
OF course it would not be possible TO do
much With tben if the rock pores below
clog with parsfine wax, as is the case
sometimes, and which nothing but blasting
will remedy; nor could anything be done
in the case Of q general overflow OF the
vein with salt water. Bot a fairly drs
we'll, free from gas dust, &c, ! think could
made II yield b. tier by means of an
exhaust fan or pump. Ireally look forward
10 the day when gas wells 10 this neishbor.
hood can be proftably pumped. In the
Of number of gas wells of feeble
pressure, known 10 have settled into a
permanent yield. | would propose to con.
lect them all with one large powerful ex.
laust fan. Exhaustion would be felt by
Unfinished friction along the pipes to The
veil, down the well. and through the ducts
which supply it, TO the yesJ source Of its
reduction, and lend to draw into one
.hannol much Of the gas escaping BY ma.
ursl outlets in other directions. Eyerv
'ell permanently discharging 10000 or
5000 cubic feet Of gas daily would then
q commercial value. As the flow
night be doubled or trebled by this mesns
,uch money could be saved,
auTN