Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-03-22
RUSSIAN PETROLEUM.
A Single Well In Baku Produces
Nearly as Much as All the Ameri-

]
| facts about the vast oil wells of Russia
and their probable effect on the American
market:
A wonderful revolution IN the petroleum
trade has been in progress for the past few
! years, and in its course has attracted
! comparatively little public attention. The
enormous supplies obtained ut Baku have
already driven American oil from the Rus
sian empire, and is now in course of super
seding il along the Mediterranean littoral,
and as far as India. With efficient CONNER
cial management there should be no difficult
| " in the continued extension Of this com
| petition, for the supply of petroleum In the
Caucasus is practically inexhaustible, ana
| its cost of production on the spot is said 10
be only one fourteenth that of the Pennsyl-
| vania fields.
The writer gives great many interest,"
! ing facts and figures with regard TO this
| wonderful Caucasus region, which seems
| destined TO play an important part IN com
mercial and industrial history. An assur-
ance of an extended and cheaper supply OF
this valuable fuel will doubtless lead to us
greatly increased use in the future, TO the
| advantage of trade and industry. As
steam producer there is obviously an enor-
nous field open for the use of petroleum,
| and it is not too much to expect before long
| its general adoption TO steamers and loco
motives, saving the heavy cost OF transport
! and stocking involved in the burning OF
! coal. A certain and cheap supply IS, OF
course, necessary to induce change
of existing plant, and there seems
now no doubt existing on these important
points. Whether it be true or not that the
American fields arc approaching exhaustion,
Russia seems able to supply the world for
years to come, while the fields of Galicia and
J Burmah promise TO supplement any posi-
BILE deficiencies
Mr. Marvin writes on this question of
supply; I'm America there are more than
| $4,000 drilled petroleum wells. l3aku pos
sesses 400 But single one of these 400
! wells has thrown up as much oil in "a day as
, nearly the whole 5000 in America put to
! gether. This is very wonderful, but more
! striking fact is that the CopiOusness of the
well should have ruined its owners and
broken the heart of the engineer who bored
| it, after having yielded enough oil in four
months TO have realized in America at least
| El,0n,0O0. In Pennsylvania that fountain
! would have made its owners fortune;
there's 5000 worth of oil flowing out of the
| well every day. Here Il has made the own
! or bankrupt. These words were address
| ed 10 me by an American petroleum en-
| gineer as | stood alongside well that had
| burst the previous morning and out OF
! which the oil was flying twice the height Of
| the great geyscr in Iceland, with a roar
! that could be heard several miles round.n
Matters have somewhat improved since
! that time The oil is collected in ponds or
! reservoirs at Baku, some approaching the
! dimensions OF lakes, and pipe lines have
| been laid leading 10 the retineries on the
coast The supply keeps up without dimi-
! mutton, for, as Mr.. Marvin points out, near
| ~ all the wells are what the Americans
! would consider extremely cOpiOus ones. A
! well yielding only few hundred gallons of
| oil day Baku firm would not consider
! worth working. This is not remarkable
! seeing that the richest of the Baku wells
! has yielded 1000 900 gallons, or ten times the
! largest yield in America in tweuty-four
| hours. The supply is more under control, since
| spouting wells are now plugged up to await
| proper market. Owing to the low price of
| crude petroleum. Nobel Brothers shut down
! fourteen fountains at Balakhani, prcferIing
| in the meanwhile TO buy what they required
| from neghboring well proprietors Occa-
slonally fountain is opened TO examine its
| condition, when il Is always found that the
supply is as prodigious "a when capped
| over.
In the Ballu district the deepest well yet
| sunk is 500 feet from the surface. In Amer
| lea there are a number of wells in the Brad
! ford region 1900 or 5000 feet deep, and one
! in West Virginia about 800 feet down An
! extension of the supply by deeper sinking is
! naturally expected at BalSu, while there are
many other districts of the Caucasus as yet
| hardly touched. A French company has
! successfully bored for oil sixty miles inland
| of Novorosissisk, near the sea of Azof The
] whole territory of the Te~Ck Cossacks has
! primitive wells, from which local proprie
tors obtain in the aggregate 4 large supply
| Of oil, while across the Caspian sea an eX-
! tensive oil region extends along the line Of
| the TranscaSplan railway.
| Some interesting facts are given by MIR
! Marvin, with reference TO the prod uction and
! refining Of the oil. AS result of the copi-
! BUSINESS Of the fountains the crude oil has at
! times been selling at the rate of fifty gallons
| for a penny. American competition on such
! basis is impossible. This rate has been,
! OF course, exceptional, but low prices are
! apparently assured for many years to come
| The development of the industry has been
| accompanied by many crises and ignorant
| observers have mistaken these growing
! palms. for symptoms of collapse. But al
| though this collapse has been going 10 oc-
| cur several times it has never Yet come of,
| while at the end of every year the industry
has been found 10 have forged ahead consid-
! erably. The growth of large firms usually
means the ruin Of many little ones, and
] Baku has been no exception 10 the general
rule. In 1884 there were about 200 refneries
! at Baku: now there are l2l, comprising 30
| large ones and 81 small. The supply Of
! crude petroleum meantime has increased
! from 500 tons TO 2,0000OO tons per annum,
| while the output OF refined oil has grown
! from G0OOO,OOO to l50,0O0OO0 of gallons in
! 1SS5. Tho bulk was produced by the we'll
! known firm of Nobel Brothers, after them
coming Messrs Rothchilds, who have large
! interests at Balu and Batoum the shipping
! port Of the new railway line Messrs Roths-
| Childs appear % have excited considerable
amount Of local hostility 10 their project at
| Batoum. They have erected fifteen reser-
| voirs at that point, and control the trade by
means of their pipe lines. 1t is said that tax
! ing hint from the policy of the Standard
| on company of the United States they are
! bent on absorbing all smaller producers and
retiners. The enterprise of Nobel Brothers
| has hitherto been directed chiefly 10 the
establishment of dcpots for storing and sell
| ing petroleum at all the chief towns of the
| Russian empire. and now they possess
| fleet Of cistern steamers for the transport Of
| oil srom Baliu, via the Caspian and Nolga
| river to interior points. Mr.. Marvin points
| out that from the present time the TRACE is
| taking "a new departure. Up 10 the summer
| of lSS3, Caspian petroleum only found its
| way by the above route TO Europe, travers-
| ing more than 200 miles in steamers and
| tank cars before reaching the holds of
| foreign vessels. The construction of the
| Batuum line reduced this distance to , q
| miles az "A stroke and laid the industry open
| "a the civilized world