Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-20


ural Gas Company, is enrolled among the
believers in a continued supply of the
favorite fuel, though he thinks it may cost
more. 1t will supply domestic consumers
and manufacturers for ten years. Long
lines and low pressure production in tho
problem.
Mr.. J. N. Pew, President of the Peoples
Gas Company, is one of those who believes
that Pittsburg will have an ample supply
of natural gas for some time to come. Mr..
Pew has long been familiar with the oil
business, as a member of the prominent pro-
duclng firm of Pew & Emerson, and nat
urally with the kindred product, gas. He
said yesterday: 'The Peoples Company
will have as much gas this winter as it has
ever had. Our arrangements are made so
we are sure of that. We will have an ample
supply for our patrons"
"You don't think. then, the supply will
be exhausted in the next two or three yeafs?"
''No sir. Natural gas Is too valuable q
fuel to get along without. 1t may cost
more, but people will not do without it on
that score. We sill have to go farther out
for it when the nearby fields are exhausted,
and that will not be for the next ten years.
It will cost more to get 1t. It is only q
question of cost to maintain the supply for
this city. And people will continue to want
it. Gas fuel is too desirable to be done
without"
NATURAL GAS APPRECIATED.
1.-THE increased cost will shut the manu-.
facturers out?"
mo, sir. They appreciate natural gas a.
much as the rest of the people. They will
continue to use it. They have had the best
of the bargain thus far and they know it.
They know the advantage of the fuel as we'll
as anybody, and will continue to get it. It
is valuable fuel to them"
"You don't think it probable any new
fields will be opened near the city?"
sNot large ones. There may be some
small ones. The territory has been pretty
well tested all around here, so 1 don't think
there will be any large fields discovered any
nearer here, like Murraysville, Grapeville
and Canonsburg. No, not in the deep
sands, either There have been a good
many deep wells drilled"
A new gasser on the west side OF the
Wildwood field is another evidence that all
of the gas spots have not been opened. This
one may be turned into an oil well as severel
of the Wildwood wells have, by deeper
drilling, but the Wildwood field would pro-
duce creditable amount of gas if the oil
was not also present, to prevent utilization
of the more volatile fluid.
MORE TERRITORY WANTED.
Equal areas, of as promising location ars
yet untested in Allegheny county, which
may prove valuable for either oil or gas,
though they would not be such fields as
Murravsyille or Canonsburg. The hope for
a long continued gas supply, however, must
be vested in the finding of more territory
and a practically interminable supply in
She discovery of enough territory to produce
the gas at low pressure. Additions of any
small fields near this city will assist materi-
ally in such . result. as the shorter the dis
tance the less the cost Of fproyidingssrequisite
means for transporting the gas produced at
low pressure.
1t is a familiar fact in petroleum produce
tion that the greater portion of the great ag-
gregate comes from the small wells where
the high pressure has been exhausted. New
fields, like Wildwood, attract public atten-
ton, Of course, while producing under high
pressure, single wells yielding hundreds of
barrels day. But after all, the 5000 bar
rels day OF that field is only tenth of the
$1,000 barrels aggregate production, and
soon it will dwindle to much less part Of
the total. If these wells were abandoned as
soon as the pressure was of, the world
would not be supplied with oil. The safe
basis OF that supply is in the &c, 900 old wells
producing an average of one barrel a day
each.
A PROBLEM TO SOLVE.
Means for distributing low pressure sup
ply is the chief problem for the supplIers Of
natural gas to solve. The large mains being
laid are in this direction. Even larger con-
duits NAV yet be required. There are other
means for utilizing low pressure supply and
experiments are being made all the time
with various devices with this end in view.
The experimenters are naturally 10th to
give information, though several have
achieved results that warrant the assertion
that natural gas may be assisted in its flow
through pipes much as the idea of pumping
gas been derided. The idea OF pumping oil
instead of hauling it in barrels was alss
laughed at once. CRUM.
A JURY OF HIS PEERS