The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1904-11-18
PETROLEUM PRODUCTION
GOVERNMENT REPORTS ON I'M.
PORTANT INDUSTRY.
SHOWS AN INCREASE OVER 1902

/ oil Placed on the Market Greater than
that Of any Preceding Year-Calfor.
MIA Shows the Largest Gain and In.
diana Comes Next
Washington, u, c., Nov. H. Among
the natural products whose benefit tO
mankind never grows less IL pctrOlo.
um. The production for 1903 was
greater than that of any previous year.
| This important fact is noted in the be.
report To the United States geological
survey, which is entitled "The Produc.
/ tion of Petroleum in 1903"
The total production of crude petro.
| leum in,the United States in 1908 was
| 100 4Gl,337 barrels, a gain of 1864.
l21 barrels, or 1917 per cent. over the
production of 1902. The great in.
crease was mainly due to the remark.
able output in California which Is now
| larger than that of any other state.
| California produced 2427 per cent, or
nearly onc.fourth Of the entire produc-
| tiOn.
| Next to California the largest gain
| in production was in Indiana, which
! was l.705,5l5 barrels, an amount that
| represents a gain of 22S0 per cent
over the states production in 1902
| Kansas showed a remarkable gain in
| production-600, ,4G5 barrels. or 1S1 per
cent; Kentucky and Louisiana showed
gains of about 100000 barrels each
Indian Territory gained 1,S11 bar
rels, or 274.4 per cent; and New York
gained 43,24S barrels, or 1886 per cent
On the other hand there was a slight
decrease of production, 12S,0S6 barrels
or O.70S per cent, in Texas; and Ohio
PENNSYLVANIA and West Virginia all
showed decreased production amount
ing 10 total of 1,856.d19 barrels, or
3.9S per cent, in 1903 as compared with
1902. The largest decrease in produc.
tion in 1903 was in PENNSYLVANIA. and
amounted to 7OS,724 barrels.
During the last six years there has
been a very remarkable change in the
percentage Of the local production.
The Appalachian and the Lima.Tndi-
ana fields, which for many years pro-
duced all but very small percentage
Of the whole, produced in the year
1908 only 55.3S per cent of the total,
whereas in 1898 these fields produced
93.99 per cent of the total. California
and Texas have been the most imrDr'.
ant factors in bringing about the read
iustment of the percentages of produc-
ton
The Increased production in the
states of Texas, Louisiana and Cali
fOrnia of large quantities of an infe-
rior grade of petroleum made neccs-
sary new markets and new conditions
Of transportation that were unknown
to the older fields. Demand was also
made for a large amount of capital to
be invested in tanks, pipe lines, tank
cars, and tank vessels. The markets
and transportation for this new pro
duct have been secured to a very large
extent. During the year 1903 the con
sumption Of petroleum as fuel and as
an enrcher of manufactured gas has
been very largely increased.
A considerable quantity of Texas
petroleum has been refined with sat
isfactory results, but the percentage
Of the yield is much smaller than from
the eastern petroleum. When the val
ne of the petroleum produced in the
Appalachian and the Lima.Indiana
fields is considered in comparison
with that of all the remaining fields, it
is found that so per cent of the total
value comes from the 55.3S per cent
Of the total production furnished by
those fields, the remaining 4462 per
cent of the total production receiving
1S per cent of the total value. This
means that 3.S barrels of the southern
and western petroleum is required to
equal the value of l barrel of that pro-
duced in the Appalachian and the
LimaIndiana fields.
The general average price paid for
crude petroleum was greater than by
1407 cents per barrel than the average
price for 1902. The average price paid
for Pennsylvania petroleum showed an
increase OF 1925 cents; and the av-
tIdSe prize III IHt HtHl
was about 81 cents a barrel more in
1903 than in 1902.
Stocks held in tanks in both the APP
palachian and the Lima-Indiana fields
were considerably decreased during
the year.
There was a slight decline in the
|, quantity of all grades of petroleum
exported during 1908, and slight gain
in their value when compared with
that of 1902. A decided decrease ap-
peared in the quantity of the illuminat.
ing petroleum exported and a cOnsid.
cradle increase in both quantity and
value Of the lubricating petroleum eX-
ported during 1903.
The demand for home consumption
continued TO increase during 1903, the
western demand being partly supplied
by refneries in Texas, Kansas and
Colorado.