The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-11-14
THE GROWTH Of
GAS PRODUCTION
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY TELLS OF NATURAL
GAS INDUSTRY IN STATE.

Washington, Nov. ia fruitim
field for investigation and invention
is pointed out by the United States
Geological Survey in the natural gaa
industry, and experience and ingenh
| jty is invited to the task of econon
ically storing gas, so as to minimize
waste and enhance The market value
Of the product.
The subject is Interestingly dis
aussed by b. Hill IN the Surveys
report on natural gas production and
consumption in Oklahoma. Mr.. Hill
points out that the principal differ
ence between the oil and the nat
nral gas industries in respect to
cash market lies in the ability OF
purchasers to store gas under the
simple conditions that prevail in the
oil industry.
1T is true, says Mr.. Hill, that
large quantities of gas could be
stored under high pressure in fairly
small space. and -arge quantities
are daily being obtained in the
course of extracting gasoline from
natural gas. but aside from the cost
of the eXtr receptacles required in
addition to those used in the pres
sure gasoline plants, this high pres
sure is. costly to produce. If pres
sure could be utilized again as pro
pelling power in transporting tue
gas from the field to a market. 1t
should be theoretically possible to
convert the pressure into useful
work. This would be practically
true if there were no time limit,
but the rapidity with which sas
must be transported causes this high
pressure TO be largely wasted
The suggestion which Mr.. Hill
puts out is the possibility Of finding
way of storing the gas in solv-
ents as carDonic acid gas is dissolv-
ed in water under pressure, or as
acetylene gas is dissolved in acct
one
To wkat proportions natural gas
production has grown in the Unit
ed States is also disclosed in the re
port. Twenty eight years ago, or in
1884. there was produced $l,46O,OOO
worth of the article. In 1911, the
production was valued at $7i,12I334.
Last year 1,i9S,1l0 consumers were
using natural gas for domestic pur-
poses in addition 20 l4,l14 indus
tria! concerns that were using II
/ for power purposes. Industrial con-
Germs used 1893 worth OF the
gas produced last year.
Texas had siXty-eight producinS
wells which yielded five and a hall
billion cubic feet Of gas last year
worth $1.0l4,945, the average price
being 1S.4c per 600 cubic feet. Tex
as had 22972 domestic consumers.
who took a billion and a half cubic
feet of gas. worth S631 ,9S6 while 800
industrial concerns took Learly four
billion cubic feet at an average rate
of 9.79c per 1000 cubic feet.
Oklahoma, which stands sixth in
importance as a gas producer, yield
ed last year $6,713,77O worth of gas.
the average value being 1O01c PEI
!. 900 cubic feet. The Oklahoma gas
sold at an advance Of 3.09c per 1000
cubic feet. This advance was caus-
ed by the piping of a large part OF
this gas into Kansas ard Missouri.
There were 4l,S5i domestic and l.
5O7 Industrial consumers. Zin2
smelling and cement works took
one-terth of all the gas produced in
Oklahoma at rate of ? IL pe~ 1OO0
cubic feet, while brick works took
one ana Il nam DillloH 'up'C leVI at "
rate or 3 3-ic. AS a result of the
cheapening of fuel, the report notes
the establishment at Coalton. Okla,
Of a carbon black factory the first
establishment o. this kind in the
state. During 1911 the number OF
producing wells in Oklahoma in
creased from 500 to us.