Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-26
CONSERVATION OF
NATURAL GAS.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

Natural gas, in the opinion of many
people; is the most perfect fuel. and one
that must be relied upon to supply much
Of the artificial heat Of the future Yet
the ..wanton waste Of this substance
which has been going ON. unchecked for
years, AMOUNTS to millions OF; dollars an
nually. The matter has lately. claimed
the attention OF the United States bu-
reau Of mines. An investigation into the
subject resulted in the discovery that
natural gas in enormous quantities is be-
ing allowed to escape unchecked into
the air wherever petroleum Is being taken
from the wells. The greatest waste is
in Oklahoma. Louisiana and California
where the oil industry has been most
recently begun.
In Oklahoma at present million cubic
feet of natural gas is escaping every day
This has a daily value Of $4,000 or
s. SOC. 900 in a single year. In fuel value
this waste is equivalent to 100000 tons
of the best bituminous coal. The waste
in Louisiana seems even more deplorable
because that state has no coal resources
within it's own boundaries. While the
natural gas, which might furnish heat in
thousands of homes. Is being wasted in
the air the citizens Of Louisiana are pay
ing for coal which has to be transported
for some distance. The waste in Cali
fornia is unfortunate because the gas of
that locality is rich in gasoline. which
is now the most desirable Of the petro-
leum products and one for which the
demand Is exceeding the supply.
The waste in louisiana last year was
equivalent to loss Of nearly s5,500.OO0.
and in California
Waste in States 1t amounted to
Valued in Dollars. . ~sstss in < other
states make a grand total OF at least
s22 100000 which was lost to the nation
last year in natural gas. The bureau OF
mines, in its effort to check this enor-
nous waste, has already accomplished
one of the most notable demonstrations
Of the conservation Of natural resources
ever given to the world. By the appii-
cation of methods devised a checking OF
at least s13,OOOO00 Of this waste will be
secured during the present year.
Natural gas exists wherever petroleum
is found. In their efforts to secure the
oil quickly the operators have been Dor
ing through the gas veins which lie over
the oil deposits and, without closing the
openings thus made, have permitted the
gas to escape into the air. The produc-
ton of oil in Oklahoma during the last
few years has been unparalleled ana mas
brought about q perfect frenzy of specu-
lation. Each operator has peen oosesseo
with the idea of taking out oil more rap
idly than his competitor. Under the Old
methods of oil drilling. additional outlay
was required to conserve the gas ana
this the operators were not willing 70
make.
for natural gas In the state Of Oklahoma.
II piped into the towns it will bring
about ) cents a foot; but the supply Is
SO largely in excess of the demand that
the expense OF piping is not regarded as
a good investment, and until recently no
attention has been paid to its conserva-
ton for the future. The bureau Of mines
met with much opposition from the oil
operators, who declared that no one want
ed the gas. while the demand for oil Is
pressing. and at first there was difficulty
in securing wells in which the bureau
could demonstrate its improved methods.
The bureau recognized the fact that
while, eventually, there will be demand
for natural gas all
Process for Saving over the country.
rs c..., the oil operators
1Ioses 0ucccoS' cannot afford to
wait for it to develop before taking out
the oil which is already wanted. There
fore, their methods had to include the
means of saving the gas which would not
interfere with the present pumping OF the
oil. SO well has this been accomplished
that the operators who first opposed 1t
now write to the bureau stating that the
new process has materially aided In in
creasing the oil production.
Several methods Of doing this have
been demonstrated. The most popular
consists in pumping into the drill a guam
tity of the soft, Shiny mud to be found
in oil fields. This is mixed with the
water which is kept around the drill. and
this mud-laden liquid causes deposits
which close up around the well and pre-
castings are also provided for the pur-
pose and their use materially lessons
the difficulties of oil production. Aside
from their first object of conserving the
natural gas, the methods advocated by
the bureau of mines have reduced the
danger of oil drilling at least 50 per cent.
They make possible the production OF
oil from wells which had been abandoned
because OF great gas pressure.
Largely through the influence of the
bureau OF mines STOnS movement
tie ing toward
Conservation Plan the conservation
Being Developed. veion1n
throughout the country. This includes
preventive measures in the opening Of
new wells and remedial measures in clos
ing up wells already in operation from
which the gas Is escaping. 1t also pro-
vides for greater care in transportation,
including we'll constructed pipes, which
prevent leakage. 1t has been claimed
that some of the wild wells. from
which gas is escaping in large quantities
cannot be controlled or checked. One of
the largest Of these was in the Caddo oil
fields OF louisiana 1t was closed under
the direction of the bureau Of mines by
drilling another well about 1JO feet from
the crater of the wild" well. A passage
was opened up between the new well
and the wild and water contain