The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-03-18
MEXICO'S NEW OIL FIELDS
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER

and Nighttime Dos BOCRS GuSncI,
And It's Two Thousand Feet OF Oil
Flames-Strcams OF Gold. or How
the Wells Play-Fuel Oil for Our
Navy and the Panama Canal
American Companies Which Arc
Making Money.
tCopyrighter, 1919. by Frank q. Car
TAMPICO.
This will soon be the chief oil port
of the world. 1t lies in the heart OF
oil lands which are now prOouclHs
200, 900 barrels Of petroleum a day.
and great oil tanks are going up
which will hold a supply OF miliions
OF barrels. TampicO is situated q
little back from the coast. half way
bet wcen Vera Cruz and the Rio
Of the Panuco and Tamesi rivers. and
1t has a harbor so deep that n big
gest ocean steamers can land. The
wharves and jettieS and other harbOf
improvements were designated ano
built for the Mexican government by
American engineers, and they have
cost millions. The port is 1000 miles
from New York. 4,800 miles from
Liverpool, and a little more tina
5000 miles from Hamburg, n tank
steamers will soon be carrying Oil
" Ill 10 VA S"S w
The rivers. which join just above
Tampico. flow through the old fields,
and during the past year eighty steel
tanks have been built on their banks.
MI being on deep water. About thirty
of these tanks belong to the Pearson
syndicate or Mexican Eagle Oil Com
pany, and the same company is put
ting up refineries here. 1t is a British
syndicate, backed by the PearsOns.
Mexican railways, electric plants and
mines. It's oil branch has a paid-up
capitalization of $25,O00,O 900. and the
market alu of the stock is twice
tnat amount. 1t has altogether more
than a hall .i.illion acres Of Oil land.
The Watars-Pierce Company was
until lately a branch of the Standard
Oil Company. 1t has large interest,
including storage tanks on the river.
And then we have the Mexican Pc
troleum Company, which is largely
controlled by California oil men. 1t
has an authorized capital Of $4,000
900. and it OWNS something like 7OO,-
600 acres of land, much OF which is
still UNEMPLOYED. One of the Mexican
Petroleum Company's wells has been
producing for more than two years,
and although only partially opened
1t turns out $4,000 barrels Of oil a
day. This company is now erecting
storage tanks near Tampico, while the
Texas company is doing likewise on
n tract OF and of about a thousand
acres opposite this port. The latte II
company has already constructed a
temporary wharf and is shipping oil
to the United States ports.
IN addition to these companies there
are others operating in the vicinity
and altogether there are over thirty
different organizations at work.
The New Oil Territory.
These new oil fields extend for hun
dreds of miles along the Mexican
gulf. The profitable wells are scat
tered all the way from here to Yer
Cruz and oil has been found in pay
Ing quantities farther south and 0
isthmus Of T~ehuantepee. The exaC
width OF the territory is not defined
but they are ST striking Oil sixty mile
back from the sea. and the region i
which the respecting is going on
said to be about as large as tn
state OF Illinois and over q distane
twice as large as the state of Masss
chusetts wells have all eady cen sum
In many places oil has been struck {
5000 or 5000 feet, but the best vel
are much deeper. and the GREAT gust
ers have come from a depth Of 1,SC
or 1000 feet.
Big Mexican GusherA.
Iake. LOT guSher NO.
or the Potrero del Liano No. 4, whil
a q capacity of 10000 barrels
fay. That we'll belongs to the Pea
son syndicate, and I have just h;
a talk with n Of the engineers wi
has to do with Is workings. The no
was bored three years ago. When Il
Oil was struck 1t burst forth in
great stream which rose to a heig
OK 400 feet, n it continued to 500
Tor more than three months befo
II could be controlled. During tn
time 1t was touring fourth petroleu
at the rate Of 5000 barrels an no,
and 1t covered the whole country wi
oil. 1t filled the rivers and lakes al
contaminated the stream. Thousan
of'cattle were lost from the fact tn
the Oil covered their grazing plac
and they could not get fresh wat
Acres Of oil flowed out to the s,
and the Mexican gulf had a co.
Ing OF oil for 800 miles along Il
part of its coast.
A Lake OF Oil.
In their efforts to save the oil
kfn .-