The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-12-04
M. VT. Gas Department
Head Explains FIuctuat-
ing Pressure Troubles
NEED BIG STORAGE TANK
Twelve Million Feet Used
Daily in City During
Cold Weather.

1.-THE consumption Of natural gas in
the city OF Fairmont has increased
over last year about 90 per cent" said
Frank Pryor, head of the Gas Depart.
sInent OF the traction company, speak
ling of the plans of the company for
Earring for consumers demands thIs
tyear, and for years to come. These
plans comprise the opening OF rev
wells and the building later. Of huge
producer plant on their newly pur-
chased property at Baxter
Natural limitations under which the
company must operate, and which the
public ID entirely unaware, were also
mentioned by Mr.. Pryor. who said:
i a "There is absolutely no definite way
10 ascertain In advance the pressure
or flow from the wells. This is reCog-
pized by the government experts who
are making study Of the natural re-
sources Of this section and In their an
nual report say that since the Csti-
mating OF natural gas is such n guess
9ng affair they hesitate to say even
approximately how much gas to eX
pect from a certain area.
4 Because Of this erratic condition.
the gas companies oftentimGs believe
themselves to be amply prepared for
any peak load, only to find themselves
deprived suddenly of about half their
pressure by some fluctuatiOn of field
pressure. This was true last year. I
would have gambled OH it that our
i company would have been more than
able to meet any demand that might
be made upon 1t up until Christmas or
after, even without the addition Of the
new wells which we now have in or
are expecting. But as a matter of fact
the field pressure deceived us again
with the result that we have been
Aldmped for gas number of times.
The only way to protect ourselves:
or rather the public. from such fluc
tuating, is to build a huge storage
tank. But the building of such tank
would necessitate such an outlay that
# might make necessary the raising OF
rates. We got quotations on a tank OF
about three million feet capacity some
time ago and it would have cost US
$780, to build.
Our men are now at work on plans
for the producer station to be built at
Baxter, but to build such a plant will
require nine months or year
To- EAl 4uCd Vi "uuL lIlG pdIlN IL
gquired to meet on what we call our
tpeak load can be gathered when 1t is
known that there are six thousand do
jmestic consumers in the city. On cold
mornings such as this there will be
ian average of at least one extra fire
lighted in each of those six thousand
fhomes. This makes twelve thousand
fires burning. As each fire will aver
age about a thousand feet OF gas, there
hre twelve million feet consumed In
one day. when probably the day be.
fore that there was not one.rourth
that amount needed.
Another thing that makes gas ser.
vice in Fairmont hard to keep regu.
liar, is because there are about a half
dozen different gas companies in the
t6eld. Each of these companies is
drawing from their wells, which may
be drilled almost alongside each 9TH
Ter. In this way they pull the gas away
from each other and make it hard for
ANY Of them to get satisfactory pres
sure. If some one company could get
control Of about $4,000 acres of land.
they could rely with some degree of
assurance on what their pressure
would be-"