Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-26
BOWLES TELLS
FALLS ROTARY
STORY OF OIL
Operator Says Montana Now
Where Oklahoma Was
20 Years Ago.

Charles E. Bowles, vice president
and manager of the Gladys Belle Oil
and Refining company of Montana,
spoke TO the Rotarians at their lunch
con Wednesday and in al inspiring way
told the story Of oil-how it has grown
in this country and in the whole world
until it has come to the point where
there is no other business activity hav-
ing larger importance-not even iron,
steel, agriculture or transportation.
Bowles came to Montana from Tulsa,
where he had long experience during
the 20 years within which the petroleum
industry reached the present large pro-
portions in Oklahoma. The speaker in
the first instance emphasized the diff
ference between the oil business and
the oil game. He said that oil has
been much besmirched by methods en-
real industrial production Of oil was
an outstanding economic activity with
a solid foundation.
He briefly told the story of how the
city of Tulsa had grown in 20 years
present proportions, with a population
of 10000. He compared Montana with
the Oklahoma production Of two dec
AIDES ago and declared that oil men
believe that Montana has as much oil
or has a right to hope that it has as
much oil as has been developed in Okla
homa. The situation with this state is
comparable with that in Oklahoma 20
years ago If there shall be an equal
development, benefits just as large viii
be reflected in the prosperity of this
state.
In his analysis Of the oil industry,
Bowles divided it into four parts, name
": Production, transportation, refin-
ing and marketing. Out of oil produc-
ton, there comes 800 products. In
four of them, however, are embraced
30 per cent Of value and quantity In
the whole production.
The information under these heads
was outlined with instructive tables.
Under the head of production. the
number Of producing wells in the United
States was given as 25S,0O0. Of this
number, it may be said that there are
10000 real producers. The speaker
emphasized the relative Importance of
the gusher and the steadily producing
well. He said that the gusher was
generally a positive detriment in a
field because it led to false hopes and
a rush of investment, and in it there
- az 6o1A4Ihy ia stUuQt tuAAiAS
These statements are proved by the
fact that the average production of all
wells in this country is only At barrels
a well a day. In Oklahoma, it is a little
higher than this figure-the average
being 5.S barrels a well a day. In
Pennsylvania. the average is only three
tenths of a barrel a well n day. These
figures indicate that the steady, small
producing we'll is the u insuring per-
manentla and investment value.
Under the head of transportation, it
was shown that there are $4,000 miles
of main pipe line in the United States.
There may be added to this, 1880
miles of gathering lines. So within the
pipe line equipment for this industry,
is the ability to care for a volume which
could not be transported By ali the
railway cars that we have and all the
that we have. In addition
to pipe lines, there are 1876. 900 tank
and 220 tank steamers, all of which
makes a mighty transportation system
of which we take little account because
it is under ground, but which makes
possible transportation and the market
of the immense product in question.
Three are 415 ~refineries In the Unit
ed States, ranging all the way from
the capacity of such plants as the one
as Casper. Wyo., having a capacity of
$4,000 barrels a day. or the one at
having a capacity of $4,000 bar
a day. down to much smaller ones.
The total refining capacity of all these
is 1,SSo.o0o barrels daily. The
capacity. therefore, is somewhat larger
than the daily production. Bowles ex- |
pressed the opinion that one of the
promising signs of the Kelvin unburst
was not the opening up of gush- |
ers. but the probability of many moder-
ate producing wells.
The sum total of petroleum produc-
ton since 1857 has been 5000, 1000
barreIs-a figure that can hardly be |
grasped. So important has Mbricating
oil and gasoline become that the heavy
machinery and many industries of the
could not run a hours if oil
were cut off.
Comparing the different fiids, accord