The Washington times., 1923-08-11
Dill INDUSTRY IS
SAVED FROM
DISASTER
California Producers Increase
Storage and Reduce Output
to Steady Market.
By WILLIAM PARKER.
Cosmopolitan News Service.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11.-ReIleI
appears to be in sight for the oil
producers Of California, even though
the production of oil continues to
show a tremendous increase and
California is now producing approx
mately one-fourth of the world
supply of oil.
The situation still is acute, but
the turning point is believed by oil
experts to be at hand by reason of
the construction of new refinertss
and storage tanks and the drafting OF
every available oil tanker to carry
the over-supply from the Southern
California fields.
" Million Barrels Stored.
Reports show that for the first
six months of 1923 California pro-
duced III, 39O,826 barrels of Oil.
Sixty-five per cent of this OIL came
from the Southern California fields
of Santa Fe Springs, Signal Hill and
Huntington Beach.
Despite the increased consumption
of oil over last year, II 100000 bar
rels were stored in the six-months
period from January to June. On
June / the total supply of California
oil in storage was 72,637,147 barrels.
Operators declare that never before
has there been a like amount of oil
in storage anywhere in the world.
The three Southern California
fields specified are the cause of this
enormous amount of oil being
stored, their production volume
being SO great that efforts have
been made to bring about a general
decrease of from rs to 40 per cent
in production. This movement has
been only partly successful.
Nearly Million Barrels Daily.
The total production of Oil In
California is 100000 barrels daily.
keters' Association. The same as
ISOLATION estimates that the to nj
production would be 100000 bar
rels If the wells were operated to
their full capacity.
There is a difference in opinion
among oil men on the question Of
the peak Of production. Some be-
lieve it has been reached, while
others declare it will not be reach
ed until fall, and possibly not then,
because new wells continue to come
in both at Santa Fe Springs and
Signal Hill.
The Standard Oil Company of
California is constructing at FL
Segundo, near Long Beach, a 3,0nC.-
900 barrel reservoir. At Watson s
Siding, also near Long Beach. five
companies have 10000, 900. barrels in
storage. The cost of storing oil,
aside from the rental or value of
the land, can be judged when it is
estimated by operators that it costs
so cents a barrel to build storage
tanks.
The economic situation is said
seriously to have affected num-
Der of the independent companies
because Of storage expe Uses and
necessary extensions, which has, III
some instances, made the operating
expense more than the income.
Dividends, in these cases, have been
| reduced or suspended.
May Cut Production.
In order to reduce the storage in
Southern California, tankers have
been pressed into service from all
over the world. These tankers oper-
ate from Los Angeles harbor to
San Francisco. At this point the Gil
is again pumped back into pipe lines
for a distance of ESQ miles to the
San Joaquin valley, where it is
stored. Even these tankers have
proved insufficient to move the huge
volume Of oil, and there is an aver.
age of one 50-car train a day leaving
Los Angeles to carry oil to the tank
age in the San Joaquin valley.
A drastic curtailment of produc.
ton is, in the opinion of some oil
operators, necessary to restore the
equilibrium of the oil industry. One
Of the larger companies is said prac-
tically to have stopped production in
one it's fields and numerous wells
in the central section Of California
have stopped pumping.
The price Of gasoline is now feel
ing the effect Of the over-production
Of crude oil, gasoline being sold as
cheaply here as kerosene is in the
east. Some places retail gasoline as
low as 13 cents a gallon.
A series Of three articles on the oil
situation, wherein production Is
| causing great wastage Of this ire
placable natural resource, has been
prepared by w. S. Cousins, financial
| expert for The Washington Times.
The first will appear Monday
EDITOR.
GIRL BATHER BROWNS AS