Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-26
BY PRESTON S. KRECKER.
Special Dispatch to The star.

Special Dispatch to The star.
NEW YORK, March 26.-Announce--
ment of the formation of a great natural
gas company through consolidation OF
the United Gas. Louisiana Gas g. Fuel
and Magnolia Gas Companies into the
largest natural gas company in the
world. with assets of 5000, 100000, dl-
reefs attention to the tremendous de-
velopments that are taking place in the
natural gas industry of the United States
today That industry is wrestling hon.
ors from the electric light and power
industry as the most rapidly expanding
division of public utilities. Last year
it distributed approximately 19 hundred
billion cubic feet of gas to consumers.
This new giant of the natural gas in
dustry will sell, it is estimated, 100 bill
lion cubic feet of gas the first year OF
its operation. 1t will distribute gas TO
the South across the Mexican border
and northward as far as st. Louis, as
far East as Atlanta and as far West as
Laredo and Austin Tex. Its initial order
for gas pipe calls for 900 miles of line.
Industry Has Been Backward.
The new company, huge as 1t is,
marks only the beginning of the inn
portant developments in prodigious in
FAINT industry for while gas as natural
resource of the earth has been known
for so years, it has never been developed
as a major industry. There were sew
eral reasons for the backwardneSs OF
the industry. One was the fact that,
until recently, natural gas had not been
encountered in the vast quantities it
now is produced. Another was lack OF
knowledge of uses for natural gas and
adequate transportation facilities. In
the old days it was not unusual to set
fire to gas wells and let them burn for
years as an advertisement to nearby
communities. Such gas as was used was
consumed solely in lighting and heating
homes. No industrial use whatever was
attempted.
The expansion of the natural gas
industry in the last few years has been
due in the first instance to the enor-
nous growth of the petroleum output.
Crude oil and natural gas usually are
encountered together underground and
gas pressure is what starts oil flow
| from new wells. Since the discovery
of vast new oil pools, the problem has
been what to do with the gas that flows
out with the oil. Much of that gas
has been allowed to go to waste. Cali
fornia found that AZ per cent, or $780,
! 100000 cubic feet. of its natural gas
production was being blown into the
air every day, and promptly passed
a law last year prohibiting waste of
gas as a result of which gas formerly
blown away is now being conserved.
Pipe Line Development.
Another reason for the development
of this new industry is that the world
has learned how to apply natural gas
as a generator of energy in place OF
coal and fuel oil. Finally big prob
| lem was solved when process was
developed of manufacturing seamless
pipe which would serve to transport
natural gas hundreds of miles from
| the source of supply through long-dis-
| lance lines without costly leakage.
With those two problems solved, ire
mendous development of the natural
gas industry is visualized.
There are three great natural gas
| fields-in West Virginia and Ohio in