Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-22
NEW OIL PIPELINE
INTERESTS TRADE
Leaders of Industry Are
Watching Operation of
Huge Carrier.
BY WILLIAM VOIGT, JR.
Associated Press Staff Writer.

TULSA, Okla, october 22.-From that
most volatile industry-oil-has come
considerable speculation recently on the
newest developments In transportation
Of one of its most volatile products
gasoline.
Completion in the last month of the
longest gasoline pipeline IN the world,
a line which gathers gasoline in Okla
home and distributes it at way points
through the grain belt. and into Chi
cago, is the feature of the marketing
and distributing angle of the industry
which causes all the talk:
Pipeline Building.
Principal interest centers in the
question of how soon other companies
will follow the lead which has been
taken by a group of the larger reflnerS
and distributors of Oklahoma. How
long will it be until there Is net
work of gasoline pipelines radiating
from refining points all over the
country just as complete as the pres
ent network of pipelines carrying crude
oil from gathering points to ref1nerles?
Opposing views are taken-one by
widely quoted writer for an oil jour
nal. the other by an executive OF
company holding an interest in the
present gasoline line operating from
Oklahoma to the Great Lakes.
Basing his assumption on the theory
that other refiners in all parts OF the
nation must come around to building
pipelines to carry their own products
if they wish to compete with the pres
ent pipeline operators, the oil jour
nalist has asserted that the very near
future will see renewal OF construc-
ton.
The executive, while not carrying his
hn
says he Is of the opinion that the mid
continent area, especially Oklahoma,
is we'll fixed for marketing and dis
tribution for some time to come and
there should be no immediate an
nouncements by any companies oper-
ating in this area.
Virtually all the large refiners Of the
district are joint owners Of the long
line. Large producers Of the vicinity
who are not interested in the line have
their own lines for transportation OF
crude oil to ref1nerieS in other parts
of the country, near their distribution
and marketing centers, the executive
says.
Operation of the long line to Chicago
has brought some enlightening facts
and figures. Cost of transportation via
pipeline has been less than a cent
gallon for gasoline, whereas tank car
freight charges are approximately 2.38
cents a gallon. This is pointed out as
an extremely wide margin in a COM
modify where an eighth of cent differ
entail in price often means the gain or
loss of large orders.
Loss En- Route Small.
SkepticS at the outset of construc-
ton of the new line declared it would
fail because of construction and main
tenance difficulties and costs, loss Of
the fluid en- route from evaporation
and other causes and other distractions
in the way.
Figures now show that loss en- route
has been less than l per cent, from
all causes. The line this month IS
operating virtually at its capacity OF
about 25 900 barrels a day.
The long line was not the f1rst to be
placed in operation. There Is line
several hundred miles long from the
Texas Panhandle to ST.. Louis. This
has been in highly successful opera
ton for some time.
There is also a short line in Cali
fornia and one from the Salt Greek
Field to Caspar, Wyo.; an old crude
oil pipeline has been reversed in the
East and, instead of gathering the raw
material to transport to a coast re-
f1nery, now is distributing the refined
product from the coast inland as far
west as Pittsburgh.
An Eastern company Is planning a
line from the vicinity Of New York
into New England.
These, however, are small in COM
parison with the present long line from
Oklahoma to Chicago.