Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-27
REF|NER|ES OF OIL
INCREASE CAPACITY
Number 435 January |, Ac'
cordinJ to Bureau of
Mines.

There were 435 completed petroleum
refineries In this country on January l.,
1881, according to survey made by
the United States Bureau of Mines, De-
partment Of Commerce. This figure
compares with 4l2 refineries on Janu-
airy !, 1880. The number Of refineries
reached its peak in 1923 and 1924, after
which there was a more or less steady
decline until 1880, when the number of
plants constructed considerably ex-
ceeded the number dismantled.
Total Capacity.
The total capacity of all reflneries on
January /, 1881, amounted to 1919, 685
barrels, of which 3,706,610 barrels, or
90 per cent, represents the capacity of
the operating plants; 236,075 barrels, or
6 per cent, represents the capacity of
the imperative plants, and $4,000 bar
rels, or per cent, represents the capac-
ity Of 10 plants under construction.
These data, as compared with January
as follows: For total capacity, per
cent; for the capacity of operating
plants, 2 per cent; for imperative
plants, 81 per cent. and for plants
under construction, 81 per cent.
The total capacity of the operating
plants has increased steadily since the
first complete survey of refineries was
made as of January /, 1920, states G.
r. Hopkins and E. w. Cochrane In a
report recently issued by the Bureau Of
Mines. During the 10-year period 1921
1891 the capacity Of the operating
plants increased lot per cent. When It
Is considered that during this same
period the production of crude increased
l02 per cent, it would not appear that
there had been an overexpansion in re-
filming facilities. However, when gaso-
line production is compared with re-
finery growth, 1t becomes evident that
the refining capacity has grown more
rapidly than the consumption of re-
fined products. The potential capacity
of the refineries to produce gasoline has
increased several fold in the last 10
years, even outstripping the rapid in
crease in demand for this product. This
has made it necessary for most refiner-
les to curtail their operations, and there
are very few plants which have oper-
ated at capacity for any length of time
within the last year or two.
Average in 1880.
For the year 1880 the average total
capacity of the operating plants
amounted to 3,673,000 barrels and the
WdO
2,541 900 barrels. This indicates that
the refineries operated at an average
of SO per cent of their capacity. in
1928 and 1929 the ref1neries cpel ated
at an average of 10 and IS per cent
of their capacity, respectively, which
indicates q steady growth In the
amount of idle equipment.
On January 1, 1881. there were re-
flneries in 80 States. There is a small
plant located in the Katalla field of
Alaska, but this plant is not included
in the Bureau of Mines survey. Texas
continued to lead in number of re-
f1neries, with 90; California was sec
ond in number, with SO. From the
standpoint of capacity California
ranked first, with total of 27,180
barrels, as compared with a total ca
pacity of 860,875 barrels for Texas.
Although the plants located on the
in size with the largest found in Cali
fornia, the large number Of small
skimming plants in North Texas great
ly reduces the average. Practically all
Of the States recorded an increase in
total capacity in the year 1880. This
resulted both from the construction Of
new plants and through the enlarge
ment and modernization Of others.
Construction of Refineries.
Ref1neries usually are constructed in
the producing fields near the source
of raw material or at the end of trans
portation systems near the consuming
centers. The trend has been toward
locating them near the points of con-
sumption, since in this way the ex-
tensive transportation of refined prod
ucts is partially avoided A number
of refineries we're built in the pro-
ducing fields in 1890 and II is prob-
able that plants will be located in
this manner as long as flush fields are
found and cheap crude is available.
The transportation of gasoline by pipe
line received its first great impetus in
1890. This method of. transportation
bids fair to become an increasingly i'm
portant factor in the petroleum indus
try. in which case 1t will tend to m
crease the relative Importance of these
refineries located in or near the pro-
ducing fields. The discovery of flush
production in East Texas in the closing
months of 1890 led to the construction
of a number of these plants in the