November 1, 1920 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



77 



India Rubber in the Oil Industry 



RUBBER figures as a considerable item, as it plays an indis- 

 pensable part in the colossal petroleum industry of the 

 United States, in which, according to the Geological Sur- 

 vey, over 1^,000 companies and individuals operating wells are 

 expected to produce in 1920 some 400,000,000 barrels of crude 

 oil worth about $1,260,000,000. Estimates of the actual capital in- 

 volved in the production, refining and distribution of petroleum, 

 while varying greatly, give an approximate total of over two 

 billion dollars for the entire country. 



Of this enormous total about one-third is accredited to the 

 Southwest, where the recent development of petroleum fields has 

 amazed the nation by its magnitude and rapid extension. From 

 Texas to the Pacific Slope in a hundred territories thousands of 

 wells are daily yielding hundreds of thousands of barrels of 

 oil, and a multitude of prospectors are continually opening up 

 new areas and drilling for new supplies of a commodity for which 

 there is an ever-increasing demand. 



California, of whose oil industry more complete statistics are 

 available than of some of the other southwestern states, produces 

 fully one-fifth of the world's total supply of petroleum. On July 

 1, 1920, there were nearly 800 concerns in the state operating 

 9,311 wells and drilling 454 more, 261 having been started in the 

 first six months of 1920, as compared with 182 in the same period 

 of 1919. The state's total crude oil production for 1919 was 101.- 



made upon manufacturers of various rubber essentials for the oil 

 fields. The general complaint among oil well drillers is that op- 

 erations are greatly retarded by slow deliveries of machinery. 

 Little fault, however, seems to be found with the execution of 

 orders for rubber goods, the sales of which in the Southwest oil 

 industry total several hundred thousand dollars annually. 



While most of the rubber used in drilling, pumping, conveying, 

 etc., in the oil industry in this section is provided by Eastern and 

 Mid-Western factories, a fairly large proportion of such goods 

 is being furnished by makers of rubber specialties on the Pacific 

 Coast. 



DRILLING OUTFITS 



It may ncit be amiss here to touch briefly upon that most essen- 

 tion operation in an oil field — drilling, and the apparatus with 

 which it is carried on. While old-time oil men insist that for 

 drilling there is nothing to rival the familiar standard, immov- 

 able derrick, up-to-date prospectors rather favor compact portable 

 drilling rigs, which are not only easily moved about and quickly 

 erected, but with which, it is claimed, wells can also be drilled 

 in a much shorter time than with the standard rig. Very deep 

 drilling may be done with the former, but the latter has proved 

 its value for shallower wells, and has been efficient even at depths 

 of 2,500 feet or more. A fine type of drilling outfit is the com- 

 bination derrick, about 80 feet high, so arranged that it can be 



Rubber Goods Are Indispensable to the Oh. Inliustkv in Drilling, Pu.mi'ing anu Co.nveving Crude Oil, Also i.n the Fin.-\l 



Distribution of the Refined Products 



221,000 barrels, according to reports kept liy the Standard Oil Co., 

 and according to the state's own reports for 1919. three hundred 

 twenty oil companies had $139,321,872 in cash and $222,244,897 in 

 properties. 



In Texas it is estimated that over 300 companies are producing 

 oil, many of them in great quantities, and about 600 more are 

 drilling. In New Mexico, it is said, that 70 oil companies are 

 operating, 28 in Arizona, 26 in Utah, and 30 in Nevada. Attracted 

 by the steadily-enhancing value of the crude product, many more 

 concerns with ample capital are planning to go actively into the 

 big "oil game," and consequently augment the demands being 



used for both cable and rotary drilling. In cable drilling the 

 tools, which fairly chisel a hole through the solid earth, are al- 

 ternately lifted within the derrick and then dropped through an 

 ever-lengthening casing of iron pipe ; while in rotary drilling the 

 boring is done by a low-set machine, the essential feature being a 

 revolving horizontal steel table, in the center of which is fastened 

 the drilling bit and through the center of which can also be 

 slipped the sections of pipe casing. The table is geared to a bevel 

 pinion on a shaft driven by a motor or gas engine. 



When oil is struck a long piston rod replaces the drilling 

 "string" in the center of the derrick, the pumping jack is set over 



