200 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



PRESENT CONDITION OF THE OIL INDUSTRY 

 Fred H. Kay, State Geological Survey, Urbana 



The remarkable change which occurred in the oil industry 

 during the latter part of 1915 is brought very close to a large 

 part of our population in the steadily increasing price of gaso- 

 line, and it is pertinent at this time to look into the causes which 

 led the industry from stagnation and low prices during the lat- 

 ter part of 1914, to unprecedented activity and high prices 

 during the autumn and winter of 1915 and up to the present 

 time. 



Foremost among the depressing influences of 1914, was the 

 enormous production of high-grade oil from the Cushing, 

 Oklahoma, field. About the middle of the year, this remark- 

 able field reached its height, and was producing daily about 

 300,000 barrels of high-grade crude oil, and operators were at 

 a loss to know how to care for the output. The over produc- 

 tion came at a time when business in the United States was 

 depressed at the beginning of the European war, and exports 

 were greatly curtailed if not demoralized. The general result 

 was a great overproduction of petroleum much exceeding the 

 demand, and a consequent reduction of prices, which led to 

 stagnation in the industry and to a decline in all sorts of de- 

 velopment work. 



Production in 1915 



In spite of the poor condition of the industry in the early 

 part of 1915, the production for the year was 267,400,000 

 barrels — slightly larger than the record-breaking production 

 of 1914. The larger total production was due principally to 

 the continued output from the Cushing field during the first 

 half year and the production from the Humble, Texas, pool 

 as well as from the newly discovered pools of Texas and Lou- 

 isiana. 



The sharp decline of Cushing production to less than one- 

 third of its former output, the better business conditions in 

 the United States, the increasing foreign and domestic demand 

 for gasoline and motor spirits together with facilitated export 

 conditions, ushered in a new era beginning September 1915. 

 More petroleum was marketed, stocks held in tanks were drawn 



