UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 145 
OIL SHALES AND THEIR ECONOMIC 
IMPORTANCE. 
BY MARTIN J. GAVIN.* 
The twentieth century has often been spoken of as 
the age of petroleum, and from many viewpoints it can 
be justly considered so. Certain it is that the petroleum 
industry is one of great importance to this country,indus- 
trially, financially and economically. The United States, 
however, at present producing over sixty per cent of the 
world’s total output of petroleum, is not producing petro- 
leum at a sufficient rate to provide for its own domestic 
consumption. For several years this country has been 
importing ever increasing quantities of crude and partly 
refined oils from Mexico, and has been drawing heavily 
on domestic stocks of petroleum. Although domestic 
production of petroleum is increasing it is not increasing 
at the same average rate as domestic consumption, nor 
is it probable that in the future domestic production will 
increase sufficiently to satisfy the demands of domestic 
consumption, but on the contrary, in the opinion of those 
best qualified to know, the peak in the curve of domestic 
production of crude petroleum will be reached in a com- 
paratively few years, while the rate of increase in con- 
sumption of petroleum and its products, will rise at a 
continually growing rate. This country then must turn, 
and as a matter of fact, as the increasing imports from 
Mexico indicate, is turning to other sources than the 
crude petroleum produced in this country to make up the 
deficit between domestic production and domestic con- 
sumption of petroleum and its products. 
The chief products of petroleum are motor fuels, 
kerosene, fuel oils, and lubricating oils. Of these, the 
increasing demand for motor fuels or gasoline is perhaps 
the greatest, and that of fuel oils probably next greatest. 
The ever growing use of the internal combustion motor, 
*Refinery Engineer, United States Bureau of Mines. Presented 
by permission of the Director, United States Bureau of Mines, 
