Word: petroleum
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1920-1929
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...heavy production of petroleum has affected the prices for crude oil less than that of gasoline. The latter is now lower than at any time since 1915; crude oil sold in that year at 60? a barrel, and is now $1.50 a barrel. This disparity results from the fine quality of oil produced in California and the midcontinent; it is light and easily refined, yielding 20% to 30% gasoline, compared with 15% previously obtained by producers. An important factor has also been the improvement of refining methods, whereby the proportion of gasoline obtained from crude oil is higher than previously...
Whatever the temporary merits of coal and oil as fuels on land, there is no doubt that petroleum is increasingly favored on the seas. A survey by the Department of Commerce shows that in 1922 there were 3,110 oil-burning steamships of a gross tonnage of 15,004,548 tons, compared with only 501 such vessels with a gross tonnage of 1,721,747 in 1914. The increase has been particularly marked in recent years of expensive coal: in 1920 there were 2,021 oil-burning vessels of 9,039,247 gross tonnage; in 1921, 2,848 vessels...
Recent exercises in Titusville, Pa., commemorated the discovery of petroleum by drilling there in 1859, by Edward L. Drake, "Founder of the American Petroleum Industry." Mr. Drake did not live long enough to realize the momentous consequences of his achievement, or its far reaching effects on industry. Indeed, it was a serious question with him whether the contents of his first " 20-barrel well" were not too large to ever be sold. Until the popular adoption of the automobile, petroleum was desired chiefly for its derivative, kerosene- such was the situation in 1906, when the American petroleum industry had combined...
...Petroleum companies are struggling with the same problem of overproduction which is harassing the wheat farmers, but with decidedly more effective methods. Instead of urging Congress to set minimum prices, purchase and store surplus stocks or grant other favors, the oil men are rearranging their plans in accordance with economic principles. Far from seeking Government aid, they will be satisfied if federal investigations and red tape are not added to their other current difficulties...
...loadings are very large, unemployment is practically nonexistent, wages are high, merchants' stocks are scanty rather than heavy and the construction industry is apparently settling into more inexpensive and efficient production. On the other hand, wheat has touched new low prices under one dollar, cotton has also declined, petroleum is being produced in excess of the immediate demand, radical legislators are rapidly getting into apparent control of the next Congress, the long-predicted crash of financial Germany is seemingly near at hand. Finally, stock prices - usually a reliable index as to future business conditions-have continued to sink ominously...