PETROLEUM IN ENGLAND
There will be no chapter in this little treatise which will be more
carefully perused than the present one, for the subject is of direct
interest to every reader, whether actually associated with the search
for oil or not. To-day, as I have already mentioned in another chapter,
this country is dependent for practically the whole of its petroleum
requirements upon foreign oil-producing countries, and though ample
evidence is forthcoming to suggest that there are possibilities of
obtaining liquid oil in England--in fact, many years ago this was
actually obtained in not inconsiderable quantities--it is very strange
that only recently have serious efforts been made in the direction of
systematic search for the valuable liquid.
That large quantities of petroleum can be produced in this country is
agreed by all who have given the subject more than passing thought;
the question is, by what means shall this production be brought about.
While it is problematical as to the amount of commercial success which
will attend the present search for liquid oil, though those who are
most competent to judge believe that large stores of liquid oil will
be found, it is already certain that there are vast possibilities in
England for the production of petroleum from the treatment of the
bituminous shales which freely abound in many parts.
It will be seen, therefore, that the subject really divides itself
under two heads, and it is with the first of these--that of the
possibilities of finding liquid oil reserves in commercial quantity in
this country--that I will now proceed to deal. For this purpose, it is
better that we divide the country into three zones--western, middle,
and eastern. The western zone will include the whole of England between
the third meridian of West Longitude and the Irish Sea, the Bristol
Channel, and the North Atlantic. It will be bounded on the north by a
line running near Whitehaven to the mouth of the River Tees, and having
the English Channel as its southern boundary. In this zone, the most
northern occurrence of petroleum is found at Whitehaven, Cumberland,
and the next is found on the Lancashire coast. Other indications are to
be found in Denbighshire and in the northern part of the South Wales
coalfield.
The occurrences of petroleum in what may be described as the middle
zone are far more important and numerous than those of the western
zone. They are important in the physical conditions to which they
are subordinate, and in their greater productiveness. They are more
numerous, and their geological position is more in direct relationship
with later dynamical alterations in the rock structures. In this
zone occurs the most important occurrence which has so far been
recorded--I refer to that at Alfreton, in Derbyshire--for it was from
this natural flow of petroleum over 70 years ago that Dr. Young, the
founder of the Scottish shale oil industry, manufactured paraffin wax.
Near Chesterfield is also unmistakable evidence of the presence of
liquid oil at depth, for considerable quantities have flowed from the
workings at the Southgate Colliery. In this middle zone, too, are the
occurrences of petroleum found near Wigan and West Leigh, while flows
of oil are recorded from several spots round Barnsley and Ilkeston. The
petroleum find at Kelham, near Newark, some few years ago, is important
for the reason that the drill in this case, at a depth of somewhere
about 2,400 feet, struck true petroliferous sands, underlain by dark,
waxy shales. The oil rock has been proved to consist of loose, coarsely
grained sand, having all the features of strata in which petroleum is
ordinarily met with. The great value of this boring is that it has
demonstrated the fact, so long doubted by many of the best geological
authorities in Great Britain, that all the geological conditions,
dynamical as well as historical, are present in this locality for the
formation and subsequent retention of liquid petroleum, and that,
as Dr. William Forbes-Leslie puts it, despite all contention to the
contrary, a true oil-field exists in England.
So far as I am aware, however, North Staffordshire alone, among all the
places in England, has the distinction of so far having produced liquid
petroleum in sufficient quantity for refining purposes. It was in 1874
that oil was discovered in a seam of coal in one of the pits of the
Mear Hay Collieries, Longton, and a contract was ultimately made with
a Mr. William Walker, Senr., of Hanley, who erected plant at Cobridge
for the purpose of refining the oil. I am indebted to Mr. Walker for
the following facts, though in a general way I have full corroboration
for them, for it was within a couple of miles from the collieries that
I was born and spent my earlier days. The seam of coal wherein the oil
was discovered was one of the deeper seams, and by no means one of
the best in the district. At that time, the flow produced more than
5 tons of crude oil per week, and inasmuch as England then was not
inundated with American petroleums, great possibilities were seen in
the discovery. But almost before the refining of the crude had settled
down to be a commercial undertaking, the plans of operation were upset,
for a serious explosion occurred at the colliery, which rendered
necessary the closing of the pit. Twelve months later, however, they
were re-opened, and after the re-sinking had proceeded awhile, the oil
was found far up the shaft, and in due course the shaft was cleared and
the mines re-opened. Refining operations were resumed and continued for
a year or two, when the pits had to be closed on account of the shafts
shrinking.
However, in the course of a number of years, petroleum appeared in
another colliery less than a mile from the Mear Hay Colliery, and
again Mr. Walker secured the contract for the whole of the output. The
quantity of crude oil found was several tons weekly, and a large stock
had accumulated when Mr. Walker’s attention was drawn to this new find.
This time, the supply continued for a longer period, and then again the
seam of coal in which the deposit occurred had to be abandoned. Thus,
while the resources of this part of the Charnian axis have not been
properly tested--for, in the opinion of the colliery owners, it is not
possible profitably to work coal and oil at the same time--there is
ample evidence to suggest that, in the not distant future, there may be
most interesting oil developments in this part of North Staffordshire.
The eastern zone of the country doubtless furnishes the most
interesting petroleum occurrences in England. Here, the interest does
not so much depend upon the number of escapes, as upon the promising
geological conditions subserving the production and possible retention
of petroleum. According to the investigations of Dr. W. Forbes-Leslie,
F.R.G.S., whose valuable contribution on the subject of the occurrence
of petroleum in England forms one of the most important papers ever
read before the Institution of Petroleum Technologists, the northern
line of oil occurrences runs from Filey, north-westerly, the principal
finds being located at Filey, Pickering, and Kirby Moorside. Oil, too,
has been found at Brigg, in Lincolnshire, at Market-Rasen, Haugmont,
and Donnington-on-Bain. The line of oil occurrences starts at King’s
Lynn, on the Wash, and runs south-westwards as far as Cottenham,
in Cambridgeshire, the principal occurrences being at King’s Lynn,
Downham, Littleport, and Ely. The information obtained by the bore-hole
at Kelham, to which I have already referred, is a factor of great
value when taken into consideration and applied to an analytical
review of the petroleum seepages in England. It is a positive proof
that a true oil-bearing stratum underlies the surface rocks, at any
rate, in one part of the British Isles, and, when it is considered in
relation with the surface position of the oil escapes on the eastern
flank of the Pennine Chain, it suggests a possible connection between
those underground sources of oil and those surface escapes which are
scattered, seemingly at such random, along the Pennines.
The attempts which were made but a few years ago to develop the
possibilities of the Heathfield district of Sussex, with a view to
obtaining commercial quantities of natural gas, were also prompted with
the idea of maybe striking deposits of liquid petroleum, though it is
doubtful, both from a geological point of view, and from the nature of
the natural gas which is there in abundance, whether liquid oil will
be met with in that part of the country. What has been established,
however, is the fact that large quantities of natural gas are to be
found in this delightful part of rural Sussex, and it is a great pity
that the necessary enterprise has not been forthcoming to permit of
a really serious development. Some years ago, I motored an American
oil-man over the gas-fields of Heathfield, and he assured me that, if
such evidences were found in the States, there would immediately be a
great boom, and finance would freely flow in to stimulate development.
But not so with Heathfield, for the opinion is freely held that this
field is too near our midst for real speculative enterprise. Remove
it to the wilds of Russia, and British finance would appreciate the
immense potentialities which to-day lie dormant. For those readers who
are, perhaps, not conversant with the history of the Heathfield gas
developments it is well to record the fact that attention to these
deposits was drawn years ago, when a well was being drilled for water
on the property of the Brighton and South Coast Railway, near the
present station. Strong smells of gas prevented working for some time,
and as these increased it was decided that the better course would be
to suspend drilling operations. The tubes of the well were partially
drawn out, and the well sides caved in, yet the gas pressure increased.
The well was abandoned as a water well, but pipes were attached to the
cap at the mouth, and a steady pressure of gas was emitted. It was
decided that, inasmuch as the gas burned with a pure flame, the station
should be lighted with it. That was over twenty years ago, and to-day
the well is still producing, and the station is still lighted with the
natural gas, which needs no refining. Not only so, but a well-appointed
hotel close by utilizes the gas for lighting and cooking.
A project was set on foot for sinking further wells and piping the
gas to the southern coast resorts for general use, but lack of
capital prevented progress being made, and so, to-day, Heathfield,
like many other centres in the country, awaits the attention of the
carefully-directed drill to open up its underground wealth.
In August, 1917, the feeling in many parts of the country that the
Government should take some action in order to develop these latent
resources became so strong that a Bill was introduced into Parliament
with this object in view. No attempt was made to progress with it until
the following October, when a financial resolution was rejected by the
House of Commons on the question of royalties. An amendment was adopted
against the payment of royalties to the owners of surface lands who had
made no attempt to obtain liquid oil, and who, as a matter of fact, did
not know that it was there. Two months later the Petroleum (Production)
Bill was dropped.
In March, 1918, however, a most encouraging turn of events occurred,
for Lord Cowdray, head of the great firm of Messrs. S. Pearson & Son,
and associated with those influential interests in oil represented by
the Mexican Eagle Oil Company, the Eagle Oil Transport Company, and the
Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Company, made offers to the Government which
were couched in the following terms--
(_a_) For the period of the war to place at the disposal of the
Government, free of all cost, the services of his firm and geological
staff for the purpose of exploration and development.
(_b_) If the Government did not wish to risk public money on what had
to be deemed a speculative enterprise, Messrs. S. Pearson & Son were
prepared to drill, at their own risk and expense as licensees, subject
to certain areas being reserved to them. The offer committed the firm
to an expenditure of, possibly, £500,000.
The public spirited offer of Lord Cowdray was most thankfully accepted
by the Government and, with a minimum of delay, drilling sites were
marked out for the commencement of active operations.
Lord Cowdray’s geological staff particularly favoured the neighbourhood
in Derbyshire, near to which Young made his first discoveries of
oil, and Chesterfield was selected as headquarters for the new oil
developments. The first oil well to be drilled in this country was
commenced in September, 1918, at Hardstoft, near Pilsley, on the
Great Central main line between Sheffield and Nottingham, and on
Tuesday, 18th October, the inauguration of England’s oil industry
took place there in the presence of many oil notabilities. American
drilling machinery of the percussion type was installed and, in view
of the great depth to which it was expected the drill would have to
proceed before encountering commercial quantities of oil, the well was
commenced with a diameter of 18 inches.
A depth of just over 3,000 ft. had been reached at the commencement
of June, 1919, at which depth oil production started. The well was
put on the pump and began its steady yield of a good grade crude oil,
the production being about fifty barrels per week. Up to the time of
writing (December, 1919) the well is maintaining its yield.
Other wells have been sunk in the Chesterfield area at Ironville,
Heath, Renishaw, Brimington, Ridgeway and in North Staffordshire and
Scotland, but so far the success met with is not promising, though it
is quite possible that commercial oil may be encountered.
Private enterprise has also commenced the sinking of a well at Kelham,
Nottinghamshire, near a site where, many years ago, small quantities of
oil were found in an experimental coal bore. Here, however, no definite
result has been attained. The Company--The Oilfields of England,
Ltd.--is operating under a drilling license from the Government under
which the Government may take over the properties on a valuation should
commercial oil be found.
Let us now briefly turn to the other aspect of the question of the
production of petroleum in England--that is, of producing oils from
the treatment of the bituminous shales. There are several sources from
which petroleum can be obtained in this country by distillation, and
these are: (1) oil-shales, (2) coal, (3) cannel coals and torbanites,
(4) blackband ironstones, (5) lignite, and (6) peat.
Though in the past the oil shales of England have not been recognized
as possessing great potential value, comparatively recent discoveries
have proved that at home we have enormous deposits of oil shales of
remarkable richness. These are, so far as at present proved, situate
in Norfolk and at short distance from King’s Lynn. Dr. Forbes Leslie,
F.R.G.S., has for many years carried out a number of tests as to the
quality and quantity of the shales in the Norfolk field, and as a
result of his work it has been proved that upwards of twenty miles
square, there is an area in Norfolk underlaid with rich oil-shales.
From a geological point of view the shales are remarkable, for they
uniformly lie within 300 ft. of the surface, several of the seams being
but a few feet below ground. Their prolific nature may be judged from
the fact that in sinking test wells to depths of 300 ft. in various
parts of the field, over 150 ft. of this oil shale has been drilled
through, and it is thus established beyond all possible doubt that at
home we have all the materials at hand for a huge home production of
oil.
The whole of the field has been secured by English Oilfields, Ltd.,
a company which, by reason of the influential interest behind it, is
bound to be strikingly successful in its future developments in Norfolk.
The crude oil content of the shales is surprisingly great, for these
shales yield approximately 60 gallons of oil per ton, or considerably
more than double as much as the Midlothian shales. Dr. Forbes Leslie
asserts that there is already proved over 2,000,000,000 tons of shale
on the properties in Norfolk, and after having carefully inspected the
whole of the fields on many occasions, I think Dr. Leslie’s statement
may be taken as very conservative, for after all it is only a question
of a simple sum of calculation which allows one to arrive at the
figures above quoted.
Commercial developments have already been commenced on the Norfolk
fields, and it is safe to assume that they will become of enormous
National importance, since the production of home oil supplies is
to-day considered of vast National interest.
The other shales--such as the Kimmeridge shales of Dorset and
Sussex--are not being worked commercially in spite of strenuous
efforts, and there remains much to be done before a steady supply
of petroleum can be counted upon from these sources. Of the other
possible sources of supply, coal yields too little, and at the same
time is considered too valuable to be utilized on a general scale;
lignites are not yet opened for development on a sufficient scale;
and peat has proved troublesome and expensive to treat owing to the
difficulty of eliminating the water. This, therefore, leaves cannel
coals, torbanites, and blackband ironstones, which are closely
associated and, in numerous cases, easily obtainable. Cannel coal, I
should explain, differs from the ordinarily known coal on account of
its being less carbonized; it contains many fragments and particles of
vegetable matter still showing their natural forms, though flattened by
pressure. The percentage of hydrogen to carbon is higher in a cannel
coal than in the bituminous coal, the percentage of inorganic matter is
usually higher also, and the fracture and general appearance serve to
distinguish this variety of carbonaceous deposit.