Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

ENGINEERING IN THE WORLD’S z _ OIL FIELDS. WATER, OIL, AND SAND FLOWING FROM A “ SPOUTER.” BY A. BEEBY THOMPSON, A.M.I.Mech.E. MOST persons who are not connected directly with the petroleum industry have but little idea of the large variety of engineering operations required to produce and bring lamp oils, motor spirit, lubricants for machinery, etc., into the hands of the consumer. It may safely be said that in the production, treatment, and transport of petroleum there is scarcely any branch of engineering that does not play a part. The success or failure of an enter- prise is closely bound up with the type and design of the drilling plant, and with the manner in which it is handled. This plant lias to be maintained in thorough and efficient order, which entails the erection of workshops with, special ma- chinery for executing repairs and replacing parts. Again, electricity plays a not un- (1.408) 21 Engineering Requirements of Oil Fields. important råle on an oil field, where, owing to the inflammable nature of the product handled, the wells, pump-houses, refineries,etc., must be, for safety’s sake, lit with electric light. Electric power is also largely employed on oil fields for working the plant, and some of the finest generating stations in the world have been erected on the Russian and Rouma- nian oil fields. Telephones linking up the out- lying sections with the numerous departments in the works, stores, and offices are also not only a convenience but a prime necessity. Then there are the railways that usually encircle an oil property to transport heavy plant from one point to another; whilst piers, wharves, and jetties are needed on the water’s edge for the loading of petroleum products on to ship or barge. Numerous pumps of all descriptions are required, some for raising the crude oil out of the wells, VOL. II.