The world’s first commercial mineral oil works was in Scotland, and it was a Scot, James “paraffin” Young, who became recognised as the world’s first oil tycoon.

For a brief period during the mid 19th century, Paraffin Young’s process for
production of oil from cannel coal was licenced for use in many parts of Europe and the USA, and mineral mined in Scotland was widely exported. Although this enterprise was soon eclipsed once reserves of liquid petroleum were discovered, the charismatic James Paraffin Young became a major public figure. Credited with bringing affordable lighting into every home, he is still recognised amongst the great Scottish inventors and entrepreneurs.

The shale oil industry that arose from Young’s original enterprise was for many years unique to Scotland. From the outset, competition from cheap imported petroleum bred commercial and technical innovation, and many processes developed in Scotland were subsequently applied throughout the world’s oil industry.

The shale oil industry reached its zenith at the start of the 20th century when it
supplied about a quarter of Britain’s oil needs. Scottish oils were always promoted as a premium product, marketed on their purity and safety, and appealing to a sense of patriotism.

During the first world war, the Scottish shale oil companies were brought together under state control and combined with the fledgling Anglo-Persian oil company. Freed from the parochialism of the Scottish industry, some of the best talent of the old shale companies drove the blossoming of Anglo-Persian into the leading international company later to be known as British Petroleum.

With the rise of Anglo-Persian there was no longer any economic justification for shale oil, but state support and wartime investment slowed the decline of the industry. The final Scottish shale oil works closed in 1962, just a few years before the dawn of a new age of Scottish oil from the North Sea.

A Very Brief History of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry

Pre-1847 Mineral oils were a rare commodity and most oil used for lighting, heat and lubrication was derived from plants, animals or fish. The technology for producing gas from coal was well established by 1800 and various efforts were made to adapt this process to produce oil. None however were commercially successful.

1847-1850 James Young, a Glasgow-born chemical engineer from humble
origins, realised the commercial potential of bottling a natural seepage of mineral oil and marketing this as a lubricant to the spinning industry. When supplies were exhausted he experimented with gas-making technology and devised a process for producing mineral oil from cannel coal, which he then protected with a
carefully worded patent.

1850-1864 Young and his two partners constructed Bathgate chemical works, sited close to supplies of the oil-rich Boghead cannel coal. Initially intended to produce lubricating oil, it was soon appreciated that a market also existed for lighter oils that could be burned in lamps. The promise of clean affordable domestic lighting brought an immediate demand for the new lamp oil, and immense public interest in James Young and his secret works in Bathgate. Despite strict security surrounding operations at Bathgate, many throughout Europe and the USA attempted to copy the process, but Young successfully defended his patent and even traveled to America to claim royalties due to him. While Young enjoyed the lamplight, his partners oversaw rapid and remarkable technological advances at the Bathgate works which established many of the basic technical processes of the oil industry.
Liquid petroleum was discovered in the US in 1859 and by 1862 was being imported into Scotland at prices far lower than home-produced
oils. This competition, the exhaustion of Boghead coal reserves, the expiry of Young’s patent, and friction between the partners led to the dissolution of the partnership in 1864.

1864-1870 Entrepreneurs large and small waited impatiently for Young’s patent to expire so they might emulate his success. During the “oilmania” of 1866, over fifty oilworks were established throughout the Scottish coalfields intending to use various cannel coals to produce oil. None of these coals proved as oil-rich as the Boghead coal, and the vast majority of these works were closed and dismantled by 1870. At a few locations in North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and West Lothian, coal oil production continued as late as the 1890’s, yielding a product consider to be of inferior quality to shale oil.

1900-1914 Scotland’s shale oil industry reached its zenith at the turn of the 20th century. Six shale oil companies survived, and there was major investment in new oilworks, mines and worker’s housing. The industry was amongst the first to introduce electrical power and other innovative technologies. The Pumpherston Oil company was most vigorous of the companies, operating a number of crude oil works to feed their refinery at Pumpherston. Despite efforts to establish marketing alliances, the Scottish companies continued in wasteful competition with each other and failed to grasp the opportunities of the international oil market. As overseas production of liquid petroleum increased, the significance of the
Scottish industry declined. By 1900 Scottish shale oil represented
less than 1% of global oil production, and much of the oil used in
Britain was imported from the US, Russia, or Romania.

1914-1919 In 1909, the government-sponsored Anglo-Persian oil company began exploitation of liquid petroleum from Iran. Following the outbreak of World War One, all British oil interests were brought under state control, and in 1919 the Scottish shale companies were merged into the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, of which the government was the major shareholder. With the spectacular rise in demand for oil during and after the war, the technical and commercial expertise of the Scottish shale oil industry was harnessed to develop this new British oil company. Shale oil expertise directed the construction of Grangemouth refinery in the early 1920’s to provide the new heart of the Scottish oil industry, refining crude oil imported from the middle east.Much of the best talent of the shale oil industry found senior positions within Anglo-Persian; William Fraser, Managing Director
of the Pumpherston Oil Company, ultimately became Chairman of Anglo-Persian (and subsequently British Petroleum) and was raised to the peerage as the 1st Baron Strathalmond.

1919-1992 With the radical changes that followed World War One it became clear that there was no economic future for Scotland’s shale oil industry, which then still employed almost 8,000 people. Closure of oilworks and mines resulted in terrible hardship for the local community, and a tax benefit on home produced road fuels was eventually introduced in an effort to protect the industry. A new cracking plant was installed to convert shale oils to diesel and petrol, which were marketed as “Scotch Oils” to appeal to public patriotism. The threat of a second world war, and the need to secure oil supplies, led to new investment in mines and the construction of a new crude oilworks at Westwood. This new works introduced an
unprecedented level of mechanisation and efficiency into the shale oil industry. After the war, some of the first synthetic detergents were made from shale oil at a new plant in Pumpherston. Elsewhere the decline of the industry continued; crude oil works and associated mines were closed until only Westwood remained. Closure of Westwood in 1962 marked the end of shale oil production in Scotland. Other oils continued to be refined at Pumpherston until 1964. The closure of the Pumpherston detergent plant in 1992 marked the end of the final chapter of a once great Scottish industry.