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.
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