Fighting Oil by Harold Ickes
Alfred Knopf, 1943.

p. 22. In the summer of 1940, Harold Ickes suggested that the United States should build a few pipelines or at least a pipeline from Texas to the East Coast. By 1941, Great Britain borrowed 50 oil tankers from us. Ickes reiterated his request for a pipeline to the east, but as we were not yet at war, nothing was done.

p. 27. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, it became rapidly apparent that we were going to need to move oil and petroleum products around the country in response to a major war effort. A call went out for all the tank cars to return to service. It turned out, that most of them were already in service, though some few hundred that were being used to transport other liquids including wine.

p. 28. One big problem was that tank cars were being interspersed with other types of railroad cars and it took days to separate them out. It was soon found out that while 3500 to 4000 tank cars could be unloaded daily in the east, this meant that the other 65,000 cars were traveling most of the time. Ocean going tankers were now diverted to military use, which meant that all the fuel oil for the eastern cities had to be transported by tank cars. These tank cars were soon speeded along their way and with whole strings of nothing but tank cars on one train the delivery system progressed considerably. Another problem was now created. With more cars arriving daily, new loading and unloading facilities had to be constructed. By 1943 the 3500 to 4000 cars had increased to 25,000 thus increasing supplies at any locality by up to 150 percent.

pp. 30-31. It quickly became evident that large pipelines would be the best and most efficient method of transporting fuel oil and other products across the country. In December 1941 there were over 125,000 miles of existing pipelines, but they had not taken into account the war effort when constructing these. Immediately, a system was worked out to connect the existing lines in sequence and by late in 1942 more than 160,000 barrels of fuel oil were headed via pipelines to the East Coast. More than 2000 miles of used pipe was extracted from the ground and put into service in this improved system.

Pp. 31-32. In addition, a new pipeline "The War Emergency Pipeline" or "Big Inch" was constructed from East Texas to Norris City, Illinois. In 1943 storage tanks for this oil were under construction which would eventually hold 1,280,000 barrels in readiness at Norris City, Illinois. The first section of the "Big Inch" was completed in less than six months. When completed it poured 300,000 barrels into eastern centers every day. Another pipeline was also proposed to run from Houston to New York and was begun in 1943. This would include other petroleum products besides fuel oil.

p. 46-47. By 1943, the system was beginning to crystallize into a working petroleum distribution system. Railroad tank cars, barges, and tanker trucks were moving gasoline and fuel oil in an upward spiraling flow across the country. Both the war effort and civilian needs for petroleum products were met and surpassed. One real problem, however, was gasoline and oil for automobiles.

p. 50. The driving public did not take voluntary cutbacks in consumption seriously, and it soon became obvious that rationing would have to go into effect.

p. 87-88. Another problem loomed in 1942. There was a steel shortage. The petroleum industry was obtaining only half as much steel as it had during the pre-war years, but had to operate at an advanced level to supply the war effort. If there was a shortage of anything, it might mean that a nearly completed refinery would have to set idle until the few needed parts could be obtained. Scheduling and timing played an important role in fixing this problem. Materials were salvaged and conserved, and with a "make-do" attitude, the petroleum industry progressed nicely.

p. 89 - It was felt that many wells were being drilled unnecessarily. Regulations were put in place regarding spacing of wells which prevented many wells drawing out the same pool.

pp. 116-117. By 1943 sixteen Companies were making aviation gasoline and in huge amounts compared to pre-war production. This aviation fuel in reality is a highly combustible highly processed fuel. It is produced by forcing the hydrocarbon chains to assume new configurations through the use of catalysts. This is known as catalytic cracking. In the process the crude petroleum is split or reformed into several highly processed and lighter petroleum products.

Through these catalytic processes, better and more powerful fuels are created. In addition, the natural impurities are removed and other petroleum by-products are produced. One of the most important of these new substances is synthetic rubber. By 1944, a million tons of synthetic rubber was being produced annually.