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Glen Davis Shale Oil Works

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The Glen Davis Shale Oil Works was a shale oil extraction plant, in the Capertee Valley, at Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia, which operated from 1940 until 1952. It was the last oil-shale operation in Australia, until the Stuart Oil Shale Project in the late 1990s.[1] For the period of 1865–1952, it provided one fifth of the shale oil produced in Australia.[2]

Ruins of Glen Davis Oil Shale Works, Nov, 2014.

History

The shale oil industry at Glen Davis was developed for production of shale oil for national defence purposes,[3] although the basis of this project was the 1934 report of the Newnes Investigation Committee, which looked at ways to decrease the number of unemployed miners in the region.[4] The project was operated by National Oil Proprietary Ltd.,[5] a company created as a special purpose vehicle by G. F. Davis of Davis Gelantine.[6] A public notice in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, on 28 May 1936, invited offers for developing the oil industry in the Glen Davis area.[3] The company was established by private interests with financial support from the Commonwealth of Australia and New South Wales governments.[5][6][7][8][9]

Construction of the shale oil works started in 1938 and the plant was commissioned in 1939, with operations starting on 3 January 1940.[2][5][10] During World War II, shale oil produced by the Glen Davis Shale Oil Works was considered to be a strategic resource.[3][11] In 1941, 4,273,315 imperial gallons (19,426,870 L; 5,132,037 US gal) of shale oil were produced.[12]

During the calendar years 1943 to 1945 inclusive, the Glen Davis plant refined around 2,000,000 gallons of crude shale oil that had been produced from the mines and NTU retorts of Lithgow Oil Proprietary Ltd, at Marangaroo, near Lithgow. Under wartime conditions, that company had designed and constructed its own NTU retorts based on information from a Bureau of Mines publication.[13][14] The Marangaroo shale deposit was small but exceptionally rich, assaying 237 gallons per long ton.[15]

In 1942, a visiting party from the US Board of Economic Warfare recommended that the plant be expanded using Renco (or NTU) retorts, and an order was placed to supply these from the US but that order was later cancelled. A Renco retort, which had been successfully tested by Standard Oil at Newcastle, was transported to Glen Davis but not used there. Despite expert opinion and the apparent success of the NTU retorts at Marangaroo, Glen Davis remained committed to its 'modified Pumpherston' or 'Fell' retort design.[16]

In 1942, under the National Security Act, the government took over the company and in August 1949 acquired the private shareholdings. After expansion in 1946—to a nominal capacity of 10,000,000 imperial gallons (45,000,000 L; 12,000,000 US gal) of petrol per year—a shortage of mined shale constrained its output. In 1947, the refinery section of the plant was only operating 70-days during the first half of that year; not enough crude shale oil was produced by the retorts, which were only processing about 400 short tons of shale per calendar day. Productivity was poor and the works' losses were only limited by a petrol excise rebate on the oil that it produced. Securing sufficient skilled labour was a problem, due to the isolated location of Glen Davis. The workforce was around 600.[4][5]

In December 1950, it was decided to end the project. In 1951, the last full year before closure, it produced only 1,452,000 imperial gallons (6,600,000 L; 1,744,000 US gal)[4] and in the year ending December 1950 it had lost £507,637—consisting of a trading loss of £206,078, depreciation of £124,903, and interest of £176,656—revenue from petrol sales was £263,156 but wages, salaries, stores and insurance costs were £501,951. Had the plant achieved even half of its design throughput in 1951, it would have been profitable but, by the end of 1950, the accumulated losses already totalled 84% of capital and advances.[17] To the end, the continuing inability to mine sufficient shale to feed the retorts was the cause of the works' losses. Plans to change the method of mining from 'bord and pillar' to 'longwall' never eventuated.[5][18][19][4][20]

Government funding ceased in 1952, and Glen Davis was closed on 30 May.[21][22] Although some syndicates had an interest to the facility, no deal was concluded.[23] The closure caused a 'stay down' strike by miners and other workers kept the retorts running without being paid. The 'stay down' strike ended after 26 days, without success, when the Australian Council of Trade Unions decided not to support the strike.[24]

The works had been the site of contention between communist-inspired and non-communist trade union leadership, particularly between the Miner's Federation—covering the mine workers—and the Australian Workers' Union—covering workers at the retorts and refinery.[25][26][27][28][29] In 1948, the miners' union refused to allow Polish immigrants—eight of the men were experienced coal miners—to work in the shale mine but the same men were welcomed by the AWU.[30] The miner's resistance to the Poles' working in the mine, seems to have been based on a perception of their political views rather than their ethnicity.[31]

Many saw the rigorous enforcement of the 'darg'—a work quota[32]—by communist-led miners, as the reason for the low production rate of oil shale in the highly mechanised shale mine—with claims that miners were working actively for as little as four hours in an eight-hour shift—that in turn being the cause of the works' eventual fate.[33][34][35][18][36] Others denied even the existence of a 'darg' and of communist-led unions at Glen Davis, blaming instead the state of the mining equipment and the management for the closure.[37]

The closure of the works loomed as a personal financial catastrophe for those who had built or bought houses on land in the township.[38][37][39] The Commonwealth Government agreed to compensation that softened the blow, and the unions agreed to allow the industrial plant to be disassembled.[40][41] Beginning in early 1953, much of the movable equipment and other salvageable items were put on sale at auction.[42] The population soon drifted away—dwindling from around 2,000, at its peak, to only 195 by late 1954[43]—and some buildings in the town were relocated, leaving Glen Davis close to a ghost town. The immovable parts of the plant became ruins.[44]

Although the works had been intended as a means of securing local petrol production, it had provided only a tiny portion of annual petrol consumption in Australia, which by 1952 was 638-million imperial gallons per year.

Deposits and resources

Two seams of oil shale were mined at Glen Davis. The main seam was torbanite and was mined between 5 and 2 feet in thickness. Lying immediately above the 'main seam' was a layer of white clay—6 inches to 2 feet thick—and above that a seam of semi-carbonaceous shale, the 'top' or 'secondary' seam.[19]

When assayed, the shale from the richer 'main seam' averaged 50% oil—containing over 130 imperial gallons (590 L; 160 US gal) per long ton—while the 'top' or 'secondary' seam contained only 8.5% oil, or just over 20 imperial gallons per long ton. The mixed shale from both seams averaged 20% oil or about 50 imperial gallons (230 L; 60 US gal) per long ton. The deposit held a total of 2000-million imperial gallons of oil.[5][19] Although the secondary seam shale reduced the oil content in the mined shale, mining both seams together allowed mechanised mining methods to be used.

There was an independent coal mine nearby that supplied the works with the coal that it used as a fuel for its processes.[45]

The rainfall at Glen Davis was 16 to 18 inches per year and, in dry times, surface water at Glen Davies was insufficient. Bores were put down but the water needed treatment. Water was a constraint on production in the early years. From March 1946, water was supplied to the works, from the Oberon Dam on the Fish River, by a 105 km long pipeline. This is a rare instance of water from the Murray-Darling catchment being diverted to a location that is east of the Great Dividing Range. In 1949, reticulated water was supplied to the township.[19][46][47] Yet, during the heavy rains of June 1949, the works was affected by the flooding[48] of the nearby Capertee River and there was more flooding during 1950.[49]

Description

The 55,000 acres (22,000 ha) mining and shale oil extraction complex was located in Gindantherie, Goolloinboin, Barton, Glen Alice, and Capertee parishes of Cook and Hunter counties.[3] The mine used bord-and-pillar mining techniques, and employed 170 miners.[5] The shale was crushed by a Pennsylvania single-roll type crusher and was then conveyed into the retorts.[5]

The company orininally planned to use two tunnel ovens, each with a daily capacity of 336 tons, designed by AS Franz Krull of Estonia and Lurgi AG of Germany, similar to those used by some oil shale industries in Estonia.[2][5][50][51] However, for economic reasons, it was decided in March 1939 to instead use a technology that had been employed in the closed Newnes Shale Oil Works, and 64 modified Pumpherston retorts were transferred from Newnes. Other equipment was imported from the United States, including a second bench of 44 retorts added in 1946.[4][5] Retorts were heated by coal obtained from a nearby coal mine.[52] The rate of recovery of the retorts was 82% of the assayed oil content as crude oil.[5]

The crude shale oil was refined to make petrol, with the crude oil yielding a little over 50% petrol.

The petrol was pumped through a 32-mile (51 km) long pipeline to storage tanks at Newnes Junction, from where it was transported by rail. There were two storage tanks at Newnes Junction, each with a capacity or 500,000 gallons. The pipeline was made of 3-inch diameter steel pipe. The first part of the pipeline was laid through chasms and across a saddle between the works and the Wolgan Valley. The next section of the pipeline, in part, followed the former route of the Wolgan Valley Railway[5][12][53] but deviated from that route—following parts of the modern-day Pagoda Track and the Old Coach Road—to shorten its length.[54] It was intended originally to construct another—gravity fed—pipeline from Newnes Junction to Blacktown, where National Oil Proprietary Ltd. had land for a distribution centre,[55] but this section of the pipeline was never built.

The works had its own brickworks and power station.[56]

  • General layout of the works.
    General layout of the works.
  • Sir George Davis (left) and Premier Mair (visiting Glen Davis in July 1940) aboard an electric locomotive, with mine adit at rear.
    Sir George Davis (left) and Premier Mair (visiting Glen Davis in July 1940) aboard an electric locomotive, with mine adit at rear.
  • Retorts c.1947.
    Retorts c.1947.
  • Retorts and shale conveyor from storage bins c.1947.
    Retorts and shale conveyor from storage bins c.1947.
  • Diagram of process flow of oil shale from mine to waste dump.
    Diagram of process flow of oil shale from mine to waste dump.
  • Diagram of process flow from retort gas off-take to Condensing Plant and Naphtha Plant.
    Diagram of process flow from retort gas off-take to Condensing Plant and Naphtha Plant.
  • Diagram of process flow for Cracking and Polymerization Plant
    Diagram of process flow for Cracking and Polymerization Plant
  • Diagram of process flow for (Final) Treatment Plant
    Diagram of process flow for (Final) Treatment Plant
  • View with refinery in the background c.1947.
    View with refinery in the background c.1947.
  • Refinery c.1947.
    Refinery c.1947.
  • Naphtha plant c.1947.
    Naphtha plant c.1947.
  • Ruins of the retorts (Jan. 2005)
    Ruins of the retorts (Jan. 2005)
  • Ruins of the retorts in November 2014.
    Ruins of the retorts in November 2014.
  • Underside of the ruin of the retorts.
    Underside of the ruin of the retorts.
  • Upward view through ruined retort structure
    Upward view through ruined retort structure
  • Ruins of the primary cooler.
    Ruins of the primary cooler.
  • Ruins of workshop (left), boiler house (right), and retorts (background) in Nov. 2014.
    Ruins of workshop (left), boiler house (right), and retorts (background) in Nov. 2014.
  • Overgrown ruins of buildings (Jan 2005)
    Overgrown ruins of buildings (Jan 2005)
  • Remaining township, with Mt Gundangaroo in the background.
    Remaining township, with Mt Gundangaroo in the background.
  • Town Plan of Glen Davis (1939)[57]
    Town Plan of Glen Davis (1939)[57]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dyni, John R. (2006). "Geology and resources of some world oil-shale deposits. Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5294" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey: 5–7. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Mägi, Vahur (10 August 2008). Estonian Oil-shale Technology in Australia. International Committee for the History of Technology 2008 Conference. Victoria, British Columbia: University of Victoria. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "National Oil Proprietary Limited Agreement Ratification Act 1937" (PDF).
  4. ^ a b c d e Spooner, W. H. (17 June 1952). "This Is Why Glen Davis Has Had To Close Down". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kraemer, A.J.; Thorne, H.M. (July 1951). Oil Shale Operations in New South Wales, Australia (PDF). United States Department of the Interior. pp. 4–44. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  6. ^ a b "£500,000 COMPANY". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 22 July 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  7. ^ Parliament of New South Wales. "National Oil Proprietary Limited Agreement Ratification Act 1937 No 2".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "PROCLAMATION - NATIONAL OIL PROPRIETARY LIMITED AGREEMENT RATIFICATION ACT, 1937". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 2001). 22 September 1937. p. 3787. Retrieved 5 July 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "National Oil Proprietary Limited Agreement Act 1937". www.legislation.gov.au. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Oil From Shale. Production To-day". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 January 1940. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Offer For Glen Davis Oil Plant By Syndicate". The Age. 27 June 1951. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Glen Davis". Lithgow Tourism Information Website. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  13. ^ Kraemer, A.J.; Thorne, H.M. (July 1951). Oil Shale Operations in New South Wales, Australia (PDF). United States Department of the Interior. pp. 10, 11. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Lithgow Shale Oil Plant Closed Down". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954). 17 November 1945. p. 3. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  15. ^ Kraemer, A.J.; Thorne, H.M. (July 1951). Oil Shale Operations in New South Wales, Australia (PDF). United States Department of the Interior. pp. 10, 11, 42. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Is The Glen Davis Shut-down Piling Error On Error?". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 10 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Heavy losses". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954). 15 May 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  18. ^ a b "New Method At Glen Davis Is Suggested - The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) - 11 Jan 1951". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d The staff of National Oil Proprietary Ltd, Glen Davis. (3 July 1950). "The Development of the Oil Shale Industry at Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia". SECOND OIL SHALE AND CANNEL COAL CONFERENCE, Organised by the Institute of Petroleum.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Shale Processing". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 17 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  21. ^ Dyni, John R. (2010). "Oil Shale". In Clarke, Alan W.; Trinnaman, Judy A. (eds.). Survey of energy resources (PDF) (22 ed.). WEC. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-946121-02-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  22. ^ An Assessment of Oil Shale Technologies (PDF). DIANE Publishing. June 1980. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-1-4289-2463-5. NTIS order #PB80-210115. Retrieved 2 December 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  23. ^ "Offer For Glen Davis Oil Plant By Syndicate". The Age. 21 May 1952. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  24. ^ "Stay-down Strike At Glen Davis Ends After 26 Days". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 June 1952. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  25. ^ "Attend Town Hall Glen Davis rally". Tribune (Sydney, NSW : 1939 - 1991). 25 June 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Communists Banned at Glen Davis". Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954). 11 August 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  27. ^ "A.W.U. Activities. - N.S.W. Branch GLEN DAVIS FINAL NOTE ON COMMOS. AND COMPANY - The Australian Worker (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1950) - 23 Aug 1950". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Where Will the Coms. Go Next?". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ "A.W.U. ACTIVITIES - NEW SOUTH WALES BRANCH P.O. Address: 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Telegraphic Address:". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  30. ^ "8 Glen Davis Poles Worked In British Pits". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954). 3 September 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Mr. McKell Says One Thing And The Miners Another". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 2 September 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  32. ^ "darg - Wiktionary". en.wiktionary.org. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Crippling Darg At Glen Davis". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 15 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Who Killed Glen Davis?". Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954). 12 January 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  35. ^ "GLEN DAVIS: KENNY HAS HOPE". Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954). 11 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  36. ^ "Glen Davis "Darg"". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 12 January 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  37. ^ a b ""There Is No Darg at Glen Davis" - Yass Tribune-Courier (NSW : 1929 - 1954) - 5 Feb 1951". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  38. ^ "SELL LAND AT GLEN DAVIS". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954). 13 June 1940. p. 15. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  39. ^ "This is the unhappy story of Glen Davis". Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954). 13 January 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  40. ^ "TERMS OF COMPENSATION FOR GLEN DAVIS WORKERS". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 25 July 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  41. ^ "UNIONS ACCEPT GLEN DAVIS COMPENSATION". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 31 July 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  42. ^ "Advertising - The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) - 22 Nov 1952". Trove. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  43. ^ "Glen Davis Goes Downhill". Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954). 22 October 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  44. ^ "Glen Davis Oil Shale Works Ruins". users.tpg.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  45. ^ "Glen Davis town and oil-works | NSW Environment, Energy and Science". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  46. ^ "NEW WATER SUPPLY". Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954). 2 July 1943. p. 8. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  47. ^ Sydney Engineering Heritage Committee (2008). "Nomination of FISH RIVER WATER SUPPLY SCHEME as a National Engineering Landmark" (PDF). pp. 11–19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ^ "LivesLost, People Marooned As NSW Deluge Goes On". Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950). 18 June 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  49. ^ "Glen Davis–Flood And Oil Town". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 5 September 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  50. ^ Holmberg, Rurik (2008). Survival of the Unfit. Path Dependence and the Estonian Oil Shale Industry (PDF). Linköping Studies in Arts and Science. Vol. 427. Linköping University. pp. 85–86, 89, 94, 129–131. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  51. ^ "Ilmar Öpik. Biographical Data" (PDF). Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal. 19 (2 Special). Estonian Academy Publishers: 187–195. 2008. ISSN 0208-189X. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  52. ^ "Oil Plant Not To Take Coal". The Age. 16 July 1949. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  53. ^ "Huge Oil Storage Tanks At Newnes Junction". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 24 January 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  54. ^ "Preserved Steam Locomotives Down Under - Wolgan Shay". www.australiansteam.com. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  55. ^ "PETROL "DUMP"". Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954). 6 June 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  56. ^ "Now We Make Our Petrol". Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954). 10 May 1941. p. 14. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  57. ^ "No title". Lithgow Mercury (NSW : 1898 - 1954). 1 December 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
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