The Fatherland 14–11–1925
The Dutch Shell Company in Martinez
(Own letter in simple Dutch spelling).
Martinez (California), 27 Oct. If one crosses the bay from San Francisco and then drives North, one arrives at a place where the bay turns east and breaks through the coastal hills. The road runs partly along the coast over the hills and there shows a landscape as beautiful as one finds it little, even in California, which is not poor in clean areas. At every turn of the winding road you get a new view of the bay (which is often not wider than a river) and the hills around it. Where the beautiful part of that road ends, Martinez lies. Between the bay and the town are the sites of the Shell Company: the “plant”, as one says here. These areas cover a strip of almost 5 KM along the bay.
A few hundred tanks, some on hills, are first noticed; in it the products of the plant are stored, while a reservoir, recently excavated directly into the soil, serves to store the crude oil; between the tanks, the large workshops and distillation devices, all connected by a network of pipes, which supply and dispose of the oil.
Until now, only the “Trumble Stills” named after the inventor had been destilliated, but soon vacuum-stills for lubricating oil and Dubbsplants will be opened, the latter also named after the inventor. In those Dubbs plants, the fuel oil, that is crude oil that has already emitted petrol and other light products (gasoline) in the Trumbles, is processed under high pressure and high temperature to supply even more gasoline. This is called the cracking process or, under the Dutch, “cracking”.
Crude oil is not found in the area, there is no drilling rig to be seen, all is supplied, partly through tubes, partly with ships, especially from Los Angeles where the “Shell” also has a refinery (at Wilmington) For the construction of ships, a long head in the bay (here called the yard) has been constructed with artificial feathers, because the current can be very strong here, especially in winter, when the Sacramento River supplies a lot of water.
In a few hours, a tan is often filled or emptied. It is said that 400 products are brought onto the market from petroleum, of which certainly a substitute of castor oil, so-called. “Medical oil” is one of the most remarkable: Ricinus oil, as you know also known as castor oil or miracle oil, is a vegetable oil that has been used for centuries for many purposes, including cosmetic.
Of course, not so much of the “medical oil” is produced. Main products are gasoline and fuel oil, then lubricating oil (in a large number of species), which is no wonder In this State with its 1.4 million cars; what we call petroleum or lamp oil and is called “kerosene” here is less necessary, but many farmers use an intermediate product between petrol and kerosene for its pump and some agricultural machinery called “distillate”.
Not only large ships, but even the smallest motorboats can fill their reservoir at the Shell yard. Even cars do not have to be shy about petrol or oil, because wherever there is any traffic you will find the elegant “service stations” of the “Shell” with their yellow and red colored buildings. Besides, every major oil company has its service. stations so that the traveling public can be served everywhere. Water and compressed air for the tires are given for free. Fuel oil is supplied in large quantities to merchant ships and warships, which also install at the yard, sometimes 20 to 30 per month.
Since the law prohibits large trust-like companies, the Shell Company of California was established here as a branch of the “Royal” and is of course in terms of financing and management under the Royal Dutch Shell in The Hague and London. It is obvious that a large staff of leaders and an even greater number of workers are working on the plant. The town of Martinez, although dating from the Spanish time and capital of a “County”, therefore mainly consists of Shell.There are a lot of Dutch people here by the Shell-Co. country, there was recently an Egyptian priest and a German doctor working on the same dirty job.
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