Dating to the early 1930s, this silent film shows the production of natural gas. It was likely made by the Columbia Corporation, as it profiles the “Columbia System” (:36) of natural gas infrastructure that spanned Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. The film begins with images of oil prospecting equipment being loaded off B&O railroad cars (2:00) bound for the gas fields. Teams of horses are used to move the pipes (3:10) up steep grades. At 4:30 the intertitle notes that the “work goes on year round”, and horses are seen moving equipment in the snow. At 5:30 and following the operation of a gas well is explained, as well as some of the underlying geology. At 7:30 the drilling techniques are explained — amazingly similar to those used today in many respects — and the process is shown — with lots of manual labor highlighted. At 8:22 after reaching rock a beam is used to cut and pound downward into the rock. Drill heads are periodically sharpened as they become dull from the pounding. At 11:20 steel pipe case-ins are shown being positioned to ensure against catastrophic loss of the well through a cave-in. At 13:50 water is drained out of the drill and at 14:00 a special tool to retrieve a lost bit is inserted into the hole. At 15:30 nitro-glycerine is used to create a “torpedo” explosive to enlarge the hole. The well is now apparently producing gas… so at 17:48 the new well is connected to the existing main line. At 18:55 the steel rig is shown being dismantled. At 22:40 teams of men move pipes into place. The finished pipeline is inspected by walkers at 25:33, who ensure it does not have leaks.
Formed in 1906 in Huntington, West Virginia, the Columbia Corp. produced natural gas in that state and eastern Kentucky for delivery to Cincinnati, Ohio. Later renamed Columbia Gas & Electric Company, it doubled in size with the acquisition of Ohio Fuel Corporation in 1926. The resulting company was incorporated in Delaware as Columbia Gas & Electric Corporation. The addition of Ohio Fuel greatly increased the volume of gas that the company sold. Natural gas had rapidly decreased in price as gathering and transmission systems improved and usage increased. Columbia’s electricity sales, although still significant, were flattening. By the late 1920s it was clear that natural gas held the key to the company’s growth. Oil was a companion product that Columbia Gas & Electric exploited.
The arrival of high-pressure pipelines in the late 1920s broadened the company’s growth potential; natural gas then could be transported vast distances from the fields where it originated. Columbia pushed its lines eastward throughout Pennsylvania, and into New Jersey and New York state. In 1930 the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company allowed Columbia to connect its eastern lines with natural gas fields in Texas. Meanwhile, Columbia Gas & Electric had gained control of virtually all the important reserves in northern Appalachia. The greater availability of natural gas during the 1930s resulted in an increase in its utilization by industry. Natural gas burns almost twice as hot as manufactured gas and burns more cleanly. As its price fell, demand rose. At the same time that industry was discovering natural gas, however, industrial output was being curtailed due to the Great Depression. As a result, Columbia’s earnings declined steadily from 1929 until 1935. In 1935, however, rebounding earnings doubled those of the previous year.
In 1935 the Public Utility Holding Company Act brought Columbia Gas & Electric under federal regulation. Antitrust litigation forced the company to divest Columbia Oil & Gasoline, the subsidiary that controlled Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company. In 1936 Detroit, Michigan, was linked with the Columbia system, and natural gas was transmitted directly from Columbia’s Texas fields. The connection helped Columbia reach new heights in sales and earnings for 1936.
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