World-Wide Chemistry Palestine W A L T E R R O T H , Haifa P I P E L I N E FOR M O S U L On* O P E N E D
From January 14 t o 24 was celebrated the opening of t h e Mosul oil pipe line, a masterpiece of technology, built by engineers from sixteen countries, which conducts petroleum from Kerkuk in Mosul east of t h e Tigris t o the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of more than 1200 miles. T h e pipe line cost over 12 million pounds, and the work, which was very difficult o n account of t h e terrain, lasted t w o years. Traffic in t h e waste desert regions is made easy b y this transmission system; its annual capacity i s 4 million tons, and i t h a s eleven pump stations, three on t h e double line and four o n t h e northern and southern branches, respectively. The line forks at Haditha, one branch leading t o Tripoli, t h e other to Haifa. Although Mosul oil was shipped t o Europe from Tripoli in September of last year, i t was taken for t h e first time in Haifa by a French tanker the middle of last October. The oil line passes through live countries—Iraq, Transjordania, Lebanon, Syria, a n d Palestine. All these countries held great celebrations, for which the Iraq Petroleum C o . , it i s said, spent 85,000 pounds. Representatives of friendly petroleum companies of Europe a n d America came at t h e expense of the company, and valuable gifts were presented to the leaders of the different countries. T h e celebration began in Kerkuk in t h e presence of King Ghazi, w a s then continued in Bagdad a n d Damascus, and ended with festivities in Tripoli, Haifa, and Amman. Besides Sir John Cadman and others, Earl Stanhope, Sir William Gowers, participated in t h e celebration, also governments and authorities. T h i s oil line has t h e greatest significance for Haifa; although t h e port h a s been in existence only o n e year, it has attained great importance. Thus, a t present (January) over thirty ships from twelve different countries are i n the harbor a t Haifa; under t h e circumstances it is hoped that new industries will be called into existence, since Haifa is continually developing into t h e industrial city of Palestine and the Haifa bay, in ?articular, has been designated as the Ruhrgebiet en miniature *
