"كتيّب بلاد الرافدين. المجلد II. ١٩١٧" [‎٤‎٨‎٤] (٥٤٢/٤٩٥)

484
APPENDIX D
Baghdad—Kirmanshah and Baghdad—Mosul roads mentioned above.
For connexions between Mandali and Khanikin, Khanikin and Kufri,
Qasr-i Shlrln and Chlah Surkh, and Qasr-i-Shlrln and Kufri, see
vol. iii of this Handbook, Routes 29 32 a-b, 33, and (iii) on p. 397.
T he T igris A rea
General
This area lies along the Tigris between the Fet-hah Gorge in the
Hamrin hills, on the S., and Mosul in the N., a distance of about
100 miles as the crow flies. The places where oil is at present
known to occur are all on or near the Tigris, with the exception of
El-Hadhr which is near the Wadi Tartar, some 30 miles away from
the river, WNW. of Qal'ah Sherghat.
At present the oil in this area is worked only at Kaiyara, about
50 miles by river and 40 miles by road below Mosul. N. of
Kaiyara there are oil oozings in the warm springs of Hammam Ali
(15 miles S. of Mosul): to the SW. there is an oil-spring at El-Hadhr ;
and at the Fet-hah Gorge, in the rocks on the left bank of the river,
there are oil oozings and bitumen. It is possible that the line of the
Hamrin hills to NW. and SE. of this gorge is also petroliferous.
Commercial
It is obvious that the economic prospects of the Tigris oil-field are
quite uncertain, but a favourable opinion has been passed by one
observer (Colonel Maunsell, in 1897) on the possibilities of the
Fet-hah Gorge.
At Kaiyara, in 1910, the bitumen was collected soft and removed
in skins. The oil refinery had a primitive plant, yielding 40-50 tons
of oil daily. From 20 tins of bitumen, 10 tins of oil in three qualities
were obtained. In every 10 tins, two were of the first quality (colour
less, but smelling strongly of some impurity, with an odour resembling
that of benzine): two of the second quality (yellow): six of the third
quality (black, needing to be distilled again before it would be of
use for anj'thing but anointing camels against the mange). The fuel
used for distillation is crude bitumen. In 1910 there was found to
be about 200 tons of refined oil in store, of which over half was of
the first quality. A French expert was brought from Constanti
nople in Abdul Hamid's time, and some experiments (possibly
borings) were made, but the yield of the springs was not increased.
The springs are Government property, and are leased for exploita-