OIL SUPREMACY

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 5, 6 July 1921, Page 15

OIL SUPREMACY

A BRITISH COUP

America has for so long been accepted as world mistress of oil aup.plies that it difficult to believe that, now when oilis displacing coal aVthe vital'powcr fuel, her suzerainty'is crumbling and that her sceptre is passing into British hands. This acquisition of control of the greater portion of the world'o known and potential oil supplies is the result of British foresight, enterprise, and boldness, the lavish but judicious investment of capital, and the employment to its fullest extent of the native genius for finance and commerce. That America herself has-no delusions about her fading supremacy is shown by her vigorous attempts to secure equal opportunities with Britain in the development of the rich oil resources of the latter's mandated Mesopotamian territory", and, only lately, the United States effort to obtain oil concessions in the East Indies. . . . .-

. The United States in 1920 produced no lees tban 53,000,000 tons of oil, but this enormous output, it is. known, cannot bo maintained,'as the exhaustion of her oil pools, on the authority of an expert, "approaches every day." Already the United States imports a large quantity of foreign crude oil in order to supply her. own refined products. It has been estimated that, in addition, to her croduction last yea.r of 445,000,000 barrels of oil, United States required 120,000,000 barrels of foreign crude to meet all its requirements. America is immensely the greatest conEiimei' of all petroleum products, and that ths importance of the future is appreciated there is shown by a recent statement by the president, of the Standard Oil. "With its position,'.' he said, "in world trade and economic and financial weapons ready to hand, the United States could undoubtedly compel a new allotment of foreign oil territory, so as to give it a share of what other, nations are ■ now proposing to keep for themselves." Already moves haj(fe been made to induce Congress to place- a restriction on the export of domestic crude' oil and its products. The rise and development of the pefcroloum industry is,one of the interestingindustrial romances. United States ma.de ;i modest commencement in 1859, with an output of 26*000 tons, the .figures rising by leaps and bounds until last year's production was over 2000 times, that of the openim: term. The value of America's 1920 production of crude oil was estiinatad £200,000;000, and of the.refined products at over '£500,000,000, the lattei greater than -the combined value of America's production- for the same period of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc The value of the world petroleum products for 1920 was about £620,000,----000. For yeara America. and.Russia were nock and neck in petroleum production, but the United States took, the lead in 1903, since "which time until to-day twothirds of the world's production has come from the United States. During half a century petroleum production had ■its head i* America, where all producers, according to Mr: E. de Hautbeck, M.R.EJS., writing in the London Mining Journal, are tributaries of the Standard Oil Company, which was the master of the world petroleum market. The Standard Oil Company had its imitators in other countries. Rothschild took part in the Baku oil fields, the Royal Dutch controlled the oi) fields of Sumatra., Java, and Borneo, while different oil companies —British, French, German, Austrian—, began to opep up the fields of Rumania ■and Galicla. .■■■■.■

They came the:discovery of the internal combustion engine, and tho consc^ quent wonderful development of motoring gave oil ff 'new and, powerful impulse... British, .shippins; .companies like i tha Cunard, Whits Star,' etc., hastily fitted the boilars of their largo cteamers to bup oil fu«l, and had to draw their supplies from America. The war, the development of commercial shipbuilding by the "United States, and that'country's decision to embark <Mi the construction of battle-cruiser; burning oil fuel, all conspired to increase enormously the commerciaJ importance of oil, and to force oil ink r» prominent position in world politics. ' Several years before the war, however, some perspicacious British business men and wise statesmen foresaw the formidable consequence of the role of oil fuel on the equilibrium between the nations and on their own country's future. From long-established, tradition the British Empire rests upon the coal layers, and from the moment that a nev; fuel endeavours to replace coal, Great Britain feels the need to possess oil fields, as previously coal fields. Thus; without losing time, by skilful turning and discreet approach, there was prepared and realised amidst general inattention the acquisition by Britishers of the world's principal oil felds. Many British oil concerns were interested in the oil fields of Baku, Grozny, Rumania, Galicia, and other countries. They" had formed a good school of experienced oil geologists, and British metallurgy organised the manufacture of pipe lines, oil well drilling supplies*, pumping machinery,' tank steamers, and tank cars. Tho' British petroleum industry thus had in its Hands the human and mechanical tools for the rapid development of the newly-acquired oil fields throughout the whole world. Above all, England possessed a bold, resolute, and fsrseaing group of financiers with considerable capital _ and infinite business Knowledge, ability, and resource. It was essentially necessary not to attract the attention of the Standard Oil Company, so a timid start was made to develop the Shell Transport Company. At its origin this was a small company interested in the mother-o'-pearl trade, but it took an interest in Egyptian and other oil fields. These " undertakings were successful, and the shell trade w;is definitely replaced by oil. The company's prospectors flew through the Indies, Ceylon, Malay/ North China, Siam, Dutch Indies, C^ugasus, Ural, Caspian, etc.

Similarly the strongest European petrolourri trust, tho Royal Dutch, followed tho same policy. They bought oil fields in Texas and Oklahoma, and tried to obtain concessions in Central America. As early as 1907 an association was formed "between the Shell Transport and tho Eoyal Dutch, concord being established on such questions as markets, prices, and freights. Then came the turn of the Burmah Oil Company, exploiting the Burmese oilfields, and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, in which the- British Government is tho chief shareholder, a monopolist of th B Persia*i oilfields, and later extending its activities to Australia, Papuii, Newfoundland, Hungary^ and _ elseSvhere. Both these companies., with .1 new petroleum policy, obtained the new credits necessary. This strong British oil combine was glued as a single body to tho Mexican : Eagle, ot the Pearson group, a few months after the signing of the Armistice.

Thus ti British oil combine controls today oil resources ♦Jfougliout the whole world. Tlio Shell-Royal Dutch combiiwtion is prominent in Rninanin, Rusain., California., Oklahoma, Texas. Venezuela. Dutch Indies, and JEsypt; the Mexican Eagl« Company in Mexico, the .Burma Oil Company in Burma, and. (he AngloPersian Oil' Company in Persia. TII9 Hoy;il Dutch and Shell "grouy: also cou-t-vols smalloT oil companies in Ce.vlon, North Cliina, Ph-i!ippin£-s,' Siam, South China, Australia. New Z.ealantl, Snut-h Africa, Ciu-acOa, Canada, Virginia, Vennguela, Btc. :