OIL SUPPLIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 December 1940, Page 10

OIL SUPPLIES

DIFFICULTIES FOR AXIS BRITISH MINISTER'S REVIEW [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.] ' RUGBY, December 4. Speaking of oil as a key commodity, both in peace and war, Dr. Hugh Dalton explained how his Ministry cooperated with the R.A.F., in indicating military targets for bombing operations. “From my point of view, Ban, with its crude oil stocks, is the No. T target in Italy, compared with industrial objectives like Milan and Turin.” Emphasising that the Axis countries would find themselves in a difficult situation regarding oil supplies, in a period of months rather than years _if the R.A.F. continues its good work, and we maintained domination of the Eastern Mediterranean—Dr. Dalton referred to the “distributional minimum,” below which it was unsafe for Germany and Italy to go. Supplies in bulk might be available to .the Axis partners in different countries, at widely-scattered points, but not at the right place and the right moment. At the end of the last war, Germany still had millions of tons of oil in the aggregate, but not available at points most needed, and at the present time a much-higher distributional minimum was necessary, owing to the large territory occupied by Germany, and the increase in mechanisation. There was no doubt that, in a comparatively few months, the margin would become uncomfortably narrow.

Dealing with Rumanian oil supplies, Dr. Dalton said that Rumania was unable to export the total of available oil to Germany, owing to transport .difficulties by road, rail, and water, and the last problem would be still more acute when the Danube was frozen for the months of December and January. The situation might be eased if sea transport to Italy were possible, but the British were preventing that in the Eastern Mediterranean. Those people who advised .the British to bomb the Rumanian oil wells should realise that the oil was not of the best quality, when coming put of the ground, and the R.A.F. was doing far more effective work by bombing the refineries, where Germany had taken the trouble to make the oil suitable for military and commercial use.

Transport difficulties, and Russia’s own needs for oil for her mechanised industry, made assistance from that country likely to be small. Germany expected to cut down the amount of oil allowed to be used in the occupied territories to the furtherest degree, but Dr. Dalton said that he had taken that factor into account, in his estimate of the growing deterioration of the oil position concerning the Axis Powers.

AMERICAN ESTIMATE. (Recd. December 5, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. The Associated Press Budapest correspondent states: American oilmen estimate that Germany has drawn millions of tons of oil from Rumania in 1940, despite ice, floods, and earthquakes, and they forecast rising imports. Some of the refineries are damaged, but are fully stocked. Shipment is being made from stores, until the fineries resume. The only effect on the Axis military plans may be the consumption of reserves, which would otherwise be held for the campaigns in the Balkans and the Middle East.