WORLD OIL SUPPLIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 19 December 1924, Page 7

WORLD OIL SUPPLIES.

RUSSIA BEGINS TO EXPORT. V Interesting information in regard ,to the consumption of petroleum and petroleum products in 1923 is given by the United States Department of Commerce. It is stated that the total consumption last year throughout the, world amounted to over 38,000,000,000 gallons, of which the United States consumed 25,000,000,000 gallons, or 66 per cent, in to more than 1,500,000,000 gallons of bunker oil shipped for the use of vessels engaged in foreign trade. This would bring the total American requirements to 70.2 per cent of the world consumption. Great Britain, Russia, Canada, France, Mexico, India and Argentina were the next largest users of these products, but Great Britain used only 3.9 per cent, Canada 1.9 per cent, and the othei'6 approximately 1.2 per cent each. Of the 16 largest consumers outside of United States, only Russia, Mexico, Rumania and the Dutch’Ea6t Indies -have a • production sufficient to -leave an export surplus, and of the other 12, three only, Argentina, Japan and India, have enough production to meet any important proportion of domestic requirements. American refineries supplied the rest of the f world with 3,000,000,000 gallons of petroleum products, in addition to shipments of crude oil, to make a total of 4,000,000,000 or 30.8 per cent of the estimated consumption outside of the United States. - .

Petroleum products constitute one of the most important of the many national resources of Russia, and these may be expected to play a large part in the reconstruction of that unhappy country, if the cost of production and transportation, particularly the latter, can he brought about. Much will, have to be accomplished in rehabilitating rail and water routes before full advantage can he taken of Russia’s proximity to the markets of Europe. Some progress is being made, however, in this direction. During the revolutionary period of 1917 and 1918 much damage was caused to the oil properties, so that the nationalised industry started with great handicaps in the form of lack of labour, equipment and technical personnel, hut, largely because of the richnss of the deposits, the industry is reviving, and the products are' again coming into competition with American products in Europe.