THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Saturday, June 7, 1941. OIL AND THE WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24627, 7 June 1941, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Saturday, June 7, 1941. OIL AND THE WAR

It has been reported that President Roosevelt, as part of the national emergency programme in the United States, has appointed Mr Harold Ickes to an office which will make him the virtual dictator of the American oil industry. This ,is a most significant appointment, for oil from the . United States may well come to play a decisive part in the struggle against the Axis Powers. Much has been written of the impending oil shortage in the Nazicontrolled territories and in the Reich itself, but the German war machine still rolls along its relentless way with no apparent loss of momentum due to shortage of lubricant or power supplies. These difficulties will, however, doubtless, emphasise themselves in time unless more far-reaching and successful steps are taken to supplement synthetic fuel by new supplies of the natural product. Thoughts turn at once to the oil wells of Iraq, where special lubricating' oils desired by Germany are obtained, to Iran and the not far distant fields of Soviet Russia. With the overthrow of Rashid Ali in Iraq the immediate threat in this direction has been removed. The significance of these supplies for our own war effort has also attracted attention. Fortunately it may be said that, although a considerable proportion of our pre-war supplies came from the fields of the Middle East, their loss would not deal any very grave blow to the oil resources of the British Commonwealth. For some time now the bulk of our' oil. has ,been obtained elsewhere.. The vital spots in the chain of fuel supplies are 'Venezuela and the United States itself, and with them the sea lanes of the Atlantic. It is the maintenance of tanker tonnage on that ocean that remains the greatest problem in the defence of Great Britain as far as oil fuel and motor and aircraft spirit are concerned. Of late years the United States has produced about 60 per cent, of the world's total petroleum supply, followed by Soviet Russia and "Venezuela, each contributing about 10 per cent. Therefore, what the United States does with her immense production is a matter of major importance in the present struggle. Apart from Great Britain, the Power most affected is Japan, the active Eastern member, of the Axis group. It is quite clear that without oil from America Japan could hot long continue her attempt to subdue China, unless she gained an alternative source of supply. In spite of the official embargo on the export of oil to Japan it is said that she draws some 75 percent, of the oil she heeds from the United States. A recent article quoted by the Manchester Guardian asserts that this violation of the letter of the embargo is condoned not only by the United States but also by the British authorities. If supplies were cut off from America Japan, it is argued, would almost certainly be encouraged to swoop upon the Dutch East Indies in an effort to replenish her stocks. So the United States also plays for time until the accretion of her naval power makes possible a different attitude. The arsenal of democracy may become its champion in force of arms. In the news we hear of the appointment of an oil controller, of plans for the "expansion of production of aviation spirit, and of the rapid additions to America's battle fleet, and we see the running out of the sands of opportunity for that southward dash in Asia which has for so long been Japan's chief dream of conquest. .-