The Washington herald., 1918-11-13
MAY SEEK OIL
IN S. AMERICA
Both Bolivia and Colombia
Rich in Possibilities,
Holland Says.

neer Of the Associated Geological En-
gineers. recently in a carefully pre-
pared statement, expressed an opinion
which shou1d-be OF great interest az
this time TO those who are concerned
with the outlook OF the petroleum or
oil industry. not only Of the linked
States but Of the world. He predscis
tFat South America will rise, "in the
course Of a sew years. 70 the second
place in the list OF petroleum pro-
ducers OF the world" When Dr.
Ciapp made this statement he called
attention 70 the fact that all FIVE con-
tinents Of the world contain petro-
leum. In the order OF Importance OF
present development they stand nus.
First North America: second. Eu-
rope; third. Asia: fourth South Amer
ica, and fifth. Africa. Yet, although
South America stands fourth ih.Ihs
list there rs reason for suruisinJ
that in the course Of a few years 'tsfe
production Of petroleum in the South
American continent will be so great
as to change the position Of ss-uth
Am'Tlca from fourth to second plaza.
Developments in Asia, however
may bring that continent up 20 the
position Of second. with South Araer-
lca third. Dr. Clspp thinks that nlis
possible that North America Wfh-bs
exceeded IN production by Asa -ot
South America ""''r
In view OF the enormous present and
Z increased future demand for oil sTrd
for its by-products. and especially m
view Of the certainty that fuel OF 7v5il
, be badly needed within the ucrfltten
years. there has been no little any
Iety in regard 70 the continuation '.of
Z the oil supply. Some experts have
ventured 10 estimate that at the pres
ent rate OF prodUction-a little over
5t".oOo.co0 barrels OF Oh a year'7sup-
piled by the North American neIds.
our oil resources viii have been eNz
haustcd within twenty years. Yet the
United States-the world in fact-Is
becoming more and more dependent
upon oil in its various manufactured
forms for industrial and domestic
, purposes.
Will South America Beadf 80
Coming from an authority like Dr..
I Clapp. the estimate that within a few
years South America may stand sec
ond 20 the United States and may
even exceed the production Of on IN
this country. brings some relief from
the apprehension that our oil supply
.
II is an interesting fact that what
; ever the production Of South Arre-I-
can oil hereafter taud IL is certain %
f be speeded up 10 the highest p0lut1
. the vast republic OF Brazil so far as
Z is now known. will not contribute a
barrel OF oil None has yet been found
in Brazil Brazirs neiEhbors. ArEen-
tina, Bolivia and the nations which
3 border upon the Caribbean. are known
To be rich = oil Dr. Clspg calls at
t0uuOn 10 the oil-UroduriuE p0ssibIl-
ties iu Colombia and Ecuador and es-
peCially in that province Uf C0lOwAia
which is the Isthmus Of Darl,u. Here
are strong evidences OF abundant Pc
/ tro.eUm springs and pools. and il IS
] believed that American capital VIII
ton Of new fields. The petroleum re-
gion OF Ecuador is really. DR. Clapp
SAYS. an extension or the Peruvian oil
fields. Bolivia Is believed 10 have
very large petroIrcrous fields. though
as Vet no oil has been produced. This
Is due principally TO the very difficult
r transportation conditions The only
way by which tho Bolivian Holds can
be reached is ny cart road across 10
4 livia or from Argentine. Just before
the collapse Of his South American
promotions. a cosaDse due 10 the -H-
4 Tol can war which made it fmuossIh.g
for him to finance h.s plans. Per1.vuf
Farquhar contemplated the uoustruu-
ten Of a railroad from thu capital y
bolivia 10 these oil noldS he caused
, invest resatior to bo made which safie-
led him that the oil pools OF Sgu'r-
. eastern BOLIVIA were Of vast c-fcnt
and would yield many millions Of bar
Tls Of oil n wear
! For the present. however. the world
must rely for an increase OF oil upor
/ tho deposits M colombia. in the Da-
/ rien province. and perhaps. In Ncre-
zGeIa. Already. the STANDARD OH
+ Company has caused some drilling To
be made .u one Of the Coi0mbir dis
trlCts. Will, no results are vet re-
( i.Ortcd. the fact that this corporation
I is DeGinnInE TO make use OF Souch
American oil fields indicates that ia
future American capital viii he used
/ for the Uurpos,. or development ol oil
properties in South America
In Peru. where Cousi iderahIe oil de-
Z Nalopmcnt is under way. the STANDARD
oil Company has not made invest
mont for exploitation. but the Peru
/ Wan petroleum which ranks high and
is rich in gasoline and kerosene. has
been shipped I'm large amounts TO San
Francisco. whore IL rs sold 20 the
standard oil Company Of Californla
While II Is not known TO what use The
standard oil Company puts this Pc
ruvian oil, yet in view Of the fact
that 10 per cent or a little more oEou
now or recently produced is convert
ed into lubricants. IL is presumed That
this Peruvian oil is put 10 that use
after IL passes into the possession %
the standard OIL Company Of Csli-
fornia
There is no lack OF iron deposits. II y
there should Zoe. biologists hayg-as-
sured the government that Jnlsfrf-
meath the surface OF Middle Sew
York and Northern PENNSYLVANIA z
there are enormous deposits OF lEon
which may he secured. 49,.
But the men who are leaders in -t4le
copper industry are now searching
, the world over for copper deposits.
believing that within the next ten or
twenty years the demand for conner =
will exceed the present-day visible
supply. So. also the leaders i'm the OH
industry. apprehcnsivc that our -uf-
ply may be exhausted within twenty
tVe years, are beginning 10 turn 10
the South American continent In nc
assurance that the oil supply which
can be obtained there will serve to
prolonC the life OF the oil industry IN
the United States HOLLAND
Cosmopolitan Church
Dill n Il.