The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-12

 and regulations upon the oil producers
 all tended to give the industry pro nounced unstable condition. Despite all these unfavorable elements the production showed an increase over any preceding year.
 The record of the gradual expan- sion of this industry in Mexico is strik- ingly shown in the figures giving the yields for each year since production
 started. These figures are taken from
 the official reports made to the Mex ican government, and are as follows: Year 1904, .22O,653 barrels; 1905, S2o,- 979 barrels; 1906, 1,097.264 barrels;
 1907. 1,71769O barrels; 1908, 3,4S1,61O barrels; 1909 2,4SS,742 barrels; 1910, S,ss2,So7 barrels; 1911, 14.051,64S bar
 rels; 1912, 16,55S,215 barrels; 1913, 25,- 9O2,439 barrels; 1914, 21,1SS,427 barrels; 1915, 35,500s000 barrels; 1916, 39,S01,110 barrels; 1917. 61,000,000 barrels; 1918, 63, 0G0, ,000 barrels; total. 2S9,660,979 bar rels.
 Many steel storage tanks were erect ed by the different operating com
 panies during the year 1918, but much
 more would have been done in that direction if the material could have been readily obtained with which to build the tanks.
 A new market for Mexican crude oil
 was opened in South American countries OuTlng the year, ana eNpOTldtl tp Argentina, Chile and Brazil showed
 marked increase over the previous F months period. As has been the case, | however, ever since the industry was be- gun in Mexico, far the greater Iart or the exportations were destined to the United States, with England second. During the last few months there has been a renewal of activity in the matter of obtaining oil leases from landowners l. ha Tampieo and Matamoros. In most ln-
 stances the men who have taken these |1eaeses5 are American investors, usually
 representing large oil-operating interests. Whether or not these holdings will be exploited soon depends altogether upon the future attitude of the Mexican gov
 ernment towards the industry, 1t Is stated , Of the several wells of enormous poten- tal yield that are located in the different fields of the Tampico region. that of the Huasteca Petroleum company, subsidiary of the Mexican Petroleum company, at Cerro Azul. continue to hold the world record in the matter of actual available daily capacity. This well was brought in on February 10. 1916. On February b of thnt year it showed by actual test to have a daily output of 1000 barrels. This was increased to 269,S5S barrels day by February 19, or five days after the original test. It was then throttled down to a flow of 30O00 barrels a day, and since then it has given that quantity Of pipe line run each day without mo- ment's cessation it's contribution to the production of Mexico having been approx imately 32,000, 900 barrels with no indica- ton of any early decrease, in the daily quantity that it gives forth.
 It was in September, 1910, that the Mexl- can Petroleum company brought in well in the Juan Casiano field. It showed on
 a test that it was capable of giving daily yield of something more than 100000 barrels of oil. Pipe line connection was made. however. but not until more than 1,500, eco barrels of the inflammable product hhd been burned in order to prevent it from flowing into Lake Tamiahua, thus endangering boats and other property. It was throttled down to flow of 20,OO0 bardels a day, and for more than eight years it has been giving this yield It has yielded up to this time more than 6, 100000 barrels of crude petroleum. Ac comrnnying the oil is gas pressure O. 265 pounds per square inch. This natural
 gas is piped to the top of a hill mile and a half distant from the we'll and is there burned in F great flares day and night lighting up the country for a long way around.
 Several additions to the large produce ing companies were made during the year. MOre than 70 AmeflCdn and BTU ish corporations made a record of each obtaining a yield of more than 100000 bar rels of crude petroleum. Practically every large oil operator in the United Sttes is now interested in the Mexican fields. It is estimated that there is approximately s350, ,O00, ,0O0 of American and British capi- tai invested in oil properties, including lands, leases. wells, pipe lines and re- fineries in Mexico Of this amout, ap- proximately -s25O Oo00G0 is American money. There are nlso many millions of dollars of Dutch capital now operating in Mexican fields. The amount of these investments does not by any means repre- sent the value of the properties that arc now held by foreign interests. Land for
 which only a few dollars an acre were
 paid is valued at many thousands of dol
 lars per acre as a result of oil develop ment operations. The same is true as to
 leases As result of the great influx
 of forengn money and men. Tampico Is no longer typically Mexican. The city and the country for many miles along the coast and lncll into the interior have been completely Americanized during the last several years.
 If the prospective additions to the fleets of oil-carrying vessels are made and ad- ditional pipe lines constructed, the ol. industry of Mexica during the present year will show an increase far above what it was in any. previous year. or course, this growth of the business will depend largely upon the attitud1 of the Mexican government toward the industry. It is expected, however, that the Ameri- can. British and other foreign govern ments will not permit further serious handicaps being placed in the way of these oil investments.