The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-05-18
OIL PRODUCTION DOES
NOT KEEP STEP WITH
THE INCREASED DEMAND

washington. May 18.-With the
of gasoline and other
oil products in the United States
increasing at much faster rate than
tho production of crude oil from
winch all these products are derived,
due 70 the enormous growth Of the
and oilburning merchant
marine. the bureau of mines. depart
ment Of interior, believes that critl-
cal period has come in liquid fucl'
the outcome Of which can hardly
be foreseen at this time.
The seriousness Of the situation and
what remedies appear are outlined
in statement issued today by Dr.
Van II. Manning, director OF Tie
bureau OF mines, and Is as follows.
While the year 1920 began with
an increasing oil production, accord
ing to the geological survey, the con-
sumption has increased so much fast
er that in January, February ana
March il was necessary to take r.
373OOObarrels of crude oil from stor-
age to meet the current needs.
In the United States the yield Of
the north Texas fields has apparent
ly receded from the maximum and
is now on the decline. and unless
new fields are there discovered, the
production for 1920 is likely to be
less than for 1919. Promising fields
in Louisiana have proved to be large
but not as extensive as many had
anticipated.
The consumption Of all petroleum.
products has increased at an enor
nous rate. During 1918 comparative
ly few automobiles were built, there
fore, there was not as great an in
crease in the automobiles in use ir
1918 and 1919 as in use during 1920
while the automotive industry
more active than ever before. 1t Is
therefore, TO be anticipated that l92
will prove to be a year Of enormous
consumption of gasoline
| The demand for kerosene contin
ues to be active and the price o
kerosene has doubled in little owe
a years time. The price of fuel ci
has also doubled.
The u S. geological survey ha
estimated that over 40 per cent o
the oil in all the oil fields has bee
brought, to the surface and useo
and it is estimated that hte under
ground reserve is equal to less tha
90 years of the present consumptio
demands.
There are undoubtedly vast quaint
ties Of oil to be found abroad, a
the rest of the worlds territory ha
not been developed nor prospecte
as intensively as the United States
Large fields occur in Mexico, Vent
zuela, Colombia, Persia. Russia an
potential fields are known to occu
in other parts of South America
Africa and Asia. OF these fields
those in the Americas are nearly a
under the control of Latin-America
governments, while the others in otl
er continents aer mostly under IN
control of the British, French an
the Netherlands, with the exceptio
Of fields in the former Russian En-
pire.
As far as the United States
concerned, however, the most IN
portant sources OF foreign supply al
in the Latin-American countries e
pecially those bordering the Gulf
Mexico and the Caribbean, that il
Mexico, Venezuela and Colombi
Mexico contains large quantities
oil which can be readily obtaine
provided no restrictions are place
upon the exploitation of those field
Oil is present in this region suft
cient to meet our needs for man
years to come.
Venezuela and Colombia have lare
resources, which, however, are a
parently not as great as those
Mexico. Also, these resources al
more difficult to develop, and it wi
take much longer TO put them on
large producing basis than those
Mexico. These are fields from whic
production in large quantities ca