The New York herald., 1922-05-06
SHELL OIL HAS NO
DEAL With SOVIET
Director Says Group Insists
on All Interests Being
Fairly Treated.
AWAITS ALLIES ACTION
Has Not the Slightest Wish
to Do Anything Behind
Governments Back.
NO MONOPOLY is SOUGHT
Foreign Office Ridicules Idea
and American Embassy De-
nies Inquiring.

Special Gable to TIE NEw YORK HERALD.
Copyright, 1899. by THE New YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
London, May 5.
No contract has been signed between
the Shell Oil group and the Bolshe-
wiki, according to Sir Robert Valley
Cohen, one of the directors of the
Shell interests, who added emphati-
cally: 1--WE have refused to be party
to any arrangement by which other
interests were not fairly treated"
Sir Robert saw nothing in the
Shells anxiety for their interests to
threaten the open door principle in the
United States.
'We are not negotiating with the
Soviet Government in any way" he
said. I'VE are doing nothing outside
of any action decided upon by the
allied Governments. Our properties in
Russia are well known. We have
large producing properties in all the
Russian oil fields and also large dis
trtbuting properties in Russia. We
had them several years before the war.
There is an enormous amount of Brit
ish capital locked up in Russia, but
the future OF the property which the
capital represents depends upon ar
rangements between Governments.
1T is perfectly true we have been try
ing ever since the revolution to get back
T..
that other interests win be treated the
same"
In Accord With Government.
Sir Robert said there was not the
slightest wish or intention on the part
behind the back OF the Government. '1n
fact" he explained. I'VE have definitely
given assurance to the British Govern
ment that we should not be willing to
come to any arrangement outside OF
whatever the Government may be able
to arrange for other oil interests"
He said that at present the Shell Com
pany was getting no oil out OF Russia.
hut that the Russian cooperative society
had sold several csrgoes of oil, some to
Shell Sir Robert said he did not know
whence they came-posSibly from their
own wells The future of British inter-
ests in Russia. he said, depended wholly
upon the success of present negotiations
between the Allies and the Soviet Gov
ernment, adding that nothing had been
done on the part of the Shell group to
Justify American anxiety.
Monopoly Idea RidicuIcd.
The Foreign Office ridicules the sug-
sestion that Mr.. Lloyd George at Genoa
Is endeavoring to obtain monopoly of
Russian oil. The American Embassy
denies that Ambassador Harvey has
made inquiries on the subject. Word
from America that President Harding
will protes: against Russian oil monop-
oily has but strengthened the general
resolve TO have none OF the exclusive
by Russia.
The EUenin0 Star quotes Krassine as
telling a member of the British syndicate
interested in the Caucasus that no final
Soviet policy had been formed in regard
TO oil and that Moscow had not decided
whether to be operator or Concession
raire. The paper adds that If 1t proves
true that the Soviet Government con-
ceded to Shell Oil any powers over the
Nobel properties In the Baku region alb
sorbed by the Standard Oil Company II
Is easy 10 understand the anger of the
Rockefeller interests. which have been
deprived OF profit from those fields be-
cause they were confiscated by the
Soviet Government.
The Star concludes that the United
States may yet regret their ostentatious
refusal to be represented at Genoa"