San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-02
TWENTY-FIVE
Gent CUT SOON
/ IS F0RECAST
-
Independents Already Cut
ting Under Posted Rates
in Midcontinent Field.
MAY BE MUCH WORSE
Plenty Of Light Oil Avail
able at Is to SIS Cents
Under Market Quotations.

ssss Houston, Tex, Sept. with
slight signs of improvement in the
production situation, there comes the
.rumor that the widespread practice of
independent buyers of crude oil in
the Mid Continent, of refusing to pay
the posted price for their oil, may re-
suit in retaliatory measures that
will make the situation even worse
than it now is.
. - The present developments will, it
IS believed, force the Prairie officials
Ito admit that the present price struc-
! ture is crumbling by posting lower
scale of quotations for the oil the
company buys. 1t is predicted that
ID 25-cent reduction will be announced,
although this figure will not even
tpfices with quotations offered by in
dependent refiners.
-. 1t is not difficult to see why the
srefiners refuse to pay the. posted
prices when they can obtain suffi-
cient oil of needed gravity at prices
from %, 50 TO 80 cents below the
Prairie's scale. In some instances
even a cheaper rate than this is
available.
Dollar a Barrel Crude.
Further decentralization of the crude
market in the Mid-Continent was
made last VIII, / the Miller Petroleum
company announced that it would pay
but 81 a barrel for oil testing IS
gravity and above instead of its form
.er price of 81. Later in the week
the Peerless Refining company of
.Chanute stated that it would pay 90
cents a barrel less for all crude
bought than the company had been
paying. A recent survey made in
Tulsa by q representative of one of
the larger refineries revealed that ap-
proximately twenty companies in the
Mid-Continent were buying their oil
at prices considerably lower than the
posted scale.
The explanation as to why the
major purchasing agencies have not
posted a reduction so far may be
found in that such a reduction might
have brought on the change that the
large companies were threatening the
very existence of thousands of minor
operators. As the situation now
Stands, such a reduction can be met
with the statement that Independent
buyers of crude-competitors of both
the Prairie and Sinclair-have dis
regarded the posted schedule and are
paying only enough to insure a sup
ply Of oil, and that a lowering of !
prices was inevitable.
e.. Governor Is Popular.
Governor Walton of Oklahoma is
making himself popular with the !
leading oil men of that state by TAX
ing the stand that Oklahoma oil
must not be wasted. 1t is not known
Just what the governor has in mind,
but the oil interests are apparently
behind him.
Crude prices in the other fields of
THE United States show no change over
last week. In North Texas there is
The same trouble that exists in Mid
aontinent. Individual independent op-
lfSators have disregarded the prices
iodoted by the major refineries on
the ground that the curtailment Of
purchases and proration of runs make
the present prices fictitious. A flat
price of $1.J0 per barrel on all grades
of crude is being posted by some Of
the refiners, while others are specify
ing certain grade or better at this
figure. The Indications are that this
practice will spread as spot crude is
reported plentiful throughout the
.district.
What the Fields Report.
The daily average production Of the
fields of the United States for the
last week, as compiled by the Oil /
B Weekly, follows:
Barrels |
Mhd-Contlnent ....,...... S4S,364 |
lOklahoma. Kansas North Central |