Evening star., 1947-12-28
Fuel Oil Supply Low,
But Experts Believe
Users Can Get By
By the Assoeioisd Press

Stocks of fuel oil are short in th'
East, the South and the Middle
West, but with proper conservation
Government and industry of1cial'
say they believe these areas car
get by" the winter without ap'
preciable suffering.
Temperatures in hundreds O
thousands of oil-heated home!
should be held as low as possible
and other methods of saving fue
should be employed, fuel oil expert!
said today.
Otherwise, there almost certainly
will be some cold houses and pos
sibly brief shutdowns Of industria
plants.
Fuel oil supplies on hand in the
District are adequate for anoth-
er week unless an unforeseen
emergency occurs, representa-
tives of leading oil companies in
the Washington area reported
yesterday evening.
May Divert Some Supplies.
Some fuel oil and gasoline,
ordinarily delivered to Washing
ton by truck from Baltimore and
Pennsylvania points, may be
diverted to New York and New
England areas, spokesmen for
Standard Oil of New jersey
pointed out.
Another oil company represen-
tative said that unless weather
conditions become worse to the
extent that tankers and railroad
tank cars are tied up for several
days, the Washington area is not
likely to be seriously affected by
the New York storm.
Pending detailed information
from their companies concerning
possible needs in the New York
area, most Washington Offices
were unwilling to make detailed
comments on the fuel oil situation.
A petroleum industry report to q
Senate Interstate Commerce sub
committee recently placed stocks Of
distillates-oil used for Residential!
heating-at about IS per cent below
demand on the east coast. In the
Midwest the shortage was figured
at about 10 per cent.
The situation in the Southern
States varies in about the same de-
gree between the Seaboard and the
Mississippi, the spokesmen said.
Residual Oil Stocks Low.
Stocks of residual oils, used by
industrial plants. also are off, but
to an estimated slightly lesser
extent.
Officials of the oil and gas divi-
sion of the Interior Department
have another Worry-stocks of Gull
Coast ref1neries, from whence the
Eastern part of the country draws
its major supplies, also are short.
Some individual plants do have
high inventories of oil, but on the
whole, the reserve in the Gulf Coast
area is way down." a spokesman
said.
Transportation Of fuel oil to the
seaboard has been a bothersome
problem, but right now, the oil ano
gas division men explained, the
question is primarily one of pro-
duction rather than shipping.
Domestic refineries are producing
more oil than ever before, tut the
demand is constantly outs ripping
the supply.
Fuel CO-ordinators Urged.
The petroleum industry group ir
its report to the Senate subcom
mittee, headed by Senator Tobey
Republican, of New Hampshire
recommended among other things
the appointment of fuel co-ordi-
majors in States east of the Rocky
Mountains, and an increase in the
production Of residential heating
fuels at the expense of motor fuels
1t was suggested that the State
co-ordinators be given power to ap-
point local emergency fuel groups
to aid in the oil conservation cam
paigns.
Recommendations of the indus
try advisors were forwarded by
Senator Tobey to governors of "a
Eastern States. At his Office today
it was stated that virtually all OF
the replies so far received approve
the recommendations.