Britain Cutting U.S.A. Out Of Oil Markets

Chronicle (Levin), 21 December 1949, Page 5

Britain Cutting U.S.A. Out Of Oil Markets

Reeevied Tuesday, 8.55 p.m. NEW YORK, Dec. 20. The LTnited States' foreign oil posi tion was rapidlv going from bad tn worse, said" Mr. W. N. Jablonski, petroleum editor of the Journal of Commerce. He added that latest in the chain of events whereby American owned oil was being cut from market after market by British "sterling" oil deals, was a notification by the British Ministry of Fuel and Power to the marketing subsidiaries of American companies, that it was cancelling thfiir fuel oil import quotas from dollar sourees, and cutting their petrol quotas j by one-third in 1950. The companies had been tol,d some 75,000 barrels daily I of oi) would become avdilable in 1950^ from "sterling sourees." That supply might be increased by an additional 50,000 barrels daily if the Haifa refinery were reopened. "This is only the beginning. Tnereasing quantities of both c.rnde oil and refined products will be available from British sourees, the Middle East and Latin America as, their current expansion- programme^With the aid of E.O.A. dollars — -is ptished ahead," he said. '(The next step may well be to require all relineries in the sterling area. i American as well as British, to purchase erude oil from British sourees." j Mr. Jablonski said the issue was not | Britain 's action in cutting down dollar , payments for oil. What the American companies wanted was equal sterling treatment with British companies — the right to sell for ster.ling and nse such sterling. American companies were being discriminated against. The British Treasurv prohibited the purchas.e of American produced oil for stei-ling and also restricted the use of sterling bv American companies. Tlie currency restrietions left the American oil companies no fighting chance to adjust to & sterling basis where nec.essary in order to save their established maTkets against an expanding British oi) output in the next few years.