The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24, 1919. NEWLY DISCOVERED OILFLIELDS.

Taihape Daily Times, 24 September 1919, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24, 1919. NEWLY DISCOVERED OILFLIELDS.

With which I'ls incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News.”

The extraordinary gr-owth of motor -tr-afiic, in which petrol so largely plays a part, -has, for some years, caused much speculation respecting the world supply of rock-spirit_ The Standard Oil Company of the United States has left no stone unturned, nor spared any ‘expense in their endeavour to retain control -of the petrol trade. His only some sixty years ago that Americans sank thcil"first’oil-well, -but the Indians had collected the oil and brought it into towns for sale long before that time. The Persians were probably the first people -to use mineral oil, for in the history of that country it is stated -that it oozed out of the surface in large quanti.ties. Since the American oil wells were sunk, and the petrol engine was invented, oil has been discovered on the Continent of Eur-ope, and in various parts ‘of Xsia, including British Burmah, and yet t.he Americans have managed, up to the present, to largely control the price at which it is -retailcd. The multiplication of the purposes for which petrol is used in most recent times indicates that there is practically. unbounded confidence in, a, limitless Supply. In the first year that oilwells were sunk 82,000 barrels was the output, and that was something to marvel at, but to-day more than that number of millions of -barr'els, or their equivalent, are taken fromv the bowels of the "earth. But it is the cost and commercial aspect of oil to-day that nations are most concerned with. Motor cars have virtually displaced horses in towns, and petrol engines are pushing out the old steam engines from warships, and the newer class of merchantmen. Less than twenty years ago motor cars were much higher priced than they are now, but -they were no more costly to'run, owing to: the low price of petrol. As motor cars have come down in price petrol has gone up, and the expense of a car in these days is about the same as it was when the car itself was much dearer. The great fear has been that with the marvellous increase ill motor vehicles and the newer purposes for which petrol is being used, such as airsliips, aeroplanes, alld ocean-going vessels of one kind and another, agricultural motors would be too expensive in actual work to render them of profitable use in a. general way. American __companies have controlled oil prices, but the prices charged, which are dishonestly out of all prbportion to the cost of production, has enabled a limited shale oil industry to be established in Britain, although its not output, valued at about £BOO,OOO, is negligible in price-controlling opera-tions_ New prospects have, however, -arisen; a cablegram which arrived this week advised théft extensive oil fields had been discovered in I\l:ld»a.gascar, giving an oil of a very rich character. Although not figuring much in current history, Madagascar‘, -which is larger than the whole of the B‘rit}ish Isles, -was destined, before oil was discovered, to play 81 very considerable part in the production of the world ’s food supply. It is fast becoming a competitor in the meat and wool market, and being nearer to Europe its producers would have advantages over New Zcalanrl producers. But Mada.gasca.r now seems destined to play a part in enabling Britain to exercise -that influence the Empire stands much in need of in the production -of petrol, and in the control of the Wo!'ld’s prices of that increasingly essential product. It cannot be denied that the people who have an ample, unfailing supply of petrol for all their, needs, are destined to be amongst the foremost commercial nations of the; earth_ Britain has high prospects ofi good oil fields developing in “the North I

IMlic!'uand Counfies; she «has shell-pil iworks; the Burmeseoilfields are in iBI-itish Burmah; it is not unlikely the. iPersi-an fields will come largely under the control -of Britain, and lastly and most» important, extensive, rich fields hxave been discovered in Madagascar, where ample cheap labour for their development should be reeruitable from the Malagash people; If Britain had had the choice of an oil field situation. it ‘is. doubtful whether Madagascar ‘would not have been selected. It lies in the Pacific, south-east of Cape Colony, from wherepetrol could cheap-i ly be distributed to New Zeuland, Australia, and South Africa; it is also 111 a convenieirt. situation for replenishing the oil tanks in merchant ships and men-of—war. A silver lining to the darkening motor spirit clouds is seen in Madagascar, and if the British Parliament will take steps to prevent Madagascar falling into private o\vnership,pwe ‘lllay VQnt.ul'(} to predict that a great impetus will be given to B'i-itish Empire primary production, and to a profitable growth of Empire industries. These newly—discovered fields should prove of inestimable value to South Sea British Dominions} and an asset to the whole Empire that was its Supl'enle need. Urgency of the need will ensure development at the earliest possible moment; that no expense will be spared in rapidly putting Britain in the position of being a Worthy competitor in the world’s oil supply. \Vitll any docline in values of this coun- \ try"s primary products, it ‘is imperative there should be ai cheapened motor p-ower. This is p a manifest. truth, a patent fact, hence? P.:n'liamen~t and people are urging Gov— 4 ernment on to harness the great Iva-ter— 1 power of the Dominion for the produc— i tion of electricity whichcould -be made ; available for much of the work requir- Q ed on farms and in workshops. Anyi fall in prices will make the cost of} motor spirit felt more severely, but, with the discovery of" rich, extensivei oil-fields in Madagascar ‘there comes‘ reasonable hopes of a much-cheapenedl motor spirit for all purposes. .