Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-08-15 | Page 8 | Standard Oil Fails to Land Contracts

STIOlfi OIL FAILS TO UNO CONTRACTS Result of Chinese Negotiations Negotia-tions Is Cause of Speculation Specu-lation in Washington. WASHINGTON, Aug. 14. Failure of 5 tho Standard Oil oompauy to obtain a permanent concession for the development develop-ment of oil fields in northern Chioa, as reported today from Pekin, caused much eoiumeut in commercial and diplomatic circles here. Officials were inclined to speculate as to a possible connection be-., be-., tween the failure of tho6e negotiations and the recent, granting by China of .' commercial demands made by Japan. More than half of tho American ex-' ex-' port, business to China is kerosene oil and the development of extensive fields in China by citizens of nuy other country coun-try would have a disastrous effect upou Chinese-American trade, according to commercial officials of the government. The United States was the only coun- try doing an increased trade in oil with Cnina during 1914, and the oil is about j1 the only article in that trade which has not met severe Japanese competition. Official reports from China have dealt at great length with the oil situation. sit-uation. Several confidential advices have been received by the state and commorce departments. In a report on China's foreign trade for the last year, made public here todav, Consul General Thomas Sammons at Shanghai said: Of the few items of increased imports into China in 1914, American Ameri-can kerosene proved of greatest importance. im-portance. Imports of this commod-ltv commod-ltv increased bv 57.96S.464 gallons in 1914. On tie whole business was disappointing, chiefly on account of high ocean "freight" rates and resulting re-sulting increased retail prices, which forced native consumers back to primitive illuminating methods and the use of vegetable oils. Aside from kerosene the imports into China from the United States amounted to only about $12,000,000 in 1914; kerosene importations were valued at $16,656,146. This great American trade may eventually be largelv superseded through the opening of prospective oil fields in northern China. The Standard Oil companv is expending large sums of moiiev to demonstrate whether whe-ther China's "oil fields are to contribute con-tribute to the far eastern demand for kerosene and other petroleum j ' products. In 1914 this company concluded a temporary contract with the Chinese government to ex-: ex-: ' ploit certain provinces in the production pro-duction of petroleum. Paul Reinsch, minister to China, and , Consul Sammons. are both in the I'nit- j ed States and will visit Washington be- J fnre returning to China. It is expected i thev will confer with state and com- ; mcrce department officials on this and other phases of the Chinese situation.