OCR Text |
Show OIL SHORTAGE MYTH IS N0WEXPL0DED U. S. Director of This Division Divi-sion Lays Difficulties to Poor Transportation. There is no shortage of petroleum for our immediate needs, according to Mark L. Requa, director of the oil division of the United States fuel administration. The lack is one entirely of transportation. transporta-tion. Gasoline must be produced as a by-product in Uie manufacture of fuel oil used In the navy, in merchant ships and in Industrial plants, and the gasoline must be disposed of. Crude oil containing the lighter, volatile oils, such as gasoline, is dangerous for fuel purposes until the gasoline is removed. Obviously, unless this gasoline is sold and consumed, the cost of fuel oil win increase. There is. therefore, no intention inten-tion on the part of the fuel administration administra-tion to phut off or limit the supplv of gasoline for use in motor vehicles. ' Mr. Requa said: There has been considerable discussion discus-sion as to cutting oft the supply of gasoline to passenger vehicles, following follow-ing the precedent set in England, but the conditions are entirelv dissimilar for the reason that England produces no oil and has to rely entirelv upon exports overseas. The United States, on the contrary, not only produces the oil for Ks own consumption, but large surplus quantities for export. It has been demonstrated recentiv that it is impossible to take oil for any specific purpose without exerting a detrimental influence on some other -branch of the industry. The problem ' of what is least essential is an extremely ex-tremely difficult one to determine, and 1 am somewhat of the opinion- that the non-essential industry does not exist. It Is quite obvious thai the oil facilities fa-cilities of the United Surtes must be used in such a way as fo produce tiie maximum benefit viewed from a national na-tional standpoint to meet the existing crisis. The priority list was established for the reason that it is Impossible, because be-cause of transportation shortage, to Supply all consumers. When the tup-ply tup-ply is svifllcien. the priority list automatically au-tomatically ceases to operate. When a shortage does exist, class 12 receives re-ceives no oil until all lower numbers are supplied |