With oil shipments from the United States to Japan embargoed, it is expected that further efforts now will be made by Japan to deal with Mexico. In recent months Japan has taken a small quantity of oil from Mexico, but, since this entailed Panama Canal tolls, it never assumed large proportions. As a result, both Japan and Mexico have attempted to agree on the construction of a pipe line from the east coast of Mexico to Salina Cruz on the Pacific.
Other sources from which Japan might obtain oil are the Island of Bahrein, the Netherlands East Indies and Iran.
Early this year Japanese interests purchased about 1,000,000 barrels of oil from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, a majority of whose stock is owned by the British Government.
With her own production only about 3,000,000 barrels, Japan has come here for most of her requirements. Last year the consumption of oil products by Japan amounted to 25,400,000 barrels.
The Axis Powers recently materially improved their position with respect to oil. Rumania, which recently has come under their influence, seized the two largest oil concerns in that country, the Astra Romano, owned by British and Netherlands interests, and the Steaua-Romano, owned by British and French capital. These, with the Rompano-Americana, owned by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, control most of that country's oil output.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.