The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 20, 1927, Page 10

—-Drawing By William Gropper. The Struggle for Soviet Russian Oil . €2R DETERDING, president of the Royal Dutch Ps) Shell, the greatest Anglo-Dutch oil eoncern, on receiving the news of the conclusion of oil agree- ments betwen the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndi- eate and American petroleum companies, published a furicus declaration. In this declaration Deterding (who, it may be observed, is one of the chief or- ganizers of an aggressive action against the Sovict Union) applies directly to the central company rep- resenting the Rockefeller’ petroleum interests; ! the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, in order to induce it to intervene against the agreements between American companies and the Soviet Russian Naph- tha Syndicate. The Standard Oil, in its reply, de- elares that it itself has no intentien of ¢htering jinto any business with the Soviet. Union. rhe president of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, Walter Teagels, even declared himself prepared to go to London for the purpose jof arranging a juint action with the Royal Dutch Shell against the Soviet Union. At the same time, however; ‘the Centtal Company. confirmed at once the report that various of its af- filiated companies, the Standard Oil of ‘New’ York and the Vacuum Oil Company, had conclided agree- ments with the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate. It declared, however, that it has no inflvence over its daughter companies, these heing “autonomous.” George Whaley, president of the Vacuum Oil, like- wise, in an interview dating from the same time, pointed to the autonomous position of his company and expressed his definite intention of keeping to the contracts made with the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate. The actual agreements entered into between the American petroleum companies and the Sovict Rus- sian Naphtha Syndicate are as follows. Contracts to supply petrol to Egypt, already ecnecluded two years ago, have now been vrolonge:]. The Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate has been obliged to pro- leng this contract, not being in a position to sell its products in Egypt on its own account, Thanks to their predominant influence, the English oil con- eerns have hitherto prevented establishment of branch depots by the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syn- dicate--the chief places concerned being the sea- ports and ll oil bunker stations in the Mediterran- ean and Suez Canal. Hence the Soviet Russian Naph- tha Syndicate has been forced to endeavor to evade this ban on its oil, and for this reason entered into contract with the Vacuum Oil Company, which under- took the sale of Soviet Russian oil in Egypt, where the oi! ean be sold at especially competitive prices, on account of the short distance from the oil sources. The prolongation of this contract has now been ac- companied by the conclusion of a fresh agreement with the Vacuum Oil Company for the supply of i100,v06 tons of crude naphtha yearly. The Standard Oi! Company of New York has also made a contract with the Soviet Russian Naph- tha Syndicate. According to this agreement, the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate is to supply the tank fleet of the Standard Oil Company of New York, in the Mediterranean and in the Indian Ocean, with fuel—bunker mazout—for the term of six years. On the part of Soviet Russia, the motives to bring about these and other contracts are the following: The Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate does not possess a®*tank flect large enough to cope with the rapidly growing export of naphtha. The agreements with the American -—*ncriee ensure the syndicate By H. E. (Berlin) the tank ships required for an extensive export of naphtha. Besides this, the boyeott imposed on Soviet Russian :oil by the English oil concerns compels the Naphtha Syndicate to look for other markets. These markets. have now been secured by the Russian Syn- dicate in the agreements with the American com- panies. Soviet Russian oil will now be sold by Amer- iean intermediation, in much greater quantities than before in the Mediterranean (Port Said), in Egypt. in India (Colombo), and in the Far East (Singa- pore). Finally, the conttacts with the Americans shall furnish the Soviet Russian industry with means for the reorganizafion and expansion of its produc- tion. The Americans, in; return for suitable com- pensation, are to erect;a petroleum refining plant . at Baku, and credits are to be granted, the first to the amount of ten million, dollars, enabling the Sov- .iet. Russian Naphtha Syndicate to finance various undertakings. On the part of the Americaris, the chief induce- ment to these contracts with the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate has probably been the attempts on the part of the English oil concerns to conclude advantageous agreements with the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate. Deterding’s indignation at the American-Soviet Russian oil agreement has aroused in America the comment that this same Deterding has been exerting every effort for years to obtain from the Soviet government the monopoly of the sale of Soviet Russian oil. As late as January 5th of this year Deterding repeated his offer to the Soviet government. At this time Deterding not only offered to buy the. whole of the exportable petrol- eum products of the Soviet Union, but even went so far as to declare his readiness to assist the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate to obtain a loan of fif- teen million dollars, provided that his group were accorded absolute control over the export of these petroleum products. These negotiations came to nothing, and their failure was the chief cause of the rupture of realtions between England and the Soviet Union. ~ To all appearances, the Americans are resolved not to withdraw from their contracts with the Soviet Union. The Washington correspondent of the “Ber- liner Tageblatt’’ reported as follows on July 27th: “T have reliable information to the effect that in the eireles around the New Jersey Oil group the policy of the Shell Co. is by no means unanimously approved (the contrary of this was formerly reported by the English side, H. E.). There rather exists an inclination to take sides with the New York group (which has concluded the agreement with the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate), so that there is some likelihood of 2 rupture between New Jersey (Rockefeller’s Central Company) and the Shell. In any case the New ¥ork Standard Oil group and the Vacuum Oil Company (both now directly con- traeting partners of the Soviet Russian Naphtha Syndicate, H. E.) are both determined to adopt offensive measures, should the Shell Co. force its way into their oriental and Asiatic markets (now being supplied with Soviet Russian oil). The New York group has ample capital in re- serve, and can enter into competition with the Shell Co. even in Germany, England, Italy and France, or even all over Europe. And I have been assured by a reliable source that it will not shrink from doing so if necessary.” . This is significant news. This determination on the part of the Americans can only be explained in its connection with the events of the naval, disarin- ament conference still sitting at Geneva. ‘America . has shown plainly enough at Geneva that it is re- solved to fight with England for the domination of the seas, and with this for the domination of the world. The paramount importance of oil in inter- national economics at the present time makes the idea of world domination entirely unthinkable with- out the control of the decisive oil districts. 1e Americans themselves are the greatest oil producers in the world, but they do not possess competitive oil fields in the vicinity of places of such interna- tional political importance as for instance the traffic routes to Asia. This is the sore point’ in American oil dominion, and it is this which forces the Amer- icans to negotiate with the economic organs of the Soviet pewer. The Americans, of course, are playing a double game. America is waging an economic war against the Soviet Union, side by side with English capital, hut at the same time it seizes upon the advantages offered it by the special economic war being carried on by England against the Soviet Union. It is clear that the English oil concern will see through this double game of the Americans, and will not remain inactive. The double game will fur- ‘nish the Deterdings with one pretext more for con- tinuing and intensifying their volicy of provocation against the Soviet Union, and may give them the opportunity of frustrating the American game by compelling the Americans, when faced by accom- plished facts, especially by a provocation to war, to come into line everywhere in the fighting front against the Soviet Union.