Political Upheaval

Oil Production In Nei

Slow Rehabilitation Due to Political Upheaval

fpHE political disturbances in the X Netherlands East Indies in the last two years have considerably retarded the rehabilitation of oil fields there, which pre-war supplied Australasia with about 70 per cent, of its needs.

Best progress has been made in Tara kan where production has been about one-third that of pre-war and larger than could be coped with for storage and ship ping purposes.

In Java onlv a small fraction of pre war output was achieved in 1946 and no figures are available for this year. It is unlikely that there has been any im provement, however.

The largest pre-war source of East Indies oil was, of course, Sumatra which produced 4 million tons. When the Japanese invasion of the Indies was im minent the Dutch applied a scorched earth policy to some of the largest in stallations in Sumatra. However, the Royal Dutch Shell refinery near Palem bang was ready for use last February al though, due to the general unrest in the Indies, it is doubtful if production has yet begun.