What amounted to a repercussion of the Mexican oil expropria tion occurred with a ruling of the Bolivian Supreme Court on March 8, 1939, confirming the seizure of the properties of the American Standard Oil Company of Bolivia. The concession, acquired in 1921, was in an isolated tropical jungle spot on the banks of the Bermejo river, a small stream marking the Argentine frontier. A wildcat well was completed in 1925. Up to 1937 the company spent $17,000,000 in exploration, in drilling 28 wells, and in the construction of two small refineries, camps, roads, and sanitation facilities.
Prior to 1928 the Bolivian Government raised the question as to the proper date when "production" began under the contract and the correspondingly high surface rentals applied. In July of that year it was agreed that, irrespective of production, higher rentals should begin Jan. 1, 1930, and thereafter the company paid the graduated scale of taxes. In July 1931, the succeeding administration revoked this agreement. In Dec. 1936, there was formed the Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos, a Gov ernment-sponsored oil enterprise. On March 15, 1937, a decree was served on the company declaring forfeit the company's en tire possessions in Bolivia. Court action followed with the final judgement against the company. The company petitioned the United States State Department formally to intervene with the Bolivian Government, seeking either a return of the properties or the submission of the case to international arbitration. In 1936 Bolivia produced i6o,000bbl. of oil.
Bolivia's dictator president, the late Colonel German Busch announced in Aug. 1939, that the Government would spend 23,000,00o bolivianos building pipe lines to exploit the fields taken over by the Government company after the Standard Oil conces sion was cancelled. He stated exports of oil would begin when the Argentine Congress ratified a 1937 treaty providing an outlet for Bolivian oil through northern Argentina.
The production trend of South American and West Indian coun tries is shown in Table VII.
It will be seen that there has been a constantly widening trend toward the creation of government monopolies, government ex propriation, and the nationalization of natural resources, which in turn has diminished individual and corporate enterprise.
The U.S.S.R. (Russia) has, in effect, a complete Government monopoly comprising ownership of petroleum in place ; producing, refining, transporting, and marketing facilities; as well as Gov ernment control of imports and exports. Russia on a peace time basis gradually changed its status from an exporting country to a country merely self-sufficient in its petroleum requirements.
Italy controls importations of oil ; supervises retail marketing, has negligible production, and conducts foreign exploratory op erations through a semi-official utility corporation called the Italian General Petroleum Corporation. An example is the con cession from Iraq covering a 75-year lease on a 200-sq.mi. zone on the right bank of the Tigris river. Foreign-company retail marketing in Italy is governed by a cartel.
In Poland the minerals were owned by the Government, and each prospector had to have a permit from the Government, with strict regulations and with rights of the concessionaire very limited. In Rumania the minerals are owned by the Government, and the operations of private companies are under strict Govern ment regulation; and the imposition of exchange regulations also obstructs and hampers the operations of foreign companies.
In Iraq the Government owns the minerals, grants concessions under strict regulations, imposes requirements concerning trans portation and marketing facilities; requires guaranteed annual revenues therefrom, and imposes strict regulations.
In Netherlands India the Government in the main owns the pe troleum deposits, and exercises the exclusive right to extract such minerals, under the principle of regality; and likewise the exclu sive right to contract for their extraction. In British India pe troleum is largely state-owned, although there is some private ownership; but no prospecting is permitted except by a British subject or a British-controlled company having a certificate of approval from the Government and a prospecting licence.
In Papua and the mandated territory of New Guinea the min erals are owned by the Commonwealth, and much of the early exploration was under the joint conduct of the British and Aus tralian Governments. Exploitation in 1938 was conducted by com panies having a licence or concession under strict regulations.