Gasoline

Evidently the petroleum industry is slated for interesting developments in 1925, despite the fact that last year saw the most stabilized situation in oil for many years. For the first time since 1906, domestic crude production failed to exceed that of the preceding year -mainly the result of the decline in flush California output by 32,812,000 barrels from the total established in 1923. Crude oil storage increased 19,000,000 barrels, against 79,578,000 in 1923 and 79,000,000 in 1922. Meanwhile, the record of annual demand for petroleum products was again broken last year.

Production and imports of gasoline in 1924 totaled 9,089,555,000 gallons - an increase of 1,342,297,000 or 17.3% over 1923. Domestic demand and exports last year aggregated 8,984,952,000 gallons--an increase over 1923 of 1,428,800,000 gallons, or 19%. Thus the surplus supply of gasoline for 1924 was only 104,603,000 gallons -just about four days' average daily consumption. Total gasoline stocks on Dec. 31, 1924, were 1,179,504,000 -equal to 48 days' average consumption. Although refiners last year manufactured 8,954,684,000 gallons of gasoline, as against 7,555,945,000 in 1923, the surplus stocks of the U. S. during 1924 increased only 1% of that year's production.

If the 1925 demand again shows an increase, while 1925 production does not continue to increase, there is strong likelihood that recent raises in oil prices will be maintained and even be increased, despite considerable political protest in Western and Southern states. New oil fields, rather than political activities, seem at present the best possibility as a cause of lower oil prices.