FERNS, FOSSILS AND FUEL 
barrels, of forty-two gallons each. Of this amount the 
United States has produced over 8,500,000,000 barrels, 
or sixty-three per cent of the total. During the year 
1925, the United States alone produced 759,000,000 bar¬ 
rels. In that year a committee of eleven appointed by the 
American Petroleum Institute made a report on our pe¬ 
troleum resources in order to answer a questionnaire of 
the Petroleum Board appointed by President Coolidge. 
In considering the future supply of crude petroleum, 
the Committee estimated a reserve, in the United States, 
of 3,210,000,000 barrels from present producing wells, 
and 2,111,000,000 from proven but undrilled acreage, a 
total known reserve of 5,321,000,000 barrels. Since this 
report was made, new oil pools have been discovered and 
production has been somewhat decreased. It amounted 
to 408,735,493 barrels during 1929. 
Where are we to turn for dependable oil supplies when 
our domestic oil resources begin to fail? Mexico is to 
be considered first in line, but its production has declined 
from 193,000,000 barrels in 1921 to 113,000,000 in 1925, 
and further since that year. Venezuela and Columbia 
produce large amounts, but much less than Mexico. Ar¬ 
gentina’s supply does not cover her domestic consumption. 
In Europe, the Russian fields have only recently passed 
the peak of 73,000,000 barrels established in 1916. 
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