871.6363/227: Telegram
The Chargé in Rumania (Riggs) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 2—5 a.m.]
64. Your 41, September 27 [26], 4 p.m. Mr. Hughes, head of the Romano-Americana, informed me yesterday that the Minister of Industry and Commerce had summoned him for a conference this morning. The Minister admitted at this conference that he had summoned Mr. Hughes because of a telegram from the Rumanian Minister at Washington to the Foreign Office reporting that the State Department was concerned at this interpretation of the mining law. The following paragraph gives the substance of a memorandum which Mr. Hughes handed me summarizing the statement which the Minister made to him:
The Minister maintained that for concessions taken either before or after the promulgation of the mining law on July 4, 1924, the provisions of the law requiring that wells should be 30 meters from the [Page 632] boundary should in principle remain in effect. The Minister will, however, make a separate decision on each application for the location of a well. He will take a broad view in his decisions and will approve all applications, even when the location of the well is to be within 30 meters of the boundary of the concession, if he is given such reasons as the age of the concession, the importance of the company, the necessities for exploitation of the locality, etc.
In other words, while the Minister does not admit the company’s claim in principle, he promises a favorable decision for the two concessions which are under discussion and decisions in other similar cases on the basis of political expediency.
Mr. Hughes does not feel that there is any certainty for the future in these promises. It is my impression that the Minister is seeking to gain time without committing himself and that he is trying to avoid a discussion with our Government on the principle of the vested rights in the case. However, the company is willing to let the matter rest with respect to the two concessions in question. For the above reason I have not carried out the instruction in your telegram 41 of September 26 and I will wait for further instructions.
Tomorrow a collective protest regarding this interpretation of the mining law will be presented to the Minister of Industry and Commerce by the Association of Petroleum Industries of Rumania, of which all the big oil companies are members. I am informed that the largest British company in Rumania, the Astra Romana, has been denied permission for drilling several wells under like conditions but has made no protest to British Legation as yet.