825.6363/404a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Chile ( Bowers )
676. Figures just received by the Army-Navy Petroleum Board and advised [advices to?] the Department indicate that allowing for the drydocking of the Anibal as now scheduled Chile will have available from June 1 to August 31 a total of 129,900 barrels of gasoline and [Page 746] 58,000 barrels of kerosene. These figures include June 1 stocks of 23,900 barrels and 49,000 barrels, respectively.
Since Chilean formula requirements, including in transit shipments to Bolivia for the tin mines, average 51,500 barrels and 6,600 barrels, respectively, per month, it is evident that a reduction of gasoline consumption during the period June 1 to August 31 by about 16% below quota will suffice to avoid exhaustion of stock until the arrival of the Anibal’s replacement the Virginia late August. In the case of kerosene it will only be necessary to limit consumption to pool formula quantities.
Since the pool formula quantities for gasoline and kerosene are based on generous supplemental allotments for various essential civilian activities plus 100 percent of war requirements, and since no convincing case recommended by the Embassy has so far established the necessity for increasing these allotments, and having further in mind the present critical supply situation, it is entirely reasonable to expect Chile to make the small 16 percent reduction below pool gasoline quotas during the 3 months’ period referred to and you should urge the Chilean authorities to take such action.