871.6363/221: Telegram
The Chargé in Rumania (Riggs) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 25—1:03 a.m.]
62. The local head of the Romano-Americana Company called today at the Legation, made a statement to me of which the following is the substance.
The Romano-Americana Company holds certain parcels of land under concessions dating from 1900 and validated in accordance with the present mining law to continue until 1935 and 1949 respectively. The company applied on July 30th, 1924, for permission to drill two wells on these holdings and has now received a reply from the Minister of Industry and Commerce stating that the drilling of these wells shall be governed by the new mining regulations. This means, in accordance with a decision given on the 9th instant by the ministerial committee for the application of the new mining law, that no wells can be drilled on those properties because, in accordance with the above-mentioned decision, no wells can be drilled at a distance less than 30 meters from the boundary of neighboring property. The concessions in question are so narrow that no well can be drilled on them which will be 30 or more meters from the boundary. In other words, these lands, although held under concession by the company and exploitable under the old laws, cannot be exploited at all and these two are the first applications acted upon under these conditions since the passage of the mining law. This ruling establishes a precedent which if maintained will seriously affect the company’s exploitation of other concessions held by it under similar conditions. The head of the company has lodged a formal protest with me today against this ruling on the ground that it constitutes an insidious violation of the acquired rights sanctioned by article 235 of the mining district law and which the Roumanian Government has repeatedly and publicly declared its intention of respecting.
Am endeavoring to ascertain how British and other foreign oil interests are affected and am forwarding by next pouch copy of Romano-Americana’s written protest to the Minister of Industry and Commerce.37
- Not printed.↩