Petroblog: shareholder certificates

The statutory meeting of the Moreni(Roumania), Oilfields Ltd. was held at City House, 48, Cannonstreet, E. C, Mr. Richard Barnett (the chairman) presiding. The chairman said that, the prospectus anticipations were being amply justified, for that company was already a producing ”company”, and selling its oil at a satisfactory profit. The shareholders would see from the statutory report that 90,000 ordinary shares of £1 each and 50,000 deferred shares of 1s each had been allotted fully paid, being the agreed purchase consideration for the properties. Preliminary expenses were covered by the proceeds of 70,000 deferred shares of £1 had been offered for subscription in order to provide an initial working capital. Notwithstanding the dullness of the markets in mid-July, the issue was over-subscribed.The valuable properties at Moreni and Filipesti de Padure, with wells under construction , machinery, .and 1 other assets as a going concern, had been acquired without any cash payment, and on Sept 8, within two months after the issue of the prospectus, and at a time when only £2,000 of the working capital had been remitted to Roumania, oil had been struck in well No.4, at a depth of 83ft.

The production steadily increased from thirty tons to 100 tons a day. The oil was rich in benzine, and had a specific gravity of only 8.15. It commanded a ready sale, and within a fortnight of commencing operations 600 tons had been sold at a satisfactory figure and delivertd to the purchasers. On Oct 16 there was strong eruptions, the output of oil reaching 200 tons. On the 17th inst, when the wall was flowing at the rate of 1,000 .tons a day it took fire, and the flames were not extinguished until the night of the 19th. Twentyfour hours later they broke out afresh but the fire was soon got under, and according to a letter receivsd that morning from Mr. Alfred Rutherford, one of their directors, on the spot, "No. 4 well is still flowing merrily; Moreni has never before seen anything like this well, and they all think that she is a fortune in herself.The directors believed in seeing things themselves, and had, he thought, established a record by hold ing a, full board meeting on the field of operations 1,800 miles from London, between, the date of the,prospectus and that of the statutory meet ing. The directors had come back from their latest visit more than ever impressed with the future of roumanian oil, with the value of the companies properties at Moreni and Filipesti de Padure, and with the capacity and integrity of those to whom the local administration of its affairs had been entrusted.

Grey River Argus 14th of December 1911.

Compagnie des Pétroles de Moreni Share of 100F - 1932.

Compagnie des petroles de Moreni-action de 100 francs au porteur.

Moreni-Tuicani-action de cent francs au porteur.

During the two wars, the Romanian capital is encouraged and regaining ground, up 26.3% in 1936 in terms of production growth in the country who had the 4 th largest in the world (8.7 million tons). The origin of foreign capital has changed too, the Austrian and German capital making up the Anglo-Dutch capital (40.2% on the same date). This interest was clearly located in the Prahova Subcarpates, other petroleum stores, known for a long time, are often neglected. Before 1944, only 2 departments (Prahova and Dâmboviţa) accumulated 98.6% of oil production. The interest of major foreign oil has been shown at the time by buying companies so that indigenous production to 1940 was controlled by the Royal Dutch-Shell Oil (through its subsidiary Steaua Română) and Standard Oil (for its two subsidiaries' Astra Română and Societatea Romano-Americana).The participation of foreign capital may explain the increase in production during the economic crisis of 1929-1932 and the important weight in the global oil exports (12% of the total in 1935, the 3rd in the world) . This demonstrates the vital importance of this industry for Romania at the time, oil being its main asset. One can even say that the myth of Romania between the two wars, a sort of paradise lost, still invoked today is at the origin after an illusion of prosperity created by the economic success which the oil was the recipient emerging bourgeoisie of the country.

Romania Generala Petrolifera 500 lei share

Antwerp Petroleum Co. of Rumania 1910.The company owned concessions in the Bustenari district, northwest of Ploiesti.

Russo-Roumanian Oil Company Ltd. Société Russe-Roumano de Petrole 1913.

Sté des Pétroles Mercédès et de Vulcanesti -1908.

Sté Française des Pétroles de Prédéal-Téléajen-1909.

Sté Anonyme de Pétrole Sospiro-1923

Sospiro Provisory Cert. for 10 shares-1921.

Nationala-Petrolifera Certificate - Bucarest 1924.

La Franco-Romana Share of 100F - 1908.

Apostolake Sté Roumaine pour l'Industrie du Pétrole 1908 share 250 lei.

Les Sociétés nationales de méthane - 1937.

Policiori Oilfields Of Roumania, Ltd.-1913.

Forage Lemoine Société à Responsabilité Limitée Ploesti,Roumaine-1926.

Deutsch-Rumänische Petroleum AG, Berlin-1924.

Redeventa exploitation et commerce du soussol-1923.

Rumeensche Petroleum-Matschappij-1897.

Sidus Comp. Pétrolière Franco-Roumaine 1921.

Soviet-Romanian Society for mining and trade oil and oil derivatives.

Astra Romana stock holdings - 1926

Colombia Romanian-French petroleum society-1920.

Concordia S.A. Romania, Bucharest - 1920

Creditul Minier Societate Anonima Romana, Bucuresti-1923.

Industria Romana de Petrol - 1920.

IRDP Industria Romana de Petrol S.A., Bucuresti-1924

Minerva (Romania) Oil Company - 1925

Petrol-Block stock holdings- 1922

Romania Petrolifera Fratia - 1920

Société Belge-Roumaine de Transports & d'Industrie - 1898.

Societe Belge-Roumaine de Petrol-1908.The company that issued this superb antique bond, Romano-Belgiana, was a joint Romanian-Belgian joint venture based in Bucarest that was formed to exploit Romania's sizeable oil reserves in the first decade of the 20th Century.