Mexican Petroleum Company, Ltd. Los Angeles, California, June 10, Canfield together purchased in fee simple 40 f, acres of land located near the meeting of the boundaries of the States of San Luis Potoal, Vera Cruz and Tamaulipas, part of the land lying in each State. The Tames 1 River and its main branch, the Rio Naranjo, form the northern boundary of the tract for more than sixty miles, and the southern limits of the area approach close to the Rio Panuco, which latter river, meeting with the Tamesi about four miles above Tampico, forms the harbor of that city.
The National Railways of Mexico extend through the property for a distance of 35 miles. The town of Ebano was built by the Company near the railway line, near the center of the property and near the first location for oil development. Development work was actually begun on the land so acquired in February. The first well was completed on May 14th of the same year. It yielded about fifty barrels dally. Other wells were immediately begun and drilled to depths sufficient to develop oil.
Prior to the development of these wells no petroleum was being produced in the Republic of Mexico. Your Mexican Petroleum Company procured a concession from the Government as the pioneer in this industry.
Said concession permitted the importation, free from duty, of supplies and machinery for the development of oil, and also stipulated that the Company should be exempt from all taxes except the stamp x tax, for a period of ten years.
There being no oil-fuel produced nor consumed in the Republic of Mexico, and the oil developed in the wells first drilled being very heavy, to wit. Consequently, it became necessary to build up in Mexico a market for fuel-oil and aaphaltum. At about this time the Beaumont field of Texas was discovered, the great production of whose wells, there being no developed market for fuel-oil in Texas, became a drug upon the market, and, consequently, prices for crude oil dropped as low as three cents per barrel.
