Evening star., 1948-01-24
Oil: Asset or Liability?
Middle East Nations Are Enjoying Prosperity
But Sense Danger of Coming War
By Elizabeth Monroe

AS you travel through the Middle East
new weu-heads, new refineries, impressive piles
of new piping, or even q line Of white-daubed
stones marking the line Of q prospective new
pipe across the desert, are reminders that the
center of world oil production Is shifting.
It used to lie in the Caribbean. Now, in the
opinion of the American Governments prin-
cipal prospector, DR.. De Golyer. sit is likely
to continue to shift to the Middle East until
it Is firmly established there" His statement
has awakened the Middle Eastern States to a
whole series OF new thoughts.
Their first reaction is one Of Joy. Here Is
fabulous and inexhaustible source of wealth.
They admit foreign prospectors and are glad
to sign pipeline agreements.
Second thoughts bring few misgivings
Should they exploit their treasure quickly, in
the heyday of oil, and before some rival source
of power is invented, or should they proceed
slowly and at pace which would enable them
to do without hated foreigners? Here again
money carries the day. Sensibly enough, the
men in power ignore the shouts of hotheaded
nationalists and ask for cash down and quick
returns. :
third thought already present in num-
Der of Persian minds, strikes only the most
reflective Arabs: Is this oil wealth an unmixed
blessing? They used to think so but might
not the attentions of oil-hungry powers turn
it from an asset into liability-into storm
center Of great power rivalries?
The Middle Eastern oil fields are attracting
international notice for three good reasons.
First, they possess proved or semiproved re-
serves on a scale at least equal to those OF the
United States, and probably greater. Second.
they offer greater operational advantages than
any other known area. The individual fields
are larger, and yield more per well. Haft Kel.
in Persia, which is the record breaker OF
recent years, yields 100000 tons per annum
from "a wells. Compare 100000 tons per
annum for $4,000 wells, which is the figure
for the great Texas field in the United States.)
Boring is therefore economic. Labor is cheap.
No wonder that companies are after con-
cessions A third incentive is the fear in
both America and Russia that home con-
sumption will continue to outrun home pro-
duction. Both the United States and Russia
want to be sure of outside sources of supply
So do other states.
Different Companies Cooperate.
From this last fact there follow, naturally
enough, scare stories of scramble for Arab
ian OIL" These are untrue. Any visitor to the
Middle Eastern oil fields must be impressed
by the relative harmony in which the oil
companies work owing to the infinite criss-
crossing of interests which they have de-
veloped, almost regardless of nationality. The
great Iraq Petroleum Co., which works not only
in Iraq but, through subsidiaries or associ-
ates, is also prospecting in Syria and Southern
Arabia, is a joint Anglo French American
Dutch concern. The Anglo-Iranian Co. is, as its
name here reveals, British and Persian only, but
it operates the oil of Kuwait (now about to
I, bring untold riches to that small sultanate)
Jointly with the Gulf Co., which is American.
The Bahrein Petroleum Co. is Canadian, but is
American controlled.
The four partners in the IPC Gran Petrol