Evening star., 1951-01-14


| the extent of the break in Arat
KOC's Burgan Hills wells, but
within the neutral zones frontiers
After four dry holes, they are now
organizing a new survey.
At Bahrein, where the Bapco, OF
Bahrein Petroleum Co.. fronts
for the Standard Oil of Canads
and the Texas Corp, there is {
long jetty extending, like {
broken-shafted T. into the deel
water of the Persian Gulf. Ovel
8 miles from the land where small
clusters of storage tanks and tn,
flaming stacks of refineries can b,
seen, tankers flying the flag O.
Panama and with the emblem O
CalteX printed on their stacks
line up with oilers from the United
States Navy's Mediterranean flee
for their share of Bahrein's oil.
Geographically, Bahrein is /:
small archipelago of three island
lying about IL miles off tn,
Arabian coast, Bahrein, Muharra,
and Sitra. Bahrein is the princi
pal island where the sheikhdom'
business takes place. Maharraq i
residential and Sitra is a British
naval base with accommodation
for small cruisers. South of tn,
archipelago is the Hasa coast ans
Saudi Arabia, with its oil port O.
Ras Tannura.
Qatar. where daily production
has now reached a total of 10000
barrels, has a pipeline extending
from Dukhan to the tiny port O.
Umm Said. and from there, be.
cause of the shallow water, tx
Rahrein and the long Jetty
Qatar's oil company is called Pc.
troleum Development (Qatar)
Ltd, but it is only the Iraq Pc
troleum Co. in disguise.
Division of Shares
Iraq, which is certainly not the
last in Importance, has it's mair
operating fields at Kirkuk, al.
though there are rich fields al
Mosul, near the Iranian frontier
and near Bashah.
East of the Tigris, exceptins
those lands pertaining to thu
Khanakin Oil Co. of Anglo.
Iranian. the Iraq Petroleum Co
exercises the concession it OBJ.
tanned in 1925 and afterward, ii
1882. when Iraq became indie.
pendent of Britain's mandate
Baba Gurgar. the first well tt
spout In the Kirkuk field, is still
a heavily producing area. Alto.
gether, the Kirkuk fields extene
over go miles and range from
to 2 miles in width. Prior tt
1948 Kirkuk oil was piped tx
Haifa in Palestine and to thu
Lebanese port of Tripoli. Since
then. the Haifa pipeline has beer
discontinued and the line tc
Tripoli doubled.
Both the Mosul and Basrah Oil
Cos. are working industriously and
the areas can become profitable
as soon as storage tanks and pipe
lines can be built.
But the stockholders of the IPC
unlike those of Anglo -Iranian and
Aramco, are distributed over sev.
eral alien companies. In 1856
the shareholders were divided as
follows:
English 47.5O%
French 23.75%
American 23.75 T
Mr.. Akram Gulbenkian 5%
Since the end of World War Il
the completion of the Taplin.
(Transarabia Pipeline Corp) by
Aramco is the most important de.
velopment. This 1,027-mile- Ions
artery carries the oil of Saud
Arabia through 800 miles O.
Arabian desert before crossing tn,
mountains of Syria and the Leb.
anon to debouch on the sands O.
Sidon, second oldest city on earth
The Middle East pipeline mus
await piping before it can carry
off the oil Of Mosul and Basrah
and those areas must await theil
turn for steel.
The British-owned refinery al
Haifa is operating, but at a loss
ALI the crude petroleum come.
from Venezuela by tanker. Pre-.
viously. Romanian oil was refined
at Haifa and returned to Con.
stanza but since the armistice o1
Rhodes this was dropped.
Politically the action of Aramce
has forced all Arabian oil com.
panies into a re-eXamination o1
their concessions. Iran rejected
a raise to 81 per cent less than 9
year ago; Iraq is still withholding
her signature from similar agree.
ment with IPC. And meanwhile
the Sheikhs of KuWeit and Bahreir
and Qatar have quietly com.
menced a series of conversation.
which bodies no good to their con.
cessionaires.
Although Aramco may be the
butt of maledictions from it's col.
leagues. its action may bind thu
Middle East closer to London ane
Washington. And, just as impor.
tant, 1t may focus badly needed
light on our neglected Middle
Eastern Allies.
~ VAE ~ I