Evening star., 1951-01-14

LILO "A 1oSV01 4At6o eSSSA tAA4AAS'
i1eutralism. allowing economic
connections between the Middle
East, on the one hand. and Eng
land and the United States on the
other.
Early this month the Arabian
American Oil Co.. an American
concern, concluded a new oil
treaty with Saudi Arabia which
not only raised the oil royalties
from 80 per cent of the net to SO
per cent but also agreed to pay
taxes to that nation for the use
of the land occupied.
At the time when Aramco
squared the x factor other oil
producing states were getting the
following share of the profit
dollar:
Teheran 0ran was receiving 90
cents. no taxes.
Baghdad Graq) was receiving 80
cents. no taxes.
Menama (Bahrein) was getting
28 cents, no taxes.
Kuweit (Kuweit) was getting 9
cents. no taxes.
Dukhan (Qator) was getting 9
cents. no taxes.
..~ Each of these states will prob
ably now ask q new formula more
In line with that operative in
Sandi Arabia.
Most of the Arab states point
out that not only do they receive
a small percentage of the profits
from their diminishing natural
wealth but they must also suffer
because the heavy taxes paid to
the Washington and London gov
ernments take a large slice from
the profits and, therefore, from
their royalties.
Production Figures
It is paradoxical that the Arab
states which are richest IN oil
are also those most in need of
cash. Saudi Arabia, alone, with its
largely Bedouin population and
the holy cities of Mecca and
Medina, is an exception, but Iran
and Iraq, with large metropolitan
populations and few important ex-
ports but the oil which made
them modern economic realities,
as well as a prey for Soviet and
Western ambitions, are appalling
ly poor. Moreover, in spite OF the
fact they are under continuous
menace from the U. S. S. R., they
have been unable TO get arma-
ment or money for armament
from the United States or Britain.
Even compared to the United
States and Latin America, the oil
production of the Middle East,
although still not fully developed,
is enormous. According to the
latest figures, daily production, in
barrels, is as follows. Naturally,
iron curtain figures are estimates.
United States 5,800,0 900
Latin America 500, ,OO0
Middle East 2,OO0,Uuu
USSR, with Austria and
Romania 800, 900
Indonesia -------- 100000
China IA negligible quantity.
Obviously Middle East oil could
be of great value to the govern
ment of Soviet Russia, either in
being or in denial to the West.
While petroleum did not enter
the picture, as a political factor,
until 1909 when the Anglo-1ranian
Oil Co. obtained it's first conces-
sion from Shah Afmad, it was
known to the Persians several
centuries before Christ.
Oil in the Middle East was first
discovered in modern times by an
Englishman named William
DARCY, who formed his own COM
pany in 1901. The field in upper
Persia proved rich and, as the
growing Importance of oil as a
fuel for naval vessels stimulated
official British interest, the For
eign Office bought a share OF the
Anglo-Persian Oil Co. when it
reorganized in 1912. At present
50 per cent of the stock is owned
by the British government
Although the Kuweit and Saudi
Arabian fields are considered the
richest, Trans production figures
lead the rest. Six large oil fields,
extending from Masjid al-Sulei-
man in Eastern Iran to the Qasr
al-Shirin on the Iraqi frontier
are pumping oil for Western
markets. At least six pipelines
converge upon the worlds largest
refinery at Abadan, south of the
confluence of the Tigris and Eu-
pirates Rivers, and at Herman
shah, another refinery converts
the crude petroleum of the Iranian
northwest.
Along the stream of the broad,
brown Shaft al-Arab, from the
delta to the pile driven river wall
at Abadan and Khorramshahr a
constant parade of tankers and
lighters, bearing every flag known
to man, pass up and down the
estuary. Abadan, a city Of flaming
ref1neries, with crowded suburbs
of storage tanks, fills their holds
as fast as they can tie up to the
loading docks. Abadan is unique:
a Pittsburgh, transferred to the
Edenesque banks of the Two Riv-
ers. Nowhere else in the Arab
lands, even at Dhahran or
Bahrein, is there anything else like
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