Keeping the French out of Aramco

Caveat: Wer der Entwicklung des "Nahen Ostens" nicht allzu genau gefolgt ist, wird das unten Zitierte leider nur schwer verstehen. Unter dem Eindruck der Abmachungen während des und der Verhandlungen nach dem 1. WK konnte die britische Regierung ihr Quasimonopol über die Ölkonzessionen im Irak nicht aufrechterhalten und mußt im Rahmen umfangreicher Verträge ein französisches sowie ein amerikanisches Konsortium an der Iraq Petroleum Company beteiligen. Für die USA war das der Anfang (nicht ganz), für Frankreich aber schon wieder das Ende der Fahnenstange in diesem Business und Weltstrich. Der entscheidende Satz steht ganz unten: Although Exxon and Mobil eventually reached an IPC settlement the French never forgave the Americans for keeping them out of Saudi Arabia.

The full quote

The intense strain that the Aramco merger negotiations created in Franco-American political relations was of great concern to the State Department. In late February 1947, Paul Nitze, Deputy Director of the Office of International Trade Policy, concluded that the IPC/Aramco swap alternative had political advantages which the Department should raise with Exxon and Mobil: 1) it would afford a simple, clear-cut solution to the immediate problem with the French since their rights under the Red Line Agreement would not be involved, and 2) it would go some way toward meeting Congressional and domestic oil industry criticism of the multiplication of interlocking arrangements among the small group of large American and British oil comparties.

While the State Department answered the French Government's protests, Exxon and Mobil went ahead and made a "standstill" agreement with Caltex in Saudi Arabia. The ultimate acquisition by Exxon and Mobil of a stock interest in Aramco and the Trans-Arabian Pipe-Line Company (Tapline) was held in abeyance until they settled with CFP and Gulbenkian so as to avoid forfeiture of their Aramco stock to the French in the event the latter went ahead with their legal threat and won in the British courts. In their "standstill" agreement, Exxon and Mobil guaranteed a bank loan of $102,000,000 for their 30% and 10% respective Aramco interests as well as their equity share of a $125,000,000 capital investment loan for the construction of Tapline. Although Exxon and Mobil eventually reached an IPC settlement the French never forgave the Americans for keeping them out of Saudi Arabia.

The link goes to www.mtholyoke.edu

... plink