140 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
grew to maturity and became readily available (Davis, 2003). The
deciding factor often cited for the expansion of the petroleum
industry is the development of the automobile. However, this
development, plus the need for fuel for military vehicles (including
aircrafts), assured the future of the petroleum industry. As a result,
the powerhouse of petroleum reserves was starting to emerge.
5.2.2 The Middle East Emerges
Several countries of the region defined as the Middle East are
classed as oil-rich because of the reserves of oil contained in formations below the surface the earth, but within their receptive borders. However, to put the current circumstances in the Middle East
into perspective, it is imperative to observe the history of oil discovery and production both in the domestic United States and in
other countries.
Various exploratory ventures were launched in Persia (later
Iran) at the turn of the 20th century. The first site chosen was at
Chiah Surkh amidst the mountains of what is now northeastern
Iraq. Oil was discovered in 1903 after a year of drilling and constantly challenging supply and political problems leading to host of
financial problems. The British government got into the act through
the intermediary of Thomas Boverton Redwood, a member of the
Admiralty's Fuel Oil Committee, who brokered a bailout under the
auspices of Burmah Oil, a British source of crude oil in Rangoon.
Since the advent of fuel oil, the British navy recognized that the
future of ships lay in oil-powered vessels, and, because the Persian
wells were proving reliable, the role of security would become the
responsibility of the British navy. The formal nature of the partnership was defined by Lord Lansdowne in the House of Lords in
1903, with the Lansdowne Declaration:
The British government would regard the establishment of a
naval base or a fortified port in the Persian Gulf by any other
power as a very grave menace to British interests, and we
should certainly resist it with all the means at our disposal
(Yergin,1991).
The name of the concession was the Concession Syndicate
(Wilson, 1941), but it would grow to become British Petroleum
(Yergin, 1991).
grew to maturity and became readily available (Davis, 2003). The
deciding factor often cited for the expansion of the petroleum
industry is the development of the automobile. However, this
development, plus the need for fuel for military vehicles (including
aircrafts), assured the future of the petroleum industry. As a result,
the powerhouse of petroleum reserves was starting to emerge.
5.2.2 The Middle East Emerges
Several countries of the region defined as the Middle East are
classed as oil-rich because of the reserves of oil contained in formations below the surface the earth, but within their receptive borders. However, to put the current circumstances in the Middle East
into perspective, it is imperative to observe the history of oil discovery and production both in the domestic United States and in
other countries.
Various exploratory ventures were launched in Persia (later
Iran) at the turn of the 20th century. The first site chosen was at
Chiah Surkh amidst the mountains of what is now northeastern
Iraq. Oil was discovered in 1903 after a year of drilling and constantly challenging supply and political problems leading to host of
financial problems. The British government got into the act through
the intermediary of Thomas Boverton Redwood, a member of the
Admiralty's Fuel Oil Committee, who brokered a bailout under the
auspices of Burmah Oil, a British source of crude oil in Rangoon.
Since the advent of fuel oil, the British navy recognized that the
future of ships lay in oil-powered vessels, and, because the Persian
wells were proving reliable, the role of security would become the
responsibility of the British navy. The formal nature of the partnership was defined by Lord Lansdowne in the House of Lords in
1903, with the Lansdowne Declaration:
The British government would regard the establishment of a
naval base or a fortified port in the Persian Gulf by any other
power as a very grave menace to British interests, and we
should certainly resist it with all the means at our disposal
(Yergin,1991).
The name of the concession was the Concession Syndicate
(Wilson, 1941), but it would grow to become British Petroleum
(Yergin, 1991).