Coll 30/216 'Development of oil supplies in the Middle East.' [‎21r] (41/131)

29. Tripoli is the Mediterranean terminal of the northern branch of the
I.P.C. pipe-line from Kirkuk. There is a large tank farm and there are adequate
loading facilities for tankers. There is a small and somewhat inefficient topping
plant with a capacity of under '200,000 tons a year. It is operated by the
Compagnie Frangaise des Pet roles, the French company which owns 23 f per cent,
of the shares of the Iraq Petroleum Company (see under “ Iraq ”).
X.— Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan .
30. Petroleum Development ( Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ), Ltd., an associated company of
the Iraq Petroleum Company, applied for 37 prospecting licences covering
7,000 square miles under the Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan Mining Law of 1940. This application
was properly lodged and duly acknowledged, but the issue of licences has been
postponed until after the war because no British company cohld carry out the
exploration obligations under war conditions; there is also a possibility that the
Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan Government may wish to amend the royalty provisions under the
Law. The application of Petroleum Development ( Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ) has priority
over other applications for licences covering the same area, if any are received.
31. Such geological work as has been carried out has failed to give promising
results.
XI.— Iraq.
32. Oil is a mineral of very great importance in Iraq. Besides giving
employment to many thousands of Iraqis, the oil industry furnishes the Iraq
Government with a very substantial part of their revenue. In 1938/39, the last
normal year before the outbreak of war, the total sum received in oil royalties
amounted to I.D. 1,977,458, representing 34 per cent, of the revenue for that year.
33. The Turkish Government have, for 25 years from the 18th July, 1926,
a 10 per cent, interest in all royalties paid to the Iraq Government on oil produced
in the former vilayets of Baghdad and Mosul.
34. Iraq oil may be said to be of decided international consequence. The
large amount of capital invested in the Iraq oil industry by the British, American,
French and Dutch interests concerned and the value to them of the oil produced
make the preservation of the rights and property of the I.P.C. and its associated
concerns a matter of international importance.
(i) The Iraq Petroleum Com'pany.
35. The original concession, which was granted to the Turkish Petroleum
Company (as the I.P.C. was known until 1929) in 1925, covered the whole of the
vilayets of Baghdad and Mosul, but by a new agreement concluded in March 1931,
the company gave up all its rights to the west of the River Tigris, thus reducing
its area to 35,600 square miles. The concession is valid until the 14th March,
2000. The company, which is registered in Great Britain, has a capital of
£14.500,000 in £1 shares; these shares are held by (1) Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.
(through D’Arcy Exploration Co.) 23-75 per cent., Royal Dutch-Shell (through
Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co.) 23-75 per cent., Compagnie Frangaise des Petroles
23-75 per cent, Near East Development Corporation (representing a group of
United States oil companies) 23-75 per cent., Participations and Investments Ltd.
(representing Mr. C. S. Gulbenkian) 5 per cent.
36. The main oilfield, which is in the Kirkuk area, is some 60 miles lo'ng; its
potential capacity is very great, but production is limited by the capacity of its
pipe-line to some" 4,000,000 tons a year. The crude oil is piped from Kirkuk by
a double pipe-line to Haditha, on the Euphrates. There the line bifurcates, one
branch going to Haifa in Palestine (618 miles in all) and the other to Tripoli in
Syria (531 miles in all). The capacity of each branch is 2,000,000 tons per
annum.
37. Plans are now under consideration for increasing the capacity of the
pipe-line system from 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 tons a year, w r hich would thereby
enable the output of the fields to be raised to a corresponding extent.
38. Except for topping plants for meeting its ow r n requirements, the I.P.C.
does no refining itself, all its oil being handed over in the crude state to the big
shareholding interests mentioned above for treatment and ultimate disposal.
39. Royalties are at the rate of 4s. (gold) per ton, with a guaranteed
minimum annual payment of £400,000 (gold).