Word: petroleum
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...first multinationals, and the wide spaces between deposits and consumers has made oil the world's most international industry. The oil trade is also one of the most concentrated industries--seven companies, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Royal Dutch Shell, Mobil, Texaco, Gulf, Standard Oil of California, and British Petroleum, account for over a third of oil investment, and over half of world-wide sales...
Therefore, the oil industry has signified economic imperialism for the developed countries. At the Arab Petroleum Congress in Baghdad in March 1967, a representative from tiny Qatar, a sheikdom on the Trucal Coast, said, "In the past we were victims of military imperialism; now it is economic imperialism. Under the concessions system the companies are like vampires sucking our blood...
Around the world, the oil giants are formed into combinations among themselves and with local governments. In the Middle East, the most important producing region, the cartels are arranged by producer nation, and may involve companies from as many as four consuming nations. Although British Petroleum has a 40 per cent interest in Iranian oil, a concern owned jointly by the Dutch and the British--Shell, 11 American companies, and a French concern all have minor interests. The most important of these cartels is Aramco, formed by Standard Oil of New Jersey, Mobil, Standard Oil of California, and Texaco...
Until 1960, the producers' cartels faced disorganized opposition from the producing governments. At that time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed among the producer governments (including Venezuala, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Libya, Indonesia and Abu Dhabi to keep prices high, and prevent the cartels from bringing pressure on single countries. Since that time, producer nations have won a higher share of oil company profits, and begun to establish national companies of their own, often in partnership with western companies...
...situation of the oil industry may become more common as multinational corporations proliferate. The oilmen profit from the special treatment accorded them by home governments--at one time including the gunboat diplomacy that helped American companies negotiate favorable contracts with Venezuala, and eased British Petroleum's entry into the Middle East oilfields, and now incorporated in tax breaks like the U.S. oil depletion allowance. But because of their size, their international connections, and the economic clout of their cartels, the oilmen form a class by themselves, independent of the separate nations they supply and deal with. Negotiating with the Arabs...