13. The US administration at the time had popular support for an "Open Door policy", which Herbert Hoover, secretary of commerce, initiated in 1921. Standard Oil of California (SoCal) was among those US companies seeking new sources of oil from abroad
14. Through its subsidiary company, the Bahrain Petroleum Co. (BAPCO), SoCal struck oil in Bahrain on May 30, 1932. This event heightened interest in the oil prospects of the Arabian mainland.
15. On 29 May 1933, the Saudi Arabian govt granted a concession to SoCal in preference to a rival bid from the Iraq Petroleum Co. The concession allowed SoCal to explore for oil in Saudi Arabia.
16. SoCal assigned this concession to a wholly owned subsidiary, California-Arabian Standard Oil (CASOC). In 1936, with the company having had no success at locating oil, the Texas Company (Texaco) purchased a 50% stake of the concession.
17. After 4 years of fruitless exploration, the first success came with the seventh drill site in Dhahran in 1938, a well referred to as Dammam No. 7. This well immediately produced over 1,500 barrels per day (240 m3/d), giving the company confidence to continue.
18. 31 Jan1944, the company name was changed from CASOC. to Arabian American Oil Co. (or Aramco). In 1948, Standard Oil of New Jersey (aka Exxon) purchased 30% & Socony Vacuum (aka Mobil) purchased 10% of the company, with SoCal & Texaco retaining 30% each
19. The newcomers were also shareholders in the Iraq Petroleum Co. and had to get the restrictions of the Red Line Agreement lifted in order to be free to enter into this arrangement.
20. In 1950, King Abdulaziz threatened to nationalize his country's oil facilities, thus pressuring Aramco to agree to share profits 50/50. Today Govt of Saudi Arabia owns 98.5%. They control oil production for longevity, they preserve their environment based on their interests
21. Others may argue about expertise in Zimbabwe but the reality is that Zimbabwe has experts in every company you can think of in the world. In the last report we shared on African experts abroad, Nigeria was number 1 and Zimbabwe was number 2. So what could be done?
22. Zimbabwe needs to rely on it's citizens in leading multinationals for expert advice instead of hiring money grabbing consultants some of whom actually get "some information" from Zimbabweans abroad. "80%" share for Invictus is too high for Zimbabwean interests
@Multi_Facet There is a petroleum production sharing agreement which should be signed soon under which most think Zimbabwe will get at least 60% of profits. So it is nowhere near 80% for Invictus.