The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

by Daniel Yergin

Oil was a central focus of the rising Arab nationalism. Since the early 1950s, a number of meetings and contacts among what were semi-officially called “Arab Oil Experts” had been taking place in the Middle East. Initially, the dominant subject had been economic warfare against Israel: the establishment of an oil blockade against the new state and its enforcement upon the international companies through the threat of blacklist, harassment, and expropriation. Over time, however, the agenda broadened. Though Egypt was not an oil exporter, Nasser used such meetings to involve himself directly in petroleum politics. He sought to arouse and shape public opinion, hammering on the issues of sovereignty and the struggle against “colonialism,” and to assert his influence over the oil, and the countries, of the Gulf. It was a case of a “have not” seeking to better his position with the wherewithal of the “haves.” At a conclave of Arab Oil Experts in Egypt, in the spring of 1957, the delegates proposed the building up of domestic refining capacity and the establishment of an Arab tanker fleet and an Arab pipeline to the Mediterranean. They also discussed creating an Arab “international body” or “international consortium” that would manage Middle Eastern oil production, increase revenues, and counterbalance the power of the petroleum companies. The group emphasized the need to build up Arab expertise and technical skills in order to challenge their mystique. The targets of the strong ...