And so, even while Jew and Arab were at war in Palestine, the feverish oil development continued within Saudi Arabia, and construction proceeded on Tapline. It was finished in September 1950. Two more months were required to fill the line, and in November, the oil began to arrive at Sidon in Lebanon, the terminus on the Mediterranean, where it was picked up by tankers for the last leg of the journey to Europe. Tapline’s 1,040 miles would replace 7,200 miles of sea journey from the Persian Gulf through the Suez Canal. Its annual throughput was the equivalent of sixty tankers in continuous
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