Just as the British carved out pieces of the Ottoman empire to create the nation of Iran for the purpose of protecting what later became British Petroleum (BP), The US supported the conquest and expansion of territories of the Ottoman empire that became Saudi Arabia after a Standard Oil expedition in 1933 identified vast amounts of petroleum in the area.
"King Aziz granted a concession to Standard Oil, which allowed them to explore for oil in the country's Eastern Province. The joint enterprise eventually became known as the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). The company granted a loan of £50,000 to the Saudi government and paid it other assorted rental fees and royalty payments. In exchange, Aramco received exclusive rights to mine, produce and export oil from the eastern part of the country, free of Saudi taxes and duties. In 1938, efforts were rewarded with the first discovery of commercial quantities of oil at Dammam Well Number 7, located near Dhahran.
The agreement was modified several times over the years. In 1950, Saudi Arabia and Aramco agreed to a 50-50 profit-sharing arrangement, and a series of agreements between 1973 and 1980 resulted in the Saudis' regaining full control of the company. In 1988, King Fahd issued a royal decree establishing the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Saudi Aramco, to replace Aramco.
Read more: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages//frontline/shows/saudi/etc/cron.html#ixzz1PPqn9bzO
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