Part II -- Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Chapter 1, Part II -- The Standard Oil Trust

The Standard Oil Trust

Posted on 07/06/2016 | 6 Comments

(Excerpted from Chapter 1: David Rockefeller & the Shah of Iran: Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf…)

In 1952 the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report detailing collusion and price-fixing on the part of the Four Horsemen – Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco, BP Amoco & Royal Dutch/Shell.

Titled The International Petroleum Cartel, the report detailed secret production quotas, joint ventures, marketing agreements and other evidence of Horseplay.  BP and Royal Dutch/Shell had exclusive marketing commitments with Exxon and Mobil, who already had especially cozy relations even before their 2000 merger.

During WWII the Rockefeller family controlled 20.2% of Exxon, 16.34% of Mobil and 11.36% of Amoco.   These companies all emerged from the “supposed” dissolution of the Standard Oil Trust, a process that began in 1892 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil of Ohio, head of the Standard Oil snake, dissolved.

John D. Rockefeller moved his headquarters to New York to circumvent the ruling, but Americans, led by populist writer Ida Tarbell, became increasingly hostile to the Standard Oil monopoly.  In 1906 the US charged Standard with violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.  On May 15, 1911 the US Supreme Court declared, “Seven men and a corporate machine have conspired against their fellow citizens.  For the safety of the Republic we now decree that this dangerous conspiracy must end by November 15th.”

But the breakup of Standard increased the wealth of the Rockefellers, who took a 25% interest in each of the new companies.  Standard Oil of New York merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum, which became Mobil in 1966.  Standard Oil of Indiana joined with Standard Oil of Nebraska and Standard Oil of Kansas and in 1985 became Amoco.

In 1972 Standard Oil of New Jersey became Exxon.  In 1984 Standard Oil of California joined with trust babies Pennzoil and Standard Oil of Kentucky, then swallowed up Gulf Oil to become Chevron.  Standard Oil of Ohio retained the Standard Oil brand until it was bought out, along with Amoco and Standard baby ARCO, by BP, creating BP Amoco.

The Justice Department responded to the 1952 FTC report by bringing an anti-trust case against the US faction of Big Oil.  Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Texaco and Gulf hired Sullivan & Cromwell, but the hotshot lawyers were never needed.

Ten days before the coup against Iranian President Mohammed Mossadegh’s democratically-elected government, President Eisenhower dismissed the FTC case on national security grounds.  Ike granted the Horsemen immunity from prosecution, while his envoy former President Herbert Hoover traveled to Tehran to help Big Oil and their puppet Shah establish the Iranian Consortium, which consisted of the Four Horsemen and French oil giant Compaignie Française de Petroles (now Total Fina).  BP held a 40% share.

The cartel established production quotas, which applied not only to Iran, but to all oil-producing nations.  Quotas allowed them to avoid competition and control the price of oil.  Oil industry scholar John Blair, who was instrumental in prodding the FTC to conduct its inquiry, noted that from 1950-72 production in eleven Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries expanded at exactly equal rates.

When Eisenhower left the White House he took up residence on a 576-acre farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  He didn’t buy the land.  Nor did he pay for construction of outbuildings or the livestock that soon inhabited them.  He didn’t even pay for the hired help.

Ike’s dream retirement was bankrolled by Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison, two Texas oil billionaires who share interests with the Rockefellers in Texas and Louisiana oilfields.  Their good will towards Eisenhower extended to Ike’s Secretary of Treasury Robert Anderson, who enacted a quota system limiting oil imports, which helped Big Oil knock out their smaller US competitors.

Anderson became an executive at ARCO and received a $900,000 piece of oil-rich west Texas property from Rockefeller‘s Texas straw men.

Dean Henderson is the author of five books:Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families & Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics & Terror Network, The Grateful Unrich: Revolution in 50 Countries, Das Kartell der Federal Reserve, Stickin’ it to the Matrix & The Federal Reserve Cartel.  You can subscribe free to his weekly Left Hook column @www.hendersonlefthook.wordpress.com