The so-called "Seven Sisters" refers to Exxon, Shell, BP, Gulf, Texaco, Mobil and Chevron (California Standard Oil Company). Among the seven oil companies, except Shell, Netherlands and BP, the other five oil companies are all American companies. Among them, Exxon, Mobil and Chevron were all born out of Rockefeller's standard oil company. In the book "Seven Sisters-Big Oil Companies and the World They Created" written by Anthony sampson, an Englishman, he wrote: "For decades, these companies seem to have a special mysterious power for oil-producing countries and consumer countries. They are beyond the professional knowledge of the country and the ability of the government. Their income is more than any country in which they operate, and their oil fleet is more than the naval tonnage of any country ... In dealing with the oil problem, they are actually self-centered, not harmed by the law of supply and demand, nor influenced by the unpredictable stock market ... They are pioneers of big companies in the world. "
"Seven Sisters" not only controls the oil production, but also controls the oil distribution, transportation and sales system, and has its own oil fleet, covering all fields of the world oil industry. In order to pursue huge profits, these seven companies often compete fiercely, especially in sales, but in order to stabilize the turbulent market and maintain high profits, they often cooperate with each other. In this way, these seven companies compete with each other like sisters, but once outsiders participate in the competition, they unite as a family, so they were called "Seven Sisters" 19 13 when the company law was enacted in New Jersey, USA.
1928 In July, multinational oil companies from Britain, the United States, the Netherlands and France signed the Red Line Agreement in order to control and monopolize the Iraq region in the Middle East. According to the agreement, they have the right to jointly develop the oil resources of the Ottoman Empire, and any oil fields discovered by any party participating in the agreement belong to the participants. Without the consent and participation of other parties, no participant may develop oil in this area. The Iraqi oil company is composed of BP, French oil company, Anglo-Dutch Shell Company, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and Mobil Oil Company of new york. This agreement is the first time that multinational oil companies, represented by Seven Sisters, divide up the world oil resources in the history of world oil.
In September of the same year, the oil "Seven Sisters" further carved up the world oil market except the Soviet Union and the United States through the Akona Cali Agreement. "Seven Sisters" limited the competition among countries, stabilized the international oil price at the level of American oil price, thus basically carved up the world oil market and formed the first global oil cartel in the international oil market.
Through the above agreements, "Seven Sisters" has made huge profits in resource countries and stabilized its position in the international oil market. At the same time, they also set up a joint oil company to jointly deal with oil resource countries. From 65438 to 0950, "Seven Sisters" basically controlled the world oil market except the socialist countries and the United States at that time, and became the master of the international oil market (see the table below). At the same time, "Seven Sisters" and French Total Oil Company basically control the oil production in the Middle East, the world's largest oil producer.
Company name Market share (%) Exxon 30.4 BP 26.3 Shell 13.8 Gulf 12. 1 Chevron 6. 1 Texaco 5.7 Mobil 3.9
Share of "Seven Sisters" in the international oil market 1950 company name market share (%) Seven Sisters total 98.3 other companies 1.7 total 100.0.
Seven Sisters's share in the international oil market 1950 (continued)-1 Source: (USA) M A Adelman, World Oil Market, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972, pp. 80 ~ 8 1.
America is the birthplace of modern petroleum industry. Although the oil development in other parts of the world was also carried out rapidly at the beginning of the 20th century, and the oil output was increasing continuously, until the end of World War II, the United States remained the largest oil producer and major supplier in the world, supplying most of the world's oil consumption.
However, with the end of World War II, the international status of the United States as a major oil supplier in World War II also ended. Due to the extensive exploration and development of oil resources in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf region plays an increasingly important role (see the table below). For a long time in the past, the proportion of American oil production in the world's total output has been above 60%, however, it began to fall below 50% in 1953. At the same time, because coal has lost its position as the main fuel in the world, its proportion in the energy demand of market economy countries has dropped rapidly, and oil has rapidly increased its market share by virtue of its low price. In addition, the domestic oil demand in the United States is growing exponentially. 1948, the United States changed from a net oil exporter to a net oil importer, and began to import oil from the Middle East that year. The proportion of American oil production in the world oil production is rapidly declining, the world oil export center is transferred from the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf, and American oil companies quickly replace BP in the Middle East.
Proportion of major producing countries or regions in the world oil production (million tons) in the s (%) 18600.07 USA: 98 18700.8 USA: 9 1 18804.0 USA: 88 Russia:1/.
World oil production increased from 1860 to 1950.
World oil production 1860-1950 (continued)-1
Source: Joan Evans, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, its member countries and the world energy market, Longman Publishing Company, UK, 1986, p. 12.
At the end of 1946, Exxon and Mobil set aside other members of the Iraqi oil company and bought 40% of the shares of Aramco operating within the scope of the "Red Line Agreement". The actions of the two American oil companies actually tore up the "red line agreement" and broke the basic pattern of multinational oil companies dividing up oil resources in the Middle East in the past 20 years. American multinational oil companies have cleared the way for their further expansion in the Middle East.
During the period of 1974, with the outbreak of the first oil crisis, the situation that international oil companies represented by "Seven Sisters" dominated the world no longer existed.