Timeline for the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry is a significant event in Iranian history. It took place on March 15, 1951 under Prime Minister Hossein Ala through the one-paragraph law passed by the Iranian parliament . This was preceded by extensive negotiations between representatives of the British AIOC and the Iranian government, the outcome of which, however, was not approved by the Iranian parliament. The nationalization of the oil production and processing facilities of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) located on Iranian territory led to a national crisis in Iran and an international crisis that has gone down in history as the Abadan Crisis . The crisis ended in 1954 with the signing of a framework agreement between the Iranian government under Prime Minister Fazlollah Zahedi and an international consortium of oil companies, the term of which ended in 1979.

Law Nationalization of Iran's Oil Industry, March 15, 1951

Timetable

Prime Minister Mohammad Sa'ed Maraghei

date event
July 17, 1949 The AIOC operates in Iran on the basis of a concession agreement that came into force on May 29, 1933, after being ratified by the Iranian parliament on May 28, 1933. In 1948 negotiations begin between the AIOC and the Iranian government on a revision of the conditions of the 1933 concession. The Finance Minister Golshayan to Prime Minister Mohammad Sa'ed Maraghei and Gass as representatives of the AIOC sign an additional agreement to this concession from 1933 after lengthy negotiations (Gass- Golshayan Agreement) , which guarantees the Iranian state a profit share of 25–50% depending on the production volume and the profit made. The agreement is to be submitted to the Iranian parliament for ratification. Parliament decided to postpone the discussion until after the new elections.
February 9, 1950 The 16th session of the Iranian Parliament opens. The National Front , led by Mohammad Mossadegh and Mozaffar Baqai , won 8 out of 136 seats in the parliamentary elections. In the course of the parliamentary discussion, it became apparent that the Gass-Golshayan Agreement would not initially find a majority. Prime Minister Mohammad Sa'ed Maraghei resigned on March 22, 1950.

Prime Minister Rajab Ali Mansur

Iranian Parliament Oil Commission, Allahyar Saleh (center); to the right of Saleh: Abdollah Moazami, Hassibi, Dr. Shayegan, Chief Justice Sorouri, Hossein Makki; left of Saleh: Dr. Matin-Daftari , Dr. Reza-zadeh Shafagh, Abol Qassem Nadschm , Senator Naghavi.
date event
April 13, 1950 Rajab Ali Mansur becomes the new Prime Minister. Mansur postponed the discussion on how to proceed in the negotiations with the AIOC.
April 25, 1950 Mohammad Mossadegh takes up his parliamentary mandate.
June 20, 1950 Parliament decided against the votes of Mossadegh, Baqai, Makki, Ghashghaii, Saleh, Shaygan, Ashtiyanizadeh, Keshavarz-Sadr, Seyyed-Ali Behbahani, Nariman to set up an 18-member committee on oil issues . The committee is to prepare an opinion on the Gass-Golshayan agreement. The committee members will be elected on June 22nd. The committee was constituted on June 26, 1950 and elected Mossadegh as its chairman with one vote against.
June 26, 1950 Prime Minister Mansur resigns.

Prime Minister Hajj Ali Razmara

date event
June 27, 1950 Ali Razmara becomes the new Prime Minister. The representatives of the AIOC refuse to renegotiate the Gass-Golshayan agreement as long as the Iranian parliament has not made a final decision.
December 26, 1950 Razmara withdraws the supplementary agreement from the parliamentary voting process after the Committee on Oil Issues presented its report to Parliament recommending that the supplementary agreement be rejected. The committee's report is the subject of controversial discussion in Parliament. Many MPs criticize the fact that the committee has not fulfilled its task of analyzing and evaluating the content of the Gass-Golshayan Agreement. The report only contains a single sentence on the Gass-Golshayan agreement, which states that the agreement is not beneficial to Iran. Instead of an analysis of the agreement, the report contains a statement on Iranian oil policy since the award of the concession to William Knox D'Arcy .
January 11, 1951 Parliament asked the committee to draw up a proposal for the way forward.
February 1, 1951 Razmara requests a joint commission of three senators and three members of parliament to analyze and evaluate the Gass-Golshayan agreement. The Senate rejects the motion by a majority because it does not consider itself responsible.
19th February 1951 Hossein Makki submitted a memorandum to the Oil Affairs Committee proposing the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. The committee calls on Razmara to examine the feasibility of nationalization. Razmara hires a group of Iranian experts to look into the possibility of nationalizing the oil industry.
March 3, 1951 Razmara presented the expert group's report to the committee. The expert group considers nationalization to be neither technically feasible nor legally legal at the present time.
March 7, 1951 Razmara presented the expert group's report to Parliament. In the parliamentary debate, Mohammad Mossadegh threatens him personally if he opposes nationalization. After leaving parliament, Razmara is shot dead by Khalil Tahmasbi , a member of Fedayeen-e Islam .
“One paragraph law” of March 15, 1951

Prime Minister Hossein Ala

date event
March 12, 1951 Hossein Ala becomes the new Prime Minister.
March 15, 1951 The Iranian parliament passed the one-paragraph law to nationalize the oil industry. The UK government informs the Iranian government that it considers nationalization to be illegal. Violent anti-British demonstrations break out in Tehran, killing eight Iranian and three British citizens. In the oil fields, the oil workers strike for higher wages.
March 20, 1951 The law on the nationalization of the oil industry is approved by the Senate and signed into force by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi . The oil workers are promised a bonus and a raise, whereupon the oil workers end their strike. March 20 is declared Oil Day (ruz-e naft).
April 27, 1951 Hossein Ala puts his government program to a vote in parliament. In the parliamentary debate there were violent personal attacks against the prime minister, who then announced his resignation.

Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh

Oil Nationalization Act of May 1, 1951
In a speech to the Iranian workers of the AIOC, directors of the NIOC declare the Iranian oil industry nationalized, June 10, 1951
Correspondence and documents on the nationalization of the oil industry in Iran, 1951
date event
April 28, 1951 Mohammad Mossadegh is appointed the new Prime Minister by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
April 30, 1951 The implementation law for the nationalization of the oil industry is passed by the Iranian parliament. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is founded.
May 1, 1951 The Iranian Senate approves the implementation law. One day later, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi signed the implementation law for the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. British Foreign Secretary Herbert Stanley Morrison addressed a personal message to Prime Minister Mossadegh calling on the Iranian government to refrain from unilateral action. He suggests resolving the issues at hand through negotiation. Mossadegh referred to the Iranian legal situation and took no further position on the British proposal to start negotiations. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) has informed the Iranian government that it is applying for an arbitration procedure under Articles 23 and 26 of the existing concession agreement. Lord Radcliffe is proposed as arbitrator.
May 6, 1951 Mossadegh wins the vote of confidence as prime minister.
May 15, 1951 The UK government is putting a paratrooper squad on alert to "protect British life and property" in an emergency.
May 19, 1951 The British Ambassador to Tehran gives the Iranian Government a memorandum setting out the British legal position. The UK government reserves the right to appeal to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The following day, the Iranian Finance Minister Varasteh informed the AIOC management that they were against the arbitration. Representatives of the AIOC are invited to the parliamentary committee responsible for questions of oil policy.
May 24, 1951 The Iranian government gives the AIOC management six days to present themselves to the parliamentary committee on oil to discuss the practical implementation of the nationalization. In response, the management of the AIOC informed the Iranian government that they wanted to turn to the Court of Arbitration in The Hague. British paratroopers are relocated to Cyprus. Foreign Minister Morrison said he wanted to send a delegation to Tehran.
June 11, 1951 A British delegation led by Basil Jackson arrives in Tehran. Jackson explains in a press conference in Tehran that the nationalization of the AIOC's industrial facilities on Iranian soil would be accepted in principle if the Iranian government paid appropriate compensation. He also suggests that the AIOC continue Iranian oil operations and that the AIOC's profits be shared 50:50. The Iranian Parliamentary Committee on Financial Matters demands an immediate transfer of 75% of all AIOC income to the Iranian Parliament and a fiduciary administration of 25% of the income by the AIOC to cover its costs. The costs incurred should then be billed annually. Representatives of the newly established national Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) are offering all AIOC customers new supply contracts to be concluded with the NIOC.
June 14, 1951 For the first time representatives of the AIOC and the Iranian parliament meet. The UK delegation rejects the proposal to transfer 75% of all revenue to the Iranian Parliament and offers a 50% profit share.
June 20, 1951 The Iranian government decides to completely take over the AIOC facilities. AIOC signs are being dismantled in Tehran as well as in the provinces and replaced by NIOC signs. The AIOC administration building in Abadan is taken over by a delegation from the NIOC. The delegation consists of Hossein Makki, Nasergholi Ardalan, Mohammad Bayat, Abdolhossein Aliabadi and Mehdi Bāzargān .
June 22, 1951 The British delegation, led by Basil Jackson, returns to London. On the same day, the UK government applies to the arbitration tribunal in The Hague for "interim protection measures". The director of the AIOC Drake is instructed by representatives of the NIOC to have receipts signed by the captains of the oil tankers that had been printed by the NIOC and that the NIOC identified as the sellers of the oil. Drake refuses and is then accused of sabotage.
June 26, 1951 The captains of the tankers lying in Abadan are instructed by Drake to unload the oil already loaded and to leave the port of Abadan without oil. Iranian customs officials close the Abadan oil pipeline to Iraq. The British cruiser Mauritius sets course for Abadan. The AIOC cuts production by half because no more oil is loaded onto ships. The Iranian government offers the British employees of the AIOC new employment contracts with the NIOC. The British AIOC employees refuse to work for the NIOC.
5th July 1951 The Court of Arbitration in The Hague suggests that both parties should agree on an interim solution that takes into account the interests of both parties until the final decision of the court is reached.
July 9, 1951 US President Harry S. Truman sends a letter to Prime Minister Mossadegh to implement the arbitration proposal. He announced that he would send Minister of Economic Affairs Averell Harriman to Tehran.
July 10, 1951 The Abadan refinery is closing all but one of the refining units. Oil production in the oil fields in Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the USA will be ramped up to compensate for the failures in Abadan. World oil production remains largely constant despite the closure of the Abadan refinery.
July 16, 1951 The Iranian Foreign Minister wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations, stating that Iran did not recognize the jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration. Averell Harriman's arrival in Tehran is accompanied by violent demonstrations by the Communist Tudeh Party . The clashes with the security forces lead to exchanges of fire. Twenty demonstrators were killed and three hundred injured, some seriously. A state of emergency is announced in Tehran . Mossadegh is submitting a law to parliament in which he applies for a loan of 2 billion rials to compensate for the expected loss of income due to the stop of oil sales. Parliament approves the law.
July 22, 1951 The state of emergency in Tehran is lifted.
July 27, 1951 After consultation with representatives of the Iranian government, Averell Harriman flies to London to meet with representatives of the British government. The British recognize the nationalization in principle, but do not want to agree to further negotiations until the "tensions in southern Iran" have subsided.
July 31, 1951 Averell Harriman returns to Tehran. Mossadegh denies that there is tension. More British warships are sighted on the Shatt al Arab .
4th August 1951 A British delegation led by Lord Seal Keeper Richard Stokes arrives in Tehran and begins negotiations with Iranian Finance Minister Varasteh.
August 9, 1951 Mossadegh is putting a bill before parliament allowing a $ 25 million loan to be taken out in the US. Parliament approves the law.
August 13, 1951 Stokes presents a first draft agreement, which Prime Minister Mossadegh rejects. Mossadegh presented an alternative proposal.
23rd August 1951 Stokes returns to London without taking notice of Mossadegh's draft treaty. He accuses the Iranian government of not seriously examining his draft treaty. The British Foreign Office says it wants to seek a ruling from the Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
August 24, 1951 Averell Harriman returns to Washington with no negotiation result.
5th September 1951 Mossadegh explains that if negotiations are not resumed, the residency of all AIOC employees in the UK will be canceled.
September 6, 1951 The AIOC says it will take legal action against anyone who buys oil from the Iranian government.
September 15, 1951 Mossadegh announces the conclusion of a trade agreement with the USSR.
September 18, 1951 A majority of the Iranian government decides that the exchange of Iranian rials for foreign currencies will be restricted and transferred exclusively to Bank Melli . Finance Minister Varasteh then resigns.
20th September 1951 Mossadegh explains that all British AIOC employees must leave the country within two weeks.
September 27, 1951 Iranian troops occupy the Abadan refinery. The troops are instructed to blow up the facilities if foreign troops attempt to land.
September 28, 1951 The British government requests a decision from the UN Security Council.
October 1, 1951 All British AIOC employees have left Iran. Mossadegh is traveling to the USA with an Iranian delegation.
15-19 October 1951 Debate in the Security Council. The decision is postponed until the Court of Arbitration in The Hague has announced its decision.
20th - 13th November 1951 Mossadegh travels with the Iranian delegation from New York to Washington. Talks with representatives of the American government ended without result.
November 26, 1951 Mossadegh received a majority in parliament for his proposal to hold new elections immediately.
December 6, 1951 Anti-Mossadegh demonstrations take place, led by members of the communist Tudeh party. Five people are killed and more than two hundred injured in the violent clashes.
December 12, 1951 The Iranian government is giving AIOC's former customers an ultimatum. However, they refuse to buy oil from the Iranian government. Oil sales have come to a complete standstill.
December 18, 1951 The parliamentary elections will initially only be held in the northern provinces of Iran. The elections lasted until January 1952 because of the ongoing demonstrations.
December 23, 1951 A delegation from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development arrives in Tehran to clarify the terms of a World Bank loan to Iran. The delegation will leave Iran on March 23, 1952 and return to New York without a loan after Prime Minister Mossadegh has declared that he does not agree with the delegation's proposals on any point.
January 12, 1952 Mossadegh orders the closure of all British consulates in Iran.
April 27, 1952 The new parliament meets for its constituent session. To the disappointment of Mossadegh, the National Front he led won only a few MPs. The interior minister, Amir Teymur Kalali, who was responsible for conducting the elections, is personally attacked by Mossadegh, whereupon the latter declares his resignation. Mossadegh, who had declared before the elections that these elections were the first free elections in Iran's history, now declares that the election results have been falsified and manipulated.
9-23 June 1952 The Court of Arbitration in The Hague negotiates the British and Iranian petitions.
July 6, 1952 The newly elected parliament confirms Mossadegh as prime minister.
July 16, 1952 Mossadegh resigns as prime minister. He had asked parliament for authorization to pass laws by decree without a parliamentary decision and thus to be able to govern without any parliamentary control. The majority of the MPs reject such an enabling law .

Prime Minister Qavam

date event
17th July 1952 Ahmad Qavam becomes the new prime minister. There are ongoing protests and violent demonstrations against Qavam, led by the communist Tudeh Party and the Mossadegh-led National Front. Qavam calls on the army for help. Thirty-six demonstrators are killed in the violent clashes.
July 21, 1952 Ahmad Qavam is stepping down from his post as prime minister because of the ongoing demonstrations.
July 22, 1952 The Court of Arbitration in The Hague declares that it has no jurisdiction in the arbitration proceedings requested by the British.

Prime Minister Mossadegh

date event
July 23, 1952 Mossadegh is reappointed Prime Minister by the Shah.
3rd August 1952 The Iranian parliament approves an enabling law . Prime Minister Mossadegh can now rule for six months by decree.
August 27, 1952 US President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill submit a new agreement proposal to the Iranian government, which Mossadegh immediately rejects.
October 21, 1952 Prime Minister Mossadegh is enacting a new security law by decree, under which anyone can be arrested who goes on strike, calls for a strike or in any other way disrupts the normal flow of work. MP Mozaffar Baqai , leader of the Labor Party and a member of the National Front, said that his party no longer supported Prime Minister Mossadegh.
October 22, 1952 The Iranian government breaks off diplomatic relations with Great Britain.
January 6, 1953 Mossadegh asked parliament to extend the validity of the Enabling Act for another year. After a controversial discussion, the majority in parliament approves Prime Minister Mossadegh's motion. Parliament President Kaschani declares that he will no longer support Mossadegh despite the parliamentary decision. Mozaffar Baquai declares his resignation from the National Front. Hossein Makki, one of the architects of the nationalization of the oil industry, said that extending Mossadegh's powers is against the constitution and illegal.
February 20, 1953 The newly elected US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the British Prime Minister Churchill make Mossadegh another offer to solve the pending questions. Mossadegh also rejects this proposal.
April 4th 1953 CIA Director Allen Dulles approves a $ 1 million budget for the CIA office in Tehran "to overthrow Mossadegh." Operation Ajax planning begins.
May 2, 1953 MPs Mozaffar Baquai and Fazlollah Zahedi are accused by the government of being involved in a murder plot. Zahedi receives asylum from Parliament President Abol-Ghasem Kaschani in the parliament building to save him from imminent arrest. The Japanese Idemitsu Sazō takes advantage of the crisis to buy oil 30% below the world market price.
June 10, 1953 Representatives of the Iranian and Soviet governments sign a new trade agreement. Mossadegh announces a referendum to dissolve parliament. Holding a referendum is a controversial issue in parliament as the Iranian constitution does not recognize a referendum.
July 20, 1953 With a possible dissolution of parliament, Zahedi would lose his immunity as a member of parliament. He therefore leaves the parliament building and goes underground.
3rd August 1953 The referendum to dissolve the parliament will be held in Tehran. Votes will be held in the provinces on August 10th. The President of Parliament resigns. The referendum results in approval of the question of dissolving Parliament.
August 11, 1953 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is going to his summer residence in Kalardashht on the Caspian Sea.
August 12, 1953 Mossadegh orders the arrest of political opponents.
August 13, 1953 Mossadegh informed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of the outcome of the referendum and called for parliament to be dissolved. The Shah signs two decrees. With one decree, he dismisses Prime Minister Mossadegh. With the second decree he appoints Fazlollah Zahedi as the new Prime Minister.
August 14, 1953 Prime Minister Mossadegh makes a radio address and announces the result of the referendum. He calls for the Parliament to be dissolved immediately.

Prime Minister Fazlollah Zahedi

date event
15th August 1953 The Shah does not answer. Instead, Colonel Nasiri Mossadegh brings the Shah's dismissal decree. Mossadegh arrests Nasiri. The new Prime Minister Zahedi, appointed by the Shah, is hiding in the house of Hassan Kaschanian on Pessianstrasse in Shemiran in northern Tehran.
August 16, 1953 Mossadegh declares parliament dissolved. The Iranian government announces that the Imperial Guard attempted a coup, but it failed. A bounty is placed on the capture of Fazlollah Zahedi. Foreign Minister Fatemi instructs the Iranian ambassadors abroad “not to see the deposed Shah.” Statues of Reza Shah and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi are torn from their pedestals in Tehran and some provincial cities . Tudeh activists begin renaming street names in Tehran. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi leaves Iran with a sports plane and lands in Baghdad and goes to a guest house of the Iraqi government. Ardeschir Zahedi , the son of Fazlollah Zahedi, informs the international press and gives copies of the Shah's decrees to the newspaper reporters. The two decrees of the Shah are printed in the evening newspaper Ettelā'āt to inform the population about the dismissal of Mossadegh and the appointment of Zahedi. A huge crowd has gathered in the square in front of the Parliament. Foreign Minister Fatemi and Education Minister Ali Shayegan deliver a speech demanding the end of the monarchy.
17th August 1953 Mossadegh orders that the Shah's name be removed from the military's morning prayer. The Shah receives Ayatollah Shahrestani in Baghdad after the Iranian ambassador to Iraq Mozaffar Alam refused to visit the Shah. He goes in the evening after Karbala for Imam Husayn Shrine to pray. The Iranian pilgrims in Karbala cheer the Shah.
18th August 1953 Representatives of the Tudeh party are calling for a people's republic to be proclaimed. Mossadegh meets with the US Ambassador Henderson, who has just returned to Tehran from Europe, who tells him his concern about the growing influence of the Tudeh party. Mossadegh instructs the military governor of Tehran Daftary to prevent further activities of the Tudeh activists. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi takes a passenger plane from Baghdad to Rome. The Iranian ambassador in Rome, Chadschenuri, also refuses to receive the Shah. There are clashes between pro and anti-Shah demonstrators in the streets of Tehran.
19th August 1953 As the day went on, more and more demonstrators took to the streets shouting “long live the Shah”. Tanks that Mossadegh had assigned to protect the radio building are occupied by demonstrators. The tank crews overflow to the pro-Shah demonstrators and drive to the house of Mossadegh. Zahedi appears in public for the first time and gives a speech on the square in front of the parliament building. Mohammad Mossadegh is arrested by security forces devoted to Zahedi.
20th August 1953 Fazlollah Zahedi takes over government affairs. He sends a telegram to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in ​​Rome, asking him to return to Iran immediately.
August 21, 1953 Day of the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice . Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi leaves Rome and flies back to Baghdad and on to Karbala for prayer. The Iranian Ambassador Alam appeared at the airport in Baghdad to greet them.
August 22, 1953 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi returns to Tehran. He is greeted by the Prime Minister and leading politicians and the military at Mehrabad Airport.
5th September 1953 US President Eisenhower announces a $ 45 million loan to help build Iran's economy. Zahedi announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between Britain and Iran, leading to violent demonstrations in Tehran.
December 19, 1953 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi signs a decree formally dissolving parliament. New elections are scheduled. The new parliament met on March 18, 1954.
April 11, 1954 Representatives of a consortium of oil companies ( Standard Oil , AIOC, Royal Dutch Shell ) come to Tehran to negotiate new contracts with representatives of the Iranian government and the NIOC. Ali Amini is holding talks with representatives of the British government about the compensation payments for the nationalization of the AIOC industrial plants.
May 11, 1954 The military trial brought against Mossadegh ends with a sentence of three years in prison.
5th August 1954 In a framework agreement, the negotiating parties agree that the consortium will take over the extraction, refining, transport and marketing of Iranian oil. The duration of the agreement is 25 years (until 1979). The operative business is carried out by two companies registered in Holland, the Iranian Oil Exploration and Producing Company and the Iranian Oil Refining Company. In return, the consortium will pay the AIOC 200 million pounds sterling and the Iranian government 25 million pounds sterling over a period of 10 years.
October 21, 1954 Parliament approves the agreement. The Senate gives its approval on October 28, 1954.

Full national control of the Iranian oil industry

Speech on the 10th anniversary of the White Revolution, January 23, 1973

According to the consortium agreement, the NIOC was only responsible for the "non-basic functions" such as training of employees, public transport, maintenance of the roads, houses for workers and employees, their medical care and social services. Under its own control, the NIOC only operated the sale of oil products in Iran, the yield from the small Naft-i-Shah oil field and the operation of the refinery in Kermanshah. The operation of the oil facilities in Abadan and the exploitation of the important oil fields in southern Iran continued to be controlled by the international oil companies.

In a speech by the Shah on the tenth anniversary of the White Revolution on January 23, 1973, the Shah accused the international oil companies of harming Iran with their production policy:

“We are currently negotiating oil production with the companies that work with us in Iran, as well as with companies that want to work more closely with us. Without giving details, I would like to set out the general line of negotiation clearly for you. When we signed the consortium agreement in 1954, we couldn't get any better terms than we negotiated at the time. One of the treaty points was that the oil companies respect Iran's future well-being. We have evidence they didn't. The contract of 1954 provides for a possible three-time extension of the contract for 5 years each time. In the section on the renewal of the contract, reference was again made to the fact that the future well-being of Iran must be considered. We have ample evidence that this contractual clause of the 1954 Treaty was not respected. For this reason we will in no case extend the contract from 1954 beyond 1979.

The sovereignty of a country gives it the right to decide how to use its natural resources. The United Nations Charter and some United Nations resolutions emphasize that a country's natural resources, both below and above the ground, belong to that country. Contracts with foreign companies for the production of oil cannot be made without regard to the future well-being of the country that owns the oil. This means that no company can determine how much oil to extract. When the country says a million barrels is good for us, the company has no right to say, 'I get two hundred thousand kegs' or 'I get two million kegs.' Neither the United Nations Charter nor any United Nations resolution has given any company the right to determine a country's production. The production of oil is a technically very complex industrial matter. If you over-exploit an oil well, it dries up. If the gas flowing from the well is not pumped back into the well (injection), the well will dry up and the wellbeing of the country will be affected. In Iran, this is exactly what the oil-producing companies did, which means that the oil wells have been damaged. There are only two ways left for us. Because we are people who respect their signature, there is a possibility that we let the current companies continue to operate until 1979, i.e. for the next 6 years, on the condition that the income we receive per barrel is not less than the income of our oil exporting neighboring countries. And on the condition that our export possibilities are increased to 8 million barrels per day. If the delivery rate is not increased to 8 million barrels, otherwise the amount of the delivery rate is entirely our decision, and what we want to do with the income is entirely our decision, we will take matters into our own hands. We know what to do with our extra oil income. If the companies concerned fail to meet this requirement, the 1979 oil contract with these companies will be terminated. From 1979 onwards, they will stand in line with all the other companies as customers for Iranian oil, without being able to assert any privileges over other companies.

Another option is to sign a new contract. In this case, all rights that are currently not in our hands will revert to Iran. The companies that are currently extracting our oil will then remain long-term customers of ours again, and we will sell our oil to them for a long time at a good price, even at a discount that is given to good customers. In my opinion, this is the only way that an oil production company can be sure that it will receive oil from us for the next 25 years, for example. However, I am not sure that in the years to come, oil will continue to flow abroad from every country. It must soon become clear to us whether the oil-producing companies want the first condition, namely the continuation of the existing contract until 1979, or whether they want to purchase oil as good customers for the next 25 years. In order to be able to accept the second condition, we have to assume that the Iranian oil industry will continue to expand in the next 25 years. For this reason we want to hire the best foreign oil experts, be they individuals or groups of people. You have to work for us directly and not for the foreign companies. In order to build a leading oil industry on an international level, more needs to be done in the areas of safety, maintenance and repair as well as research and development. The National Iranian Oil Company must be prepared to meet its obligations now or after 1979.

We know more than anyone else what shortcomings we have. Our problem is our lack of technical experts. We also lack technical universities. When we set up a technical university, they want to become a university as quickly as possible and distribute university degrees instead of training technicians. The university graduates then want to work exclusively in the office. We sent workers to West Germany to train them to be skilled workers. They either didn't come back to Iran or when they came back they said, 'We don't want to work on a machine anymore.' Only a few have returned to their old place of work. This is bad. Do not all men and women who work in factories and those who run after religious groups during the months of mourning belong to the same people?

As I have always said, Islam is the Islam of the first days. And everything we do in Iran, our whole revolution, is based on the Islamic foundations as handed down by the Prophet. But not what the mullahs made of it or what they added to the teachings of the Prophet. They have used religion for their own ends and made a business out of it. - [Long applause.] "

After this speech there were new negotiations between the consortium and the Iranian government. The Shah demanded that the NIOC take full control of oil production in southern Iran and the refineries in Abadan, and that the oil companies be only buyers of Iranian oil. In July 1973 a new agreement was reached, with the retroactive effect of March 21, 1973, the operating companies of the consortium for the production and sale of Iranian oil were dissolved. The NIOC took over their task and was from now on responsible for the extraction, processing and sale of the Iranian oil. It had taken 22 years for the Iranian oil industry to be completely in the hands of the Iranians since the nationalization law was passed in 1951.

literature

  • Gholam Reza Afkhami: The life and times of the Shah . University of California Press. Berkeley, 2009, pp. 110-207.
  • Alan W. Ford: The Anglo-Iranian Oil Dispute 1951–1952 . University of California Press, 1954.

Web links

Commons : Iranian oil industry documents  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Law establishing the Oil Commission
  2. ↑ Minutes of Parliament of June 22, 1950
  3. Hossein Makki: Ketab-e Siah. Theran 1358, p. 51f.
  4. ^ Minutes of the 97th meeting of the Majles on December 26, 1950
  5. Speech transcript of the parliamentary scribes of 16 Majlis, 8th Tir 1329. Quoted from: Ali Mirfetros: Mohammad Mosaddeq - Pathology of a failure. Farhanf, Montreal 2008, p. 57.
  6. Gholam Reza Afkhami: The life and times of the Shah. University of California Press. Berkeley, 2009, p. 134.
  7. Gholam Reza Afkhami: The life and times of the Shah. University of California Press. Berkeley, 2009, pp. 188f.
  8. Speech of the Shah in 1973 on the future of the contract with the consortium of the companies Texas Company, Standard Oil, SOCONY-Vacuum, Gulf, Royal Dutch-Shell, Compagnie Francaise de Petroles, AIOC. Radio Iran, 1973.
  9. Sochanane Shahan Shah Ariamehr-Naft-1973 (1351) on YouTube
  10. James Bamberg: British Petroleum and Global Oil, 1950-1975 - The Challenge of Nationalism. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 473.