The Prize, Chapter 23 Overview

The Prize, Chapter 23 Overview

Iran was a different story, and one driven by unrest and conflict and the impact it had on the oil industry. Whereas we have seen over the years that companies were not afraid to go into challenging and uncharted areas to explore, Iran’s problems appeared to be almost too much even for the most aggressive companies. Iran presented a mix of almost every type of problem, civil, religious, cultural, and political unrest compounded with challenges setting up agreements with oil companies. Unlike Venezuela, Iran took the nationalization route. And we must not forget the threat of the Soviet takeover of Iran that would seriously destabilize the oil market for Europe. Iran needed bold moves by oil companies, and they were already apprehensive of doing business there, and also had to deal with fears of anit-trust charges. Fortunately, the National Security Council issued a directive that stated: “The enforcement of the Antitrust Laws of the United States against western oil companies operating in the Middle East may be deemed secondary to the national security interest.” With the Iranian consortium, the U.S. was clearly the major player now in the Middle East, with all its oil and volatile politics.