Abstract

Offshore Oil Sweepstakes

The Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, which had openly expressed interest in bidding for South Vietnamese offshore oil concessions, has made a reportedly significant oil find in Malaysian waters bordering the South Vietnamese tracts. But, assuming an inevitable degree of uncertainty until drilling actually begins, the overriding operational question facing the big American oil companies is the probability of finding oil and warding off competitors in the event the oil is found out. The foundation for the incredible profits of the five huge American companies which along with Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum Co. PLC dominate the international oil industry, is their ownership of enormous quantities of low cost crude oil all over the world, and particularly in the Middle East, North Africa and Venezuela.