Seven Sisters (oil companies)

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Following the break up by the U.S. Government of Standard Oil, several new companies were created, three of which, along with four other major Anglo-Saxon oil companies, were once referred to as the Seven Sisters, coined by an Italian entrepreneur, Enrico Mattei. With their dominance of oil production, refinement and distribution, they were able to take advantage of the rapidly increasing demands for oil and turn massive profits. Being well organized and able to negotiate as a cartel, they were able to have their way in most Third World oil producers. It was only when the Arab states began to gain control over oil prices and production, mainly through the formation of OPEC, beginning in 1960 and really gaining power by the 1970s, that the Seven Sisters' influence declined.

These companies were:

  1. Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso). This later became Exxon, now ExxonMobil.
  2. Royal Dutch Shell Anglo-Dutch
  3. British Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). This later became BP, then BP Amoco following a merger with Amoco (which in turn was formerly Standard Oil of Indiana). It is now known solely by the initials BP.
  4. Standard Oil of New York (Socony). This later became Mobil, which merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil.
  5. Standard Oil of California (Socal). This became Chevron, then, upon merging with Texaco, ChevronTexaco. It has since dropped the 'Texaco' suffix, returning to Chevron.
  6. Gulf Oil. Most of this became part of Chevron, with smaller parts becoming part of BP, and Cumberland Farms. A network of stations in the northeastern United States still bears this name.
  7. Texaco. Merged with Chevron in 2001. The merged company was known for a time as ChevronTexaco, but in 2005 it changed its name back to Chevron. Texaco remains as a Chevron brand name.

The Seven Sisters is the title of a book by British journalist Anthony Sampson about the history of the oil industry, published in 1975.

As of 2005, the surviving companies are ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP, now members of the "supermajors" group.

On 11 March 2007, the Financial Times identified the "new seven sisters": the most influential and mainly state-owned national oil and gas companies from countries outside the OECD. They are Saudi Aramco, Russia’s Gazprom, CNPC of China, NIOC of Iran, Venezuela’s PDVSA, Brazil’s Petrobras and Petronas of Malaysia.[1]

Contents

[edit] Reference in The Road Warrior

The Seven Sisters oil company conspiracy theory is referenced in the 1981 film, The Road Warrior, which starred Mel Gibson. In the film, a fuel tanker can be seen emblazoned with a Seven Sisters logo.

[edit] Further reading

  • Sampson, Anthony. The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and the World They Shaped. New York: Viking Press, 1975. ISBN 0-553-20449-1.
  • Yergin, Daniel. The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The new Seven Sisters: oil and gas giants dwarf western rivals, by Carola Hoyos, Financial Times. 11 March 2007

[edit] External links

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