Seven Sisters (oil companies)

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"Seven Sisters" was a term coined in the 1950s by businessman Enrico Mattei, then-head of
the Italian state oil company Eni, to describe the seven oil companies which formed the
"Consortium for Iran" cartel and dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to
the 1970s.[1][2] The group comprised Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP);Gulf Oil, Standard
Oil of California (now Chevron), Texaco (later merged with Chevron); Royal Dutch
Shell; Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso/Exxon) and Standard Oil Company of New York
(Socony) (trading as Mobil now part of ExxonMobil).[3] [4]
Prior to the oil crisis of 1973, the members of the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 percent of
the world's petroleum reserves, but in recent decades the dominance of the companies and their
successors has declined as a result of the increasing influence of the OPEC cartel and stateowned oil companies in emerging-market economies.[1][5]
Contents
[hide]

1Composition and history

2The "New Seven Sisters"

3Environmental Policy

4See also

5References

6Further reading

7Documentaries

Composition and history[edit]

In 1951 Iran nationalized its oil industry, then controlled by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
(now BP), and Iranian oil was subjected to an international embargo. In an effort to bring Iranian

oil production back to international markets, the U.S. State Department suggested the creation of
a "Consortium" of major oil companies.[6] The "Consortium for Iran" was subsequently formed
by the following companies:

Anglo-Persian Oil Company (United Kingdom): This company

subsequently became Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and then
British Petroleum. Following the takeover ofAmoco (which in
turn was formerly Standard Oil of Indiana) and Atlantic
Richfield by British Petroleum, the name was shortened to BP in
2000.

Gulf Oil (United States): In 1984 most of Gulf was acquired by

SoCal and the enlarged SoCal entity became Chevron.[7] The
smaller parts of Persian Gulf Oil were acquired by BP
and Cumberland Farms. A network of service stations in the
northeastern United States still bears the Gulf name.

Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands/United Kingdom)

Standard Oil of California (SoCal) (United

States): Became Chevron in 1984 when SoCal acquired Gulf Oil.

Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso) (United

States): Subsequently became Exxon, which renamed itself
ExxonMobil following the acquisition of Mobil in 1999.

Standard Oil Co. of New York (Socony) (United

States): Subsequently became Mobil, which was acquired by
Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil

Texaco (United States): Acquired by Chevron in 2001.

The head of the Italian state oil company, Enrico Mattei sought membership for the Italian oil
company Eni, but was rejected by what he dubbed the "Seven Sisters" - the AngloSaxon companies which largely controlled the Middle Easts oil production after World War II.[1]
[8]

British writer Anthony Sampson took over the term when he wrote the book The Seven

Sisters in 1975, to describe the shadowy oil cartel, which tried to eliminate competitors and
control the worlds oil resource.[9]
Being well-organized and able to negotiate as a cartel, the Seven Sisters were initially able to
exert considerable power over Third World oil producers. However, in recent decades the
dominance of the Seven Sisters and their successor companies has been challenged by the
following trends:[1]

the increasing influence of the OPEC cartel (formed in 1960),

a declining share of world oil and gas reserves held

by OECD countries and

the emergence of powerful state-owned oil companies in

emerging-market economies.

As of 2010, the surviving companies from the Seven Sisters are BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and
Royal Dutch Shell, which form four members of the "supermajors" group.
The "New Seven Sisters"[edit]
The Financial Times has used the label the "New Seven Sisters" to describe a group of what it
argues are the most-influential national oil and gas companies based in countries outside of
the OECD:[10][1]

Environmental Policy[edit]

Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)

China National Petroleum Corporation (China)

Gazprom (Russia)

National Iranian Oil Company (Iran)

Petrobras (Brazil)

PDVSA (Venezuela)

Petronas (Malaysia)

In the 1970s the "Seven Sisters" were conscientious of environmental concerns. In their company
filings, all seven of them states that their core values were to protect health, safety, and the
environment, and to conduct safety with high HSE (Health Safety and Environmental) policies.
Some of these 7 companies even prioritized this safety over profit and efficiency
maximization [11]
See also[edit]

Fossil fuel

Monopoly

List of oil exploration and production companies

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Hoyos, Carola (11 March 2007). "The
new Seven Sisters: oil and gas giants dwarf western
rivals". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
2. Jump up^ "Business: The Seven Sisters Still Rule". Time. 11
September 1978. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
3. Jump up^ "MILESTONES: 1921-1936, The 1928 Red Line
Agreement". US Department of State. Retrieved 18
August 2012.
4. Jump up^ "Documentary: The Secret of the Seven Sisters".
Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
5. Jump up^ "Shaky industry that runs the world". The Times
(South Africa). 24 January 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
6. Jump up^ Beltrame, Stefano (2009). Mossadeq. L'Iran, il
petrolio, gli Stati Uniti e le radici della Rivoluzione Islamica
7. Jump up^ "Company Profile". Chevron.com.
Retrieved August 9, 2011.

8. Jump up^ Italy: Two-Timing the Seven Sisters, Time, 14

June 1963.
9. Jump up^ Henderson, Dean. The Four Horsemen Behind
America's Oil Wars, Global Research, 26 April 2011.
10. Jump up^ "New and Old Leaders in the Upstream Oil
Industry". ypenergy.org. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
11. Jump up^ Katola, Karja -- SEVEN SISTERS: SNOW
WHITES, D W OR EVIL QUEENS? A COMPARISON OF
THE OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES OF THE
LARGEST OIL CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD
Further reading[edit]

Ammann, Daniel (2009). The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of

Marc Rich. New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-57074-0.

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, ISBN 0-671-502484 (hardcover)

Beltrame, Stefano. Mossadeq: l'Iran, il petrolio, gli Stati Uniti e

le radici della rivoluzione islamica, Rubbettino, 2009. ISBN 97888-498-2533-6.

Perrone, Nico. Obiettivo Mattei: Petrolio, Stati Uniti e politica

dell'ENI (Target Mattei: Oil, United States and ENI Policy).
Rome: Gamberetti, 1995, ISBN 8-87990-010-2

Perrone, Nico. Enrico Mattei. Bologna: il Mulino, 2001, ISBN

8815079130