Bilovich, Yossef
(1982)
Great power and corporate rivalry in Kuwait 1912-1934: a study in international oil politics.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This study analyses in full the history of the Kuwait oil concession, which has proved to be one of the most valuable in the world. Interest in Kuwait's oil deposits first arose more than twenty years before the oil concession was finally secured by an Anglo-American combine. Many parties were actively involved in the quest for oil in Kuwait during the long negotiations which spanned the years 1912-1934. Companies backed by the British and United States Governments were all bargaining tor the concession while the Shaikh was determined to secure the best financial terms possible.
Moreover, events in Kuwait were inter-related with and parallel to negotiations in Bahrein and Saudi Arabia, where American interests succeeded in securing exclusive oil concessions. This commercial success, which eventually drew the United States Government deeper into the Persian Gulf, was achieved despite a relatively early British recognition of the political and strategic importance of the region's oil concessions.
This thesis discusses the formulation and application ot the policies of the various participants. It also provides an account of the way in which the American oil companies competing against British companies established themselves firmly in a region which was under British influence.
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