50-50

The Iraq Petroleum Co. took its lesson from the drive for oil nationalization in neighboring Iran. Twenty-four hours after Iraq's Premier Nuri Al Said warned last week that the oil company might be nationalized, if it did not meet the government's demands for higher royalties, I.P.C. offered Iraq a better deal. The offer: a 50-50 split of the profits --similar to the Aramco-Saudi Arabia arrangement and to the last-minute offer of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. which was ignored by Iran's government.

Said a British diplomat, barely veiling his indignation: "There is nothing to be done; 50-50 has become a sacred cow."

Iraq Petroleum Co., which produced 136,000 barrels of oil daily in 1950 (1.3% of total world output), mostly for the European market, is owned jointly by Anglo-Iranian (British), Compagnie Franc,aise des Petroles (French), Royal Dutch-Shell (Dutch-British), and the Near East Development Corp. (Socony-Vacuum, Standard Oil Co., N.J.), each with 23.75% of the shares. The remaining 5% is owned by shrewd old Manipulator Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (TIME, Oct. 16).

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