Today on a radio program, a woman called in and said she heard that the British owned 50% of the Alaskan Pipeline. That shocked me, as I thought it was US natural resource that the tax payers paid for. I decided to do some web browsing to see what I could find. Well, they don't own 50%....they own 72%!!!! (articles are not in exact chronological order; I've put relevant excerpts and links)

CONFIRMED: British Interests own 72% of Alaskan Pipeline & all Oil Fields in Alaska From CNN article: Major owners are ... (see link) From CNN article: cnn.com/US/9812/24/BC-OIL-ALYESKA.reut/index.html > Last paragraph states that major owners of the Alaskan pipeline are British > Petroleum (listed first), Mobil and Exn. _________________________________________________________________ FROM BBC: http://news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/the_company_file/newsid_308000/308426.stm

>Rodney Chase, BP Amoco's deputy chief executive said that after the Arco >takeover, the enlarged company will sell off at least 360,000 acres of land leased in >Alaska for oil exploration in order to resolve that concern.

>He also conceded that regulators may pay close attention to the merged company's >control over crude oil supplies to refineries in California and the West Coast.

> British Petroleum clearly does own 50% of Pipeline BEFORE merger w/ ARCO now they own 72% (see link -verifies 50% written before merger) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid%5F391000/391698.stm excerpt from BBC: July 12, 1999 > > The allegations - reported in London's Guardian newspaper - centre on the > 1280-km (800-mile) Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (Taps).

> Exn Valdez: Alaska still paying the price > The employees say they fear that the 22-year-old pipeline - which carries > one million barrels of oil a day - may rupture, or that there might be an > explosion at the Valdez oil tanker terminal. > Both installations are run by Alyeska on behalf of BP Amoco, a 50% > shareholder. The other co-owners of Alyeska are Exn and Arco. _________________________________________________________________ > They may actually own 72% of all oil fields (see link) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.newsunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,65014,00.html excerpt from BBC > This latest scandal could threaten BP Amoco's proposed merger with the US > oil giant Arco, announced last April. The $26bn deal would give the company a > near monopoly in Alaska with 74% of the oil fields and 72% of the pipeline. __________________________________________________________________ British Petroleum DOES own 72% of pipeline & field (full article & link below)

GREAT ARTICLE ON JUST HOW IMPORTANT OIL IS TO US FROM BBC: Confirms merger which puts 72% of ownership of the pipeline and oilfields in British hands. news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/the_economy/newsid_387000/387543. stm The power of essential oil > The price of oil has put on a spurt this year > Glut Causes Trouble for Opec, North Sea Producers Cautious, Revenues Well Up: > headlines from the world's press reflect a global obsession with the price > of oil. > At $18 a barrel, the price has almost doubled this year, after hitting a low > of under $10 in December. > > Among people who worry about these things, there's been a collective sigh of > relief. > > But why is there so much fuss about oil prices? > The answer is that oil is crucial to the world's economy. Forget gold - the > world thrives on oil. > > Think how many things rely on electricity, from home appliances to heavy > industry, factories and world stock markets. Most power stations use oil or > gas to generate electricity and oil accounts for about 40% of all the world's > energy. > Oil is fundamental to the running of the civilised world. The plastics and > petrochemical industries rely on oil, as does the farming industry. > We may not realise it, but everyone is affected by oil prices. > Higher prices raise production costs for industry, which slows down > economies. > They also mean dearer petrol. That hits drivers, increases transport costs > to business, can put jobs at risk, and fuels inflation - pushing up the price > of everyday goods such as bread and butter, computers and clothes. > Anyone who remembers the 1970s will testify to the crisis which forced the > price of petrol at the pump above the important 50p a gallon barrier, and the > knock-on inflation. > That sinking feeling > > But if oil prices are too low, there is a risk of the natural resource being > wasted, and oil producers suffering - especially developing countries.

> Drivers feel the squeeze when prices rise > Last year, oil prices started to drop, eventually hitting a 30-year low of > less than $10 a barrel as a glut of crude oil flooded the market. > Some even feared it could hit $5 a barrel. Oil revenues were down 30%, or $ > 50bn, for Opec countries in 1998. > Weak demand, especially in Asia after last year's financial crisis, was the > major cause.

> Opec reacted by agreeing to slash production by 3m barrels per day, to force > the price back up. But some producers, especially Latin American nations, > were suspected of ignoring the agreement. > The organisation has historically had difficulty enforcing deals and > preventing cheating.

> New blends > Another effect of last year's slump in prices has been merger mania between > the oil giants. BP Amoco was created by the takeover of Amoco by BP in > December. Then the new company took over US oil group Atlantic Richfield. > TotalFina has made a hostile bid for rival oil concern Elf Aquitaine. > Oil rig workers produce a precious commodity > Speculation has begun on the next takeover target - and bets are on Texaco > and Chevron. But in the immediate future, what worries the oil giants and > their shareholders is how well the current price will hold up. > There have always been fears, supported by green campaigners, that the world' > s supply of oil is going to run out. Those fears are unlikely to ever > completely disappear. > But a recent review of global supplies by BP Amoco concluded that existing > wells are not being exploited to the full, and there are enough untapped > reserves to last another 41 years, at current consumption rates. > Nonetheless, experts say that with production limits still in place, cheap > prices are a thing of the past. > Minimal prices effect > But they are divided over just how far they will rise. > Mark Redway, of natural resources broker T Hoare Canaccord, believes they > may reach $20 a barrel next year.

> And investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted oil prices would at least double

> But the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts oil prices are likely to > average $14 or $15 a barrel this year and stay at that level. > Oil expert Fares Ghneim said: "We don't think prices will keep rising > indefinitely - we think they'll stay in the mid-range. > "Opec is trying to enforce the production cuts and the incentive to cheat > will increase by the end of the year. Demand for oil will still be slow." > The natural consequence of the rise in prices would be growth in inflation, > just as the UK is enjoying its lowest rate of price rises for years. > But Michael Hulme of Lehman Brothers forecasts a minimal knock-on effect. > "The sort of rises we've seen might be worth 0.3% on inflation by this time > next year and the same the year after, and a similar effect in Europe - less > than in the US." > Companies are less reliant now on oil than in the past, so an 80% price rise > over the last six months, although it looks large, is not so great in real > terms, he said.

-- meg davis (meg9999@aol.com), February 19, 2000