Oil in the Middle East: International competition, concessions and agreements (1890-1928)

This study is focusing on the Middle East oil concessions and agreements, also it examines the international competition in the region from a historical perspective and with a scientific method. Oil started to be discovered in today's Middle East geography and became the subject of competition of world oil companies, starting from the end of the nineteenth century. It can even be said that the international policies of countries have become an extension of this competition. The rich oil deposits in the Middle East and the availability of oil to be extracted through the seas have further increased the importance of the region. Thanks to this strategic position of the Middle East, important oil companies of the world have been oriented towards the region since early dates. Abdulhamid II wanted to take this geography out of competition by transferring oil concessions of the Mosul and Baghdad, to the Hazine-i Hassa (Private Treasury of the Ottoman Sultan). He also wanted to keep the individuals and companies that would demand oil concessions under his control. However, the Germans were lured into the region by the Berlin-Baghdad railway concession, thus, the already existing international competition carried to a new dimension. In this research, oil concessions and the agreements signed in this context during the reign of Abdulhamid II were examined in detail. Also, after the First World War the Middle East oil which played an important role in the foreign policies of the European states and the United States, the struggle for it and its consequences were also dis-cussed. Besides this work includes the discussions for the issue of oil concessions which was frequently raised at the diplomatic tables and during the peace treaties after the end of the First World War. In this context, political treaties such as San Remo and Lau-sanne were examined on the one hand and the Agreement of 1925 and the Red Line were discussed on the other. Key words: Oil Concessions, Petrol, Agreements, Hazine-i Hassa, Neftcizadeler, Nemlizade Hasan Tahsin, Lausanne Treaty, Red Line Treaty