The Secret of the Seven Sisters 1of4, Desert Storms

Summary of Main Arguments and Key Points

• Oil cartel origins (“Seven Sisters”): The documentary traces how major oil companies formed a covert coordinating agreement in 1928 after a secret meeting at Achnacarry Castle (Scotland) involving Henri Deterding (Royal Dutch Shell), Walter C. Teagle (Standard Oil/Exxon), and Sir John Cadman (Anglo-Persian Oil, later BP). The pact aimed to coordinate production zones, transport costs, and sales prices—establishing conditions for long-term global dominance.

• Middle East division and controlled production zones: It explains that after World War I, European powers divided the region (via Sykes-Picot and related arrangements). Then Calouste Gulbenkian is presented as the broker who drew a “red line” to restrict competition and create shared arrangements, leading to structures such as the Iraq Petroleum Company, with major Western firms jointly holding stakes.

• U.S.–Saudi oil relationship as political leverage: The narrative argues the U.S. became deeply tied to Middle Eastern oil needs, highlighting Roosevelt’s 1945 meeting with King Abdulaziz ibn Saud (Saudi Arabia) and subsequent arrangements that secured American access in exchange for protection and financial concessions. The film frames the relationship as one where Aramco effectively constrained Saudi governance over oil policy.

• Legal challenges and the cartel’s ability to evade scrutiny: It claims that when the cartel was investigated in the U.S. (e.g., FTC / Supreme Court efforts and a blocked trial), outcomes favored the companies—capturing the idea that cartel stability benefited both the oil majors and the Western political system.

• Iran’s nationalization and Western intervention (1951–1953): The documentary recounts Iran’s oil nationalization under Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh and the British response (technical withdrawal and blockade). It then argues that the CIA coordinated the 1953 coup (“Ajax”) with U.S. involvement, including alleged payoffs and the violent suppression of opponents, restoring a pro-Western arrangement—followed by U.S. companies gaining prominence at BP’s expense.

• Suez crisis and consequences for oil pricing: It describes the 1956 Suez nationalization by Nasser, the Anglo-French-Israeli attack, and the eventual withdrawal under external pressure. The film claims the canal closure drove up oil prices, benefiting the oil majors and enabling investment in new shipping capacity.

• Creation of OPEC and the shift from domination to price-setting resistance: The documentary frames the founding of OPEC in 1960 as a response by producing countries to set collective prices, initially mocked or dismissed in the West. Over time, it argues nationalizations across the region weakened the old concession system and expanded OPEC’s share of world oil.

• 1973 oil embargo and the claim that it benefited the “Seven Sisters”: After the Yom Kippur War, OPEC is described as imposing embargoes and raising prices, creating a crisis in the West. However, the documentary’s central critical thesis appears here: despite the apparent leverage of OPEC, higher prices ultimately funded exploration and offshore drilling by the majors, and the 1973 crisis is portrayed as manipulated to serve the Seven Sisters’ long-term interests.

• Iran (1970s) and U.S. support for the Shah: The film depicts U.S.-backed support for the Shah as both strategic and repressive, highlighting the secret police (SAVAK) and suppression of dissent. It then narrates how Khomeini’s movement and anti-oil strikes helped topple the Shah, with the West allegedly underestimating Iranian anger.

• Iran–Iraq war and Gulf support (1980s): It argues the Iran–Iraq war was a “godsend” for the oil order because price and production dynamics favored major oil profits. It claims the West and Gulf states supported Saddam Hussein to counter the perceived threat from Iranian Shiite revolutionary success.

• Kuwait, price/production disputes, and the lead-in to the 1990 invasion: The documentary links Kuwait’s increased production (and refusal to cancel Iraq’s debt) to Saddam’s financial pressure and claims the U.S. ambassador’s response effectively encouraged Saddam to believe Washington would not intervene. It then portrays the 1990 invasion of Kuwait as a trap from which Saddam could not escape—followed by the rapid 1991 defeat of Iraq.

• 2003 Iraq war framed as oil-driven strategy: The documentary presents 9/11 as a pretext that helped justify the 2003 invasion (“Operation Iraqi Freedom”). It argues that the U.S. sought not only regime change and a “war on terror,” but also access to Iraq’s oil fields and the installation of a pro-American regime. It cites the deployment of U.S. troops early to secure oil infrastructure and links post-war chaos and civilian casualties to the invasion’s consequences.

• Modern “return of the Seven Sisters” in Iraq contracts: The final section argues that major Western firms reassert influence in Iraq’s oil sector (e.g., contracts in 2009 for fields attributed to ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP). The documentary concludes that the Seven Sisters never stopped scheming to shape world events in pursuit of oil dominance.

Presenters or Contributors

The subtitles provided do not name specific interviewees or presenters. Only historical figures are referenced (e.g., Henri Deterding, Walter C. Teagle, Sir John Cadman, Calouste Gulbenkian, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abdulaziz ibn Saud, Winston Churchill, Mohammad Mosaddegh, Kermit Roosevelt, Anwar Sadat, Saddam Hussein, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush, Ayatollah Khomeini, etc.), but no documentary presenters/contributors are explicitly identified.