Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXIV, Energy Diplomacy and Global Issues

254. Telegram From the Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to the Department of State¹

Paris, June 30, 1967, 1717Z.

21085. CEDTO. Subject: OECD Oil Committee Meeting. Ref: State 219017.² Oil Committee meeting today ended with decisions as follows:

1. Secretary-General will invite governments to ask oil companies, or will invite companies directly, to participate in international industry advisory body. Thus French and German companies will receive SecGen invitations, and French companies at least evidently will participate. Germans are undecided as of today but were leaning toward participation.

2. Mission of industry group will be as per Council resolution, that is keep Oil Committee informed of technical matters related to availability of oil for member countries. However, US del placed in record our view task of advisory group as stated para 5(A) reftel, and Dept may wish mention this to oil company representatives.

3. Industry group will be asked to report to Oil Committee during week of 17 July, at which time Oil Committee will reconvene.

4. Beckett, after lunch-hour consultations, came up with company list as follows: ENI, Shell, BP, ERAP,CFP, Petrofina, Deminex, Arabian Oil Co. together with “such US international companies as USG may notify to SecGen.” Japanese del stated Arabian Oil Co. will not participate for time being. Possibility held open for other companies take part at later date.

5. Arrangements will be worked out for Shell to invite representatives from companies on advisory group to meet in Hague, with provisional date set for Thursday, July 6. OECD Secretariat will act as post office for this purpose.

6. Now that Europeans have begun to act with some sense urgency, Mission hopes USG can give us names our nominees very promptly, if possible by COB July 3, at latest COB July 4.³

Trezise

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Central File, 1967–69, PET 3 OECD. Limited Official Use; Immediate. Repeated to Ankara, Athens, Bern, Bonn, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, The Hague, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Oslo, Ottawa, Reykjavik, Rome, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Vienna. Passed to the White House and USIA on June 30.
2. Dated June 29. (Ibid., PET 3 OECD)
3. Ambassador McGhee reported from Bonn: “If our companies are long stopped from collaborating among themselves by U.S. antitrust law and by our failure to authorize consultation, it will seriously undermine the position of U.S. oil company subsidiaries here which are already under criticism for being subject to control from the U.S. and for being unable to act solely in their own and in German interests.” (Telegram 15424 from Bonn, June 30; ibid.)