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Iraq Petroleum Company

by Jarig Bakker

House Flag of the Iraq Petroleum Company

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House Flag of the Iraq Petroleum Company

From the link provided by Barbara Tomlinson of The National Maritime Museum:

The house flag of the Iraq Petroleum Co. On a pale blue pennant, there is a disc with wavy black and gold stripes in the lower portion. The upper part is white. A narrow gold triangle rises from the stripes, representing oil drilling activities. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The logo in the centre is printed onto the pennant. A rope and toggle is attached.

The company was incorporated in 1912 as the Turkish Petroleum Company and the partnership included the British Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Shell and Deutsche Bank. Caloust Gulbenkian held the residual 5%. It secured petroleum concessions in the then Ottoman Province of Mesopotamia around Mosul and Baghdad. Parties to this agreement found themselves on opposite sides during the First World War and it was renegotiated in 1920 by the San Remo Oil Agreement.

Iraq was a British protectorate for much of the inter-war period. The US pressed for inclusion and the 'Red Line' agreement was signed in 1928. Shareholders were Anglo-Persian, Shell, Compagnie Française de Petroles and an American group including [what is now] Exxon and Mobil. The company made its first oil strike in 1927 and was re-named the Iraq Petroleum Company in 1929. The company was nationalized by the Iraq government in 1972 having lost most of its concessional areas in 1961."

Jarig Bakker, 17 August 2004