Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and terms

  • AD, Acción Democrática, Venezuelan political party
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • AF, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
  • AF/I, Office of Inter-African Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
  • AF/N, Office of North African Affairs, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
  • AGEC, Arabian Gulf Exploration Company
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • AmEmbassy, American Embassy
  • API, American Petroleum Institute
  • APQ, Annual Programmed Quantity. This is a means of determining the amount of oil that could be lifted from Iran in any one year, based on proportion of shares the companies held in the Consortium.
  • ARA, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
  • ARAMCO, Arabian-American Oil Company, a subsidiary of Socal (30 percent), Texaco (30 percent), Esso (30 percent), and Mobil (10 percent)
  • ARCO, Atlantic-Richfield Company
  • ASD, Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • ASD(I&L), Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics)
  • AUB, American University of Beirut
  • Auction or Bilateral Oil Price, one of the prices at which crude oil is sold, constituting the price governments obtain for their royalty oil and that portion of their participation oil that they do not sell back to the companies. The oil must be sold at or above the posted price, and if not sold back to the companies, is either actioned to the highest bidder or sold under bilateral agreement. In 1974 approximately 10–15 percent of OPEC production was auction/bilateral oil.
  • bbl, barrel, equivalent to 42 U.S. standard gallons or 35 imperial gallons
  • b/d, bpd, barrels per day
  • bil., B, billion
  • BOAC, British Overseas Airways Corporation
  • BP, British Petroleum
  • BS, Brent Scowcroft
  • Buyback Oil Price, one of the prices at which crude oil is sold, the buyback price is a negotiated price at which companies buy back participation oil—that is, oil owned by governments as a result of their equity shares. In 1974 approximately 20 percent of OPEC production was sold at buyback prices. It was somewhere between the equity-oil price and the posted price.
  • C, Confidential
  • C–20, Committee of 20, IMF Committee to develop proposals on international monetary reform
  • CA, Circular Airgram
  • CDS, Construction Differential Subsidy
  • CEA, Council of Economic Advisers
  • CENTO, Central Treaty Organization
  • CEO, Chief Executive Officer
  • CFP, Compagnie Française des Pétroles
  • Cherokee, communication channel for eyes only and sensitive messages between the Secretary of State and Ambassadors
  • Chrm., Chairman
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIEP, Council on International Economic Policy
  • c.i.f., cost, insurance, and freight
  • CINCPAC, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command
  • CINCUSAFE, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Air Force, Europe
  • ConGen, Consul General
  • Consortium, those oil companies that operated the oil concession in Iran. The shares of the Consortium were held by BP, Shell, CFP, Exxon (Esso), Mobil, Socal, Texaco, Gulf, and Iricon (the shares of which were owned by 12 independents).
  • COPEI, Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente—Partido Social Christiano de Venezuela (Social Christian Party of Venezuela)
  • CORCO, Commonwealth Oil Refinery Company
  • Cutback, reduced production due to unilateral decisions. The difference between production in a designated base period and the period of cutback is used to determine sharing; 60 percent of any cutback is shared by all Libyan producers including any cutback party(s).
  • CSCE, Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
  • CVP, Corporación Venezolana del Petróleo (Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation)
  • D, Office of the Deputy Secretary of State
  • D.C., District of Columbia
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission
  • DDO, Deputy Director of Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
  • DefMin, Defense Minister
  • Del(s), delegate(s), delegation(s)
  • Deminex, the German state oil supply company
  • DENR, Department of Energy and Natural Resources (proposed)
  • Depto, indicator for telegrams from the Deputy Secretary of State
  • Deptoff(s), Department Officer(s)
  • Dissem, dissemination
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DOI, Department of Interior
  • DOT, Department of Transportation
  • Downstream, activities focused on product distribution, i.e., refining and the transportation, marketing and distribution that occurs after refining.
  • DNR, Department of Natural Resources (proposed)
  • DPRC, Defense Program Review Committee
  • DTI, Department of Trade and Investment (United Kingdom)
  • DWT, deadweight tons
  • E, Bureau of Economic Affairs, Department of State
  • EAG, Energy Action Group
  • EB/FSE, Office of Fuels and Energy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/OIA, Office of Investment Affairs, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/ORF/FSE, Office of Fuels and Energy, International Resources and Food Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/ORF/ICD, Office of International Commodities, International Resources and Food Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EC, European Community
  • ECG, Energy Coordinating Group
  • EconCounselor, Economic Counselor
  • EconMin, Economics Minister
  • EE, Office of Eastern European Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State; also, Eastern Europe
  • EEC, European Economic Community
  • EEAG, Energy Emergency Action Group
  • ENI, Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, Italian oil company
  • EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, formed on July 9, 1970
  • Equity Oil Price, one of the prices at which crude oil is sold; based on the companies’ tax and royalty payments to the producer governments. In 1974 approximately 65 percent of OPEC oil was sold at the equity oil price.
  • ERDA, Energy Research and Technology Administration
  • Esso, phonetic pronunciation of “S O” for Standard Oil of New Jersey
  • EUR/BMI, Office of United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/CAN, Office of Canadian Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/FBX, Office of France and Benelux Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/RPE, Office of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Community, and Atlantic Political-Economic Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/RPM, Office of North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Atlantic Political-Military Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EXCOM, Executive Committee
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution
  • Ex-Im, Export-Import Bank of the United States
  • Exxon, the trade name for Standard Oil of New Jersey, adopted in 1972
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FCO, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (United Kingdom)
  • FEA, Federal Energy Administration
  • FEO, Federal Energy Office
  • FinMin, Finance Minister
  • FOB, free on board, the value of goods up to the point of embarkation
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister; Foreign Ministry
  • FonOff, Foreign Office
  • FPC, Federal Power Commission
  • FRC, Federal Records Center
  • Free Trade Zones, geographic areas exempt from import and/or taxation restrictions
  • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany
  • FSE, see E/FSE
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  • GB, George H.W. Bush
  • G.E., General Electric
  • GMT, Greenwich Mean Time
  • GNP, Gross National Product
  • GOC, Government of Canada
  • GOE, Government of Egypt
  • GOF, Government of France
  • GOI, Government of Iran, Government of Israel, Government of Indonesia
  • GOJ, Government of Japan, Government of Jordan
  • GOK, Government of Kuwait
  • GON, Government of Netherlands
  • GOV, Government of Venezuela
  • Govt., government
  • Gravity (specific) (API gravity), a measure of weight per barrel of oil; the higher the gravity the heavier the crude. The common measurement, or API gravity, is expressed in terms of degrees and is inversely related to specific gravity, so that the heavier the crude the lower the API gravity, or conversely, the higher the API gravity the lighter and more valuable the crude. Most crudes range between 30–45º API. A light crude yields a larger percentage of more valuable products after refining than does a heavy crude of low API gravity. Lighter crude often carried a higher posted price.
  • GSA, General Services Administration
  • GWG, Governance Working Group, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • HAK, Henry A. Kissinger
  • Hakto, series indicator for telegrams sent by Kissinger while away from Washington
  • H.E., His (Her) Excellency
  • HLG, High-Level Group, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Oil Committee
  • HIM, His Imperial Majesty
  • HMG, Her Majesty’s Government
  • IA–ECOSOC, Inter-American Economic and Social Council
  • IBRD, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank
  • IDB, International Development Bank
  • IEP, integrated emergency program
  • IERG, International Energy Review Group
  • IIAB, International Industry Advisory Board
  • IL, Installations and Logistics Office, Department of Defense
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • Independents, the term for relatively small oil companies, commonly based in the United States, but with some international marketing or production
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IPC, Iraq Petroleum Corporation
  • ITT, International Telephone and Telegraph
  • J, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
  • JAEC, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • K, Henry A. Kissinger
  • KOC, Kuwait Oil Company
  • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State; also Melvin Laird
  • LAPCO, Lavan Petroleum Company
  • LARG, Libyan Arab Republic Government
  • LDC, Less Developed Country
  • L/E, Office of Economic Affairs, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • Lifting, the amount of crude oil taken by a company by virtue of its equity share in the production operation or by virtue of a purchase from the producer. Once lifted, the oil becomes the property of the company.
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • L/NEA, Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • LNG, liquefied natural gas
  • LNOC, Libyan National Oil Company
  • London Policy Group, Atlantic, American Independent, Amerada Hess, Ashland, Arabian Oil, British Petroleum, Bunker Hunt, CFP, Continental, Gelsenberg, Gulf, Hispanoil, Iricon, Marathon, Murphy, Mobil, Occidental, Participations and Explorations, Petrofina, Phillips, Shell, Standard of California, Standard of New Jersey, Texaco
  • LOU, Limited Official Use
  • LPG, liquefied petroleum gas
  • Majors, the term used to designate those companies that dominated the international oil industry; that is, BP, Shell, Exxon (Esso), Texaco, Mobil, Gulf, and Socal. Sometimes CFP is included.
  • MBD, million barrels per day
  • MCF, million cubic feet
  • ME, Middle East
  • Memcon, memorandum of conversation
  • MFN, Most Favored Nation
  • Mil., million
  • MinPet, Minister of Petroleum
  • MinState, Minister of State
  • MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • MITI, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan
  • Mm b/d, million barrels per day
  • Mobil, trade name for Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony)
  • MOIP, Mandatory Oil Import Program. Established in 1959, the MOIP was designed to protect the U.S. domestic industry by limiting foreign oil imports into the United States.
  • MSA, Most Seriously Affected (Less Developed Countries)
  • N, Richard M. Nixon
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/ARN, Office of Lebanon, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/ARP, Office of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Aden, Gulf States Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/IRN, Office of Iran Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NEA/UAR, Office of United Arab Republic Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • Neths., Netherlands
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NIOC, National Iranian Oil Company
  • Nodis, no dissemination
  • Noforn, no foreign dissemination
  • NPC, National Petroleum Council
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSDM, National Security Decision Memorandum
  • NSSM, National Security Study Memorandum
  • O/A, on or about
  • OAPEC, Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • OASD, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • OASIA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
  • OBE, overtaken by events
  • OCS, Outer Continental Shelf
  • OC/T, Communications Center, Department of State
  • OD, Office Director
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OEP, Office of Emergency Preparedness
  • OER, Office of Economic Research, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OFP, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (Office of Management and Budget)
  • Offtake, the amount of crude oil to which a company or companies is entitled based on the equity holding. A company that wants less than its entitlement is called an underlifter; if it wants more, it is called an overlifter.
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • OST, Office of Science and Technology
  • OXY, Occidental Oil Company
  • Parents, companies that fully owned the shares of another company, then designated as a subsidiary
  • Participation, host producing government involvement in the production part of the oil business, through ownership in equity shares of the concessionary oil operating companies
  • PET, petroleum
  • Petromin, General Petroleum and Mineral Organization (Saudi Arabia)
  • PL, Public Law
  • PM/ISP, Office of International Security Policy and Planning, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Department of State
  • Posted price, price set (in dollars) by the producing company(ies) to indicate the price they would sell crude oil to all purchasers (often, due to vertical integration, an affiliated company). The posted price was used as the basis for profit calculation (revenue minus cost), and was the base price against which taxes and royalties to host producing countries were assessed. The companies regarded the setting of the posted price as their prerogative and would reduce (or increase) the posted price depending on market conditions. The host producing countries established Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in order to restore cuts in the posted price. The posted price became obsolete in the 1970s.
  • POW, prisoner of war
  • PPC/PDA/TP, Trade and Payments Division, Office of Policy Development and Analysis, Bureau of Program and Policy Coordination, Agency for International Development
  • Pres., President
  • PriMin, Prime Minister
  • PWRS, prepositioned war reserve stock
  • RCC, Revolutionary Command Council, Libya
  • R&D, research and development
  • Ref, reference
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • RG, Record Group
  • Rep(s), Representative(s)
  • rpt, repeat
  • RTK, Richard T. Kennedy
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State; George Shultz; Secret
  • S/PC, Policy and Coordination Staff, Department of State
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • SAG, Saudi Arabian Government
  • SAMA, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
  • SARG, Government of the Syrian Arab Republic
  • SC, Security Council
  • SCI, Office of International Scientific and Technological Affairs, Department of State
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • SecGen, Secretary General
  • septel, separate telegram
  • Seven Sisters, a term referring to the closeness and cartel operations of British Petroleum, Shell, Exxon (Esso), Mobil, Standard Oil of California, and Texaco
  • Socal, Standard Oil Company of California
  • Sonatrach, Société Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la Transformation, et la Commercialisation Hyrocarbures (Algerian Government-owned oil company)
  • Spot price, one of the prices at which crude oil is sold, it constitutes the market price for oil sold on the open market by either companies or governments. In 1974 less than 1 percent of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries production was sold on the spot market.
  • SRG, Senior Review Group
  • subj., subject
  • subsidiary, a company fully owned by other oil companies
  • Tapline, Trans-Arabian Pipeline; Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company; Trans-Alaska Pipeline
  • TDY, temporary duty
  • telcon(s), telephone conversation(s)
  • Texaco, the Texas Oil Company
  • Tohak, series indicator for telegrams sent to Kissinger while away from Washington
  • TRV, Tax Reference Values
  • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State; Unclassified
  • UAE, United Arab Emirates
  • UAR, United Arab Republic (Egypt)
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UnSec, Under Secretary
  • upstream, activities associated with the production of crude oil, i.e., exploration, production, and transportation prior to refining
  • US, United States
  • USA, United States of America; United States Army
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USEC, United States Mission to the European Community
  • USG, United States Government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USIB, United States Intelligence Board
  • USINT, United States Interests Section
  • USN, United States Navy
  • USNATO, United States Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • USOECD, United States Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • VIP, very important person
  • VP, Verification Panel
  • WSAG, Washington Special Actions Group
  • WEC, Washington Energy Conference
  • Z, Zulu time (Greenwich Mean Time)