Event
FTC staff report on the international petroleum cartel, 1952
A staff report to the Federal Trade Commission, released in a redacted form on 22 August 1952, named seven international oil companies, three of them pieces of Standard Oil, and said they operated through layers of jointly owned subsidiaries. Its own disclaimers called it merely descriptive.
- Dates
- 22 Aug 1952
- Too Big to Fail20 scenes
- How are FTC staff report on the international petroleum cartel, 1952 and … connected?
The seven were Standard Oil (New Jersey), Standard Oil of California, Socony-Vacuum, Gulf and Texaco, with the British-Dutch Anglo-Iranian and Royal Dutch-Shell. The report concerns the world market, not the United States alone, and says it contains no recommendations.
Connections 5
involved
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission its staff wrote the report Primary record 1
- U.S. Senate its Select Committee on Small Business released the redacted report Primary record 1
- Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) one of the seven; a successor of a Standard Oil piece Primary record 2
- Standard Oil Company of California one of the seven; a successor of a Standard Oil piece Primary record 2
- Standard Oil Company of New York Socony-Vacuum, one of the seven; a successor of a Standard Oil piece Primary record 2
Timeline 1 date
- 22 Aug 1952 FTC staff report on the international petroleum cartel, 1952
Proof 2 sources
-
FTC Milestones: Cold War chills report on International Petroleum Cartel, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 17 Dec 2014.
Primary record
seven international companies operate through layers of jointly owned subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Through this corporate complex of companies, they control not only most of the oil but also most of the world’s foreign petroleum refining, cracking, transportation, and marketing facilities.
On August 22, 1952, Senator John Sparkman, chairman of the Select Committee on Small Business, released the redacted version of the report as a committee print rather than an FTC publication.
-
The International Petroleum Cartel: Staff Report to the Federal Trade Commission, submitted to the Subcommittee on Monopoly of the Select Committee on Small Business, U.S. Senate, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 22 Aug 1952.
Primary record
Standard Oil Co. (New Jersey), Standard Oil Co. of California, Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., Gulf Oil Corp., and The Texas Co.
Page history 3 changes
- Second revision of Too Big to Fail: the FTC's 1917 finding, the 1952 report's seven firms, the 1984 hearing record, and corrected cards for Spirit, beef, tickets, Google and the final verdict05663c47
- Revise Too Big to Fail after the skeptic's review: read to 2 November 2026, a verdict card that separates findings from shares, the 1929 fight with its scandal and the board's stand, and sources for every cardc819f2cb
- Add the story Too Big to Fail: Standard Oil's stockholders, the phrase's origin in 1984, and market-by-market cases to November 2026aa9c434d
Something wrong or missing? Tell us, with a source, or edit this page.