OIL: The Mysterious East

Between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, by the Persian Gulf, lies the "neutral zone"—a condominium of Arabia's King Ibn Saud and Kuwait's Sheik Sir Ahmad al Jabir-al-Subah. There, last week, business looked cracking good.

The American Independent Oil Co., which last year won the oil concession to Sheik Ahmad's half of the neutral zone (TIME, July 19), sent him a token of gratitude: a 195-foot diesel yacht, complete with 25-man crew, dishes, linen, and a sheep pen on the upper deck. "There's nothing elaborate about it," said American Independent's President Ralph Davies. "It's merely in good taste, and appropriate. He's the...

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