Zapata Petroleum
 Zapata Petroleum    | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 27 March 1953 |
| Founder |  George H. W. Bush |
| Type | front |
| A front company started by George Bush Sr. | |
Zapata Oil was an oil exploration business set up by George H. W. Bush which was never notably profitable in the usual commercial sense, and seems to have worked more as a front for a range of other operations.
Origins
The company was started with assistance from Allen Dulles and (fellow bonesmen) H. Neil Mallon and Bush's maternal uncle, Herbert Walker, an investment banker, who put up the capital. Walker was instrumental in bringing in others such as Eugene Meyer (owner of the Washington Post, who investments were handled by Brown Brothers Harriman). A CIA internal memo dated November 29, 1975 confirmed that Zapata Petroleum began in 1953 through Bush's joint efforts with Thomas J. Devine, a CIA staffer who had resigned his agency position that same year to go into private business, but who continued to work for the CIA under commercial cover.[1]
Operations
Zapata's "explorations" appear to have been lead more by deep politics than by commercial or geological factors.
By 1963, Zapata Off-Shore had four operational oil-drilling rigs—Scorpion (1956), Vinegaroon (1957), Sidewinder, and (in the Persian Gulf) Nola III.
Purposes
Zapata was never run primarily to make a profit, but more as a cover for intelligence agency operations. Russ Baker notes investors knew that their investment was appreciated by Bush's father, the influential Prescott Bush. A lot more details are available in Russ Baker's Family of Secrets.
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:George Bush and the CIA In the Company of Friends | article | 1992 | Anthony Kimery | An overview of Bush's CIA work and related business activity. |
References
- ↑ Withheld (sanitized, unclassified document), Central Intelligence Agency (November 29, 1975). "Memorandum: To: Deputy Director of Operations; Subject: Messrs. George Bush and Thomas J." NARA Record Number: 104-10310-10271.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
