Oil Exports From Mediterranean Slump

BEIRUT, Sept, 4 (AP-DJ). - Arab oil exports from the east Mediterranean have been alashed by around 60 per cent in recent weeks, a senior executive of Arabian American Oil Co, (Aramco) told AP-Dow Jones.

Feisal al Bassam, the first Saudi Arabian to become vice-president of Aramco, which handies the bulk of Saudi Arabia’ s oil production, said pumping of Saudi crude oil throught the Lebanese terminal of Sidon is running at the rate of between 150.000 and 160.000 barrets a day, which is about 35 percent of capacity.

Other informed oil sources in Beirut said a similar drastic drop in throughput has been registered for Iraqi Kirkuk oil at the Tripoli terminal, formerly owned by the Western consortium Iraq Petroleum Co.

Current throughput of Iraqi crude oil to Tripoli is running at the rate of around 400,000 barrels cent a days, which is about 40 per cent of capacity, they said.

Tanker rates Cited

Mr. Al Bassam attributed the drop in the quantity of Saudi oil exports from Sidon to the drop in tanker rates. "It is now cheaper to export oil by tanker from the Saudi terminal of Ras Tanura," on the Persian Gulf, he said.

The same reason may be given for the drop in Iraqi Mediterranean oil exports. But Beirut oil sources said another reason may very weil be Inaq’ s new move to curb exports in order to reduce the overall supply in the world, and thus prevent a fall in the current prices of oil.

The full capacity of the 520-mile Kirkuk-to-Tripoli pipeline is 1,1 millions barrels a day. In contrast, the 1,070-mile trans-Arabia pipeline has a capacity of around half a million barrels a day.

The drop in Arab oil exports from the east Mediterranean comes only a week after disclosure that Saudi Arabia’ s oil production for August had been reduced.

Aramco, which accounts for the bulk of Saudi Arabia’ s oil output, had production of around 8 million barrels a day for Auguste , down 500,000 barrels a day from the July level of 8,5 million barrels a day, AP-Dow Jones Iearned.

Aramco attributed the drop to "weather conditions" at the port of Ras Tanura, which delayed tanker loading there during the month.

Beirut oil sources raticuled the "weather conditions" story and insisted the drop was ordered by the Saudi gouvernement.

One source argued : "If weather conditions were responsible for the drop in production, why didn’ t Aramco maintain its original production and increase, instead, its exports throught the trans-Arabia oil pipeline ?"

When asked about this, Aramco vice-president Al Bassam declined to confirm or deny the rumor. "I have no information about that whatsoever," he said.

Pact ou production

The Beirut sources assert that Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi had quietly agreed on a unified production and price policy to maintain current prices.

The agreement was the outcome of talks held by the four countries in recent weeks, the sources said.

NEW YORK, Sept, 4 (AP-DJ). - Clo. - Mcalpin, a Texas-born promoter who transferred his alling, offshore mutual fund operations to Costa Rica from Europe in the late 1960s, has run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC, after an intensive investigation, has accused him and others of a scheme to defraud the 16,000 public investors of Capital Growth Co.

Mr. McAlpin, who is about 37 years old, was charged in a civil suit filed in federal court hre yesterday with misappropriating the assets of Capital Growth and related companies through a series of self-dealing transactions, including elimination of an independent trustee and diversion of Capital Growth’ s marketable assets into closely held newly formed entities owned or controlled by Mr. McAplin and