The petroliferous basin, which extends from Persia to Mesopotamia, is one of the most extensive as yet discovered in the whole world. The great deposits reach as far as twenty miles to the north of Mosul. In the valley of the Naphat, the oil flows naturally into the river. At Hit, on the Euphrates, there are asphalt deposits which have long been exploited by the natives. And it is probable that this petroleum basin, which also includes Palestine,[49] continues through Syria right to the shores of the Mediterranean. Near Latakia (Laodice) there are asphalt beds, which the _Latakia Oil_, a British company, has been exploiting since 1915. On the eastern side of the Gulf of Alexandretta, the streams which flow down from Mount Alma bear traces of oil. Thus, it is not surprising that this region has aroused, and still arouses, so much covetousness among the Powers. As early as 1903, the _Imperial Ottoman Bagdad Railway Company_, the famous _Bagdad Bahn_, obtained the grant of the right of exclusive exploitation of all deposits found within a distance of fifty kilometres from its lines. Germany transferred this right to the _Turkish Petroleum_ when the latter company was created. The capital of the _Turkish Petroleum_ was, to begin with, 50 per cent. British; 25 per cent. German (_Deutsche Bank_); 25 per cent. Dutch (_Royal Dutch_). Germany's share has been handed over to France by Great Britain in order to obtain her support in the struggle against the United States. As the War broke out almost at once, the _Turkish Petroleum_ had not time to begin the exploitation of the oils of Mesopotamia. After the new King of Iraq has decided definitely what is to happen to them, it will take nearly five years to develop them fully. In 1914, an Anglo-German agreement had expressly recognized the rights of France in Asia Minor. These rights, moreover, were respected in all essentials in the agreements between France, Russia, and Great Britain, in 1915 and 1916, for the partition of Asia Minor. This latter, in March 1916, defined French and British zones and French and British spheres of influence. "In a letter of May 15th," wrote the reporter of the Public Works Commission, "Sir Edward Grey requested that, in the zone which was to become French under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, it should be understood that _all existing concessions_, navigation rights, and the rights and privileges of all British religious, educational and medical establishments would be maintained."