What were the risks and challenges faced by Socal in the early days of Aramco, and what was their solution? Socal faced the challenge of having to...

What were the risks and challenges faced by Socal in the early days of Aramco, and what was their solution?

Socal faced the challenge of having to meet the increasing production levels demanded by the Saudi government, while also having to move a great deal of oil into Europe.
The Trans-Arabian Pipeline, called Tapline, would have to traverse several political entities, some of them only just moving toward statehood, and the area looked vulnerable to Soviet subversion and penetration in those early days of the Cold War.
The King of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud, was in his mid-sixties, blind in one eye, and failing in health, and there was concern about what would happen to the kingdom after his death.
Socal's solution to these challenges was to pursue its own policy of 'solidification' and its drive to assure markets in other ways, by forming a broader joint venture with other oil companies, whose presence would add to the political density, and which could deliver capital, international expertise, and, especially, markets.