Energy Security During Ww2

Senator Everett Dirksen once noted “The oilcan is mightier than the sword”. In today’s world, it is easy to see why oil can be considered the most important resource to hold. Without oil, many of the common day occurrences we take for granted would be impossible. Oil is used for almost everything; from the fuel used to drive our vehicles, to the plastics used in every facet of life, and providing the heat needed to live through the winter. In fact, the United States depends so much on oil that as a nation it uses over 20 million barrels a day. Importing oil increases the total costs because of the need to transport it from around the world. It is estimated

The commanders of the Axis powers signed their surrender treaties as thirsty men. If a lack of petrol did not lose them the war, it certainly shortened if for them. As the Second World War was the first to incorporate planes, tanks and diesel powered warships on such a large scale, it is not surprising that oil was of massive importance. However, this essay will show that for the Axis powers, oil was not only a logistical necessity. But also a decisive factor in declarations of war, strategic decision making, objectives of campaigns as well as battlefield tactics. For readability, I will discuss

The widest of empires the world has ever known (Bardi, 104-105, 2014). When coal production dropped, so did the British Empire. On the other hand, before coal production disappear, a competitor emerged, crude oil. This discovery of crude oil sparked more disaster (naval warfare), as nations were at each other’s throat. For example, the Second World War was fuel by oil resources, the war planes, submarines, ships, and automobile you can think of was driven by crude oil (Bardi, 2014). The same goes on today. It seems to be a generational

Aside from causing a major shift in geopolitical power, WWII also solidified the integral role oil played politically in national security. However, following the war the United States was no longer the world’s largest oil producer

Oil was the key to world power for Britain (Kinzer 48). Britain realized, after discovering what turned into the Anglo-Iranian

Both events prevented the major powers from utilizing the carbon resources (Miller 74). He states that World War I was the “first carbon-fueled conflict”(Miller 68), drawing on the use of coal to fuel the factories that produced the weapons and ammunition as well as the food and clothing that were needed for the battles. Oil also played a role in the post-war politics as countries debated how to best maintain control of the areas where the resource was abundant. Miller expands these ideas as he explores the mechanisms used to maintain control of the areas where oil was found and transported. He introduces the concept of self-determination, or “consent of the governed” (Miller 78) and how this idea was used to maintain Imperialism by ascertaining that the less developed areas were not capable of governing themselves and needed the assistance of the European powers to do so (Miller 80). This viewpoint allowed Europe to remain a superpower in the years following the war despite the location of the oil reserves in the Middle

Oil was found at Masjed Soleyman in southeastern Iran on May 26, 1908, and three years later was piped down to a newly built refinery at Abadan on the Iranian side of the Shatt-Al-Arab, not many miles below Basra.1(Stephen, 1991) Its global importance eas immediately recognized, not just by the Admiralty in London, looking for new sources of supply for its oil-fired battleships, but in other European capitals as well leading to a brief British-German-Turkish skirmish for control of the pipeline at the start of World War 1.2(Wilfred, 2007) Oil was next found in the Persian Gulf, beginning with Bahrain in 1931; there were subsequent discoveries in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Trucial states, and Oman. By 1960 the smaller Gulf states were producing 15 percent of the world 's oil, with another 10 percent or so coming from Iraq and Iran.3(Longrigg, Oil in the Middle East) By 1970 this had risen to 30 percent.4(BP Statistical Review, 2006) The story of the discovery, exploitation, and importance of Middle Eastern oil has been told in many different ways, and from many different points of view. For some it has been a source of Western triumphalism as in the case of the Aramco story , in which brave Texas "pioneers" conquer the world 's last oil frontier.5(Wallace, 1971) For others, like the Arab novelist Abad Al-Rahman Munif, it is a tale of woe, as the lives of nomadic people are disrupted by the appearance of prisons and exploitative local officials.6(Cities of Salt, 1989)

Oil has been a coveted resource since the early twentieth century. Global oil powers are a major component of the world economy. For this reason predominant oil producers have experienced numerous power struggles and violent outbreaks over the years. Due to the newfound independence of many Middle Eastern countries in the 1960s, many rich oil fields were accessed for the first time, providing new competitors for the hegemonic American "Seven Sisters." Tensions rose between the United States and many Middle Eastern countries not only as a result of competition, but also due to several oil-related wars that broke out in the region. The years that encompassed the strained relationship between the U.S. and OPEC-involved countries proved to be a

The oil problem in Germany was very serious. After two years of war, the oil fields in Germany were getting sapped dry. Oil is a very important resource in war, as it powered all the tanks, jeeps, planes, and most mechanized transportation.

What the U.S. grand strategy should strive for is to conserve primacy as the leader in a monopolar world-order. Consequently, the U.S. energy independence affords it the flexibility to not only cut ties with Middle Eastern oil supply but compete directly with it. Oil imported from Canada or extracted by fracking the Marcellus shale within the U.S. provides a more reliable and secure supply than oil from the Middle East. Oil exports from North America could reduce European reliance on Russian oil supplies. This would strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) ability to contain Russian expansionism into Eastern Europe and preserve the monopolar status quo ante; however the U.S. is exhibiting signs of losing its ability to maintain

Even after the war, securing the future oil supplies was an economic objective that Great Britain desired in her postwar negotiations with France over the Middle East. Britain´s

As it is known, World War II went on between 1939 and 1945. Many would think that the export and production of oil would decrease, but the exact opposite happened. During World War II Egypt was close to almost doubling its output of oil despite the conflicts that were going on around the globe. Along with the great production and output of oil from Egypt, after World War II the success of oil discovery continued. “The first post-war exploration success came in 1946 when Anglo-Egyptian Oilfields Ltd. in partnership with Socony-Vacuum oil Co., struck oil in a wildcat well at Sudr, on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula” (Middle East Reservoir Review 23). This well soon proved to be crucial in the next two years after the war, it was

Like in many wars in history, “money,” “power,” and “oil” were the primary resources for combat and defense. However, out of the three, oil was the most important resource, causing many to seek its presence. Oil was not only for getting the engine started but also for getting the war done thoroughly and keeping the economy running. During World War II, oil became even more of a necessity putting countries at war. However, most importantly, oil became the decisive factor that determined the unfortunate and successful results of desperate, oil-seeking countries.

In the “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power,” Yergin undertakes the reader upon a thorough and enjoyable journey through oil history, from the first 1859 well drilling by Colonel Edwin in Pennsylvania during up to the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in a wrathful grab for oil and wealth in 1990 August. Yergin explores the role of oil in warfare, depicts the ever-changing organization of the oil sector, and examines the prominent, as well as often flamboyant petroleum players. The book is a well-researched and well-written, and supplement to a history branch, which until very lately, had been regrettably neglected—history of business.

Whilst it is no small task to accurately pick out the changes that came about as a direct result of the war, it’s obviously untrue to say that all changes that were implemented after the warfare were a consequence of this event. World War Two was indeed a pivotal point in Britain’s history, and it can be regarded as a watershed moment for Great Britain and her people based upon closer analysis of significant themes that changed Britain. The changes in these themes, which will be looked at throughout this essay, can now be viewed as the beginning of a new stage in development for Britain, which in turn marked a noticeable shift in the way her people lived. Historians have viewed these changes as an early contribution to what we now regard