The Prize : War And Oil

Oil has often been referred to as any economy’s lifeblood. Although this is an overemphasis, oil has been the key, nonhuman resource of the economy throughout the largest part of the 20th century. In the book “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, And Power” by Daniel Yergin, the author illustrates the political, societal, economic, and geo-strategic importance of this product.

The two most important resources in this region are oil and water. The huge oil “deposits there and in the neighboring countries around the Persian Gulf (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain) established these countries as some of the richest in the world” (Document F). Nevertheless, the countries who do not have as much access to oil are weak economically. Oil is the biggest export in the Middle East, and in a way, the amount of oil a country has determines how wealthy that country will be. Another component of oil is that countries and ethnic groups are disputing for the control of prices of this economic resource. It has gone to the far extent of foreign countries attempting to control the oil price and also the use of weapons for this (Document E). In addition, it is impossible for each country to have equal access to water due to the unbalanced distribution of these essential resources. As a result of this, these countries are fighting for as much control of water sources they can get. Radically, there are many countries in the Middle East that are striving to obtain as many natural resources to strengthen their economy and lifestyle, and it seems most obvious that the scarcity of these resources is a significant problem in the region

World War II prompted U.S. leaders to pay greater attention to the oil resources of the Persian Gulf region, because in order to maintain its status as one of the global elites in oil in the case of a domestic shortage, the United States needed to secure an available foreign oil source during the war.

There were 3 main reasons oil brought about social changes, but which were the most important?

Oil was very important during this war because technology was evolving a lot and it was needed for guns, weapons, transportation. There was a “severe shortage developed in 1917-18”(doc 7). This was because it was all being used a lot so this caused France and Britain to want to take control of the Middle East a lot. Oil was in very high demand and they both needed a lot of it for the war and even technology out of the war too. In document 8, it is made clear that as the Ottoman Empire collapsed Brittan already was moving into taking control because of this same reason for the oil and resources. The reason this happened was because Britain had already realized before they would be needing more oil and wanted to take control right away. The chart in document 9 showed that as the timeline got to the 1900’s the consumption of oil shot up a crazy amount. This is as result of the war and all the new technology because of it. So a huge reason the Middle East got affected so much was because of their oil they

After Hitler appointed Speer as Armaments Minister in 1942, production of ammunition increased by 97%, tank production increased by 25% and production of guns increased by 27%. His role as Armaments Minister led the production of slave labour by 100% between 1942 and 1944, and under his direction, economic production reached its peak in 1944. This in turn, led to the belief stated in The Chronik written by Albert Speer and Rudolf Wolter’s that Speer had extended the war by 2 years. “I prolonged that war by many months.” Speer, had been the coordinator of slave labour camps and factories. One of the most significant had been The Dora Missile Factory, a slave labour factory used in the creation of rockets. The Dora Missile Factory had held around 60,000 Jews, 30,000 of which died throughout their time there. On December 10th 1943, Albert Speer visited the factory. Speer had admitted that the scenes at Dora had appalled him: “The air in the cave was cool, damp, and stale, and it stank of excrement. The lack of oxygen made me dizzy too.” Therefore, Speer’s position as Armaments Minister impacted not only Germany, but the Jewish population and the

The U.S. should invest in alternatives to oil, and drill on the United States grounds because it will assist the economy, preserve energy and fix the world’s environmental problems. The supply and demand for oil is always on the rise, and problems are contemplated with the use for oil. Those problems are starting to catch up to the modern world, and something needs to change before the world enters a black out. Experts can predict that there is estimated to be somewhere around 61 years of oil left for us to use at our current rate. The demand for oil is always rising. People in today’s modern society rely so heavily on oil, that they would not know what to expect if it

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

By September 1944, the monthly synthetic oil production had fallen to 17,000 tons (from 316,000 tons at the beginning of the year). This had a significant impact because it cut off basic resources to the public. By the end of 1944, Germany was mostly relying upon stockpiled fuel. By late 1944, bombing was relentless, and Germany was practically defenceless to the air attacks. Transportation, particularly the railway system, had been destroyed, the number of freight car journeys were reduced to half that of the previous year, steel production had fallen by 80% in the Ruhr and by 1945 German weapon’s production had been reduced to around 25% of what it was before. This was of huge significance towards the end of the war in significantly shortening the war. However the economic effect of bombing was counterproductive before

Middle East is strategically important region where mostly world half of oil reserves are located. Three countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran and United Arab Emirates accounted for 57% of total Middle East liquids fuels production. (Liquid fuels production in Middle Eastern and North African countries n.d.) Although due to increased domestic production of petroleum and natural gas, the United States is reducing its dependence on foreign oil with imported liquid fuels, but still oil means a lot to the US as oil prices is determined internationally by what is available for all global consumers. Therefore, to safeguard the security of Oil supply in the Middle East and ensure stable access to affordable oil is in the vital interest of the America. (Mexican crude oil shipments to Europe and Asia are rising as U.S. imports fall

This historical investigation is focused on two areas, firstly to what extent and impact did the great Nazi engineer Ferdinand Porsche had on Germany's effort to gain power throughout history. A critical analysis of the actions of Ferdinand Porsche and the Porsche company during the rise and fall of the Nazi empire during 1933 to 1945 in Germany and Europe will be looked at. Secondly, to what extent was Porsche’s products & engineering to blame for this fall. However the German economy had already bled out and could not survive even though they had the brilliance of Ferdinand Porsche and his engineering on their side. This historical investigation has found clearly that Ferdinand Porsche did indeed have a great impact on Germany’s efforts and

Conflict over energy resources—and the wealth and power they create—has become an increasingly prominent feature for geopolitics particularly in the Middle East . The discovery of oil in the late nineteenth century added a dimension to the region as major outside states powers employed military force to protect their newly acquired interests in the Middle East. The U.S.’s efforts to secure the flow of oil have led to ever increasing involvement in the Middle East region’s political affairs and ongoing power struggles. By the end of the twentieth century, safeguarding the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf had become one of the most important functions of the U.S. military establishment. The close relationship between the United States and the Saudi royal family was formed in the final months of World War II, when U.S. leaders sought to ensure preferential access to Saudi petroleum. The U.S. link with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region has demonstrated to be greatly beneficial to both parties, yet it has also led to ever deepening U.S. involvement in regional politics.

The Importance of Oil in U.S. Foreign Policy During the oil and energy crisis of the mid-1970s Americans became painfully aware of the consequences of the United States dependence on foreign sources of oil. Unfortunately, research and exploration for alternative sources of oil in North America has not been pursued vigorously enough to cease such foreign dependence. As a result, in the mid-1990s Americans find themselves in the same precarious position as they were during the 1970s. The Persian-Gulf War in 1991 was all the proof needed to convince the United States of how strongly oil still influences our foreign policy and international relations in general. Oil and U.S. Foreign Policy: Historical Issues The United

The ambition of the often autocratic leaders to acquire more land, which may bring them access to oil, water or arable land. The problem according to Sørli et. al is “scarcity” and “abundance” (147). Water is scarce, and oil is in abundance, but the access to both is limited. According to our text, the new “water wars” have emerged as a major source of conflict, in addition to the “oil wars” (Anderson et. al, 226). Water is scarce in the Middle East, and will continue to dwindle as the population rises. Not every country has the same access to the water sources, which will naturally cause problems. For example, Israel has control of the Golan, and Egypt of the Nile, and Kuwait of the Persian Gulf. Oil is in abundance, but only to a limited number of countries in the Middle East causing great economic disparity between those who have, and those who do not. Kuwait, having access to the Persian Gulf, produces a large supply of oil to international players. Given its high value internationally, and its worth, oil is much sought after.

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.