Oil For Britain

Geological Society Memoir 52 records the extraordinary 50+ year journey that has led to the development of some 458 oil and gas fields on the UKCS. It contains papers on almost 150 onshore and offshore fields in all of the UK’s main petroliferous basins. These papers range from look-backs on some of the first-developed gas fields in the Southern North Sea, to papers on fields that have only just been brought into production or may still remain undeveloped, and includes two candidate CO2 sequestration projects. These papers are intended to provide a consistent summary of the exploration, appraisal, development and production history of each field, leading to the current subsurface understanding which is described in greater detail. As such the Memoir will be an enduring reference source for those exploring for, developing, producing hydrocarbons and sequestering CO2 on the UKCS in the coming decades. It encapsulates the petroleum industry’s deep subsurface knowledge accrued over more than 50 years of exploration and production.

The period from 1957 to 1988 was transformative for the international oil industry. The United Kingdon, home to two major oil companies, British Petroleum (BP) and Shell, as well as the possessor of large quantities of oil and gas in its territorial waters, was at the heart of this transition. While famous for its liberal policy toward oil and gas production, both before and after the discovery of North Sea oil and gas, this period actually saw the United Kingdom respond to shifts in power from the major oil companies to the oil-producing states, many of them in Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC), by building up its competency regarding oil matters. This took the form of efforts to influence the activities of BP and Shell abroad as well as in creation of a state-run oil company, the British National Oil Corporation, in an attempt to exercise greater state control over oil and gas production and distribution. The failure of these efforts was driven in part by internal divisions within Whitehall, the efforts of the oil companies themselves, and ultimately the political will of the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher to get the state out of the business of oil and gas.

"The period from 1957-1988 was transformative for the international oil industry. As the home to two major oil companies, BP and Shell, as well as the possessor of large quantities of oil and gas in its territorial waters, the United Kingdom was at the heart of this transition. While famous for its liberal policy towards oil and gas production, both before and after the discovery of North Sea oil and gas, this period actually saw the United Kingdom respond to shifts in power from the major oil companies to the oil-producing states, many of them in OPEC, by building up its competency regarding oil matters. This took the form of efforts to influence the activities of BP and Shell abroad as well as in creation of a state-run oil company, the British National Oil Corporation, in an attempt to exercise greater state control over oil and gas production and distribution. The failure of these efforts was driven in part by internal divisions within Whitehall, the efforts of the oil companies themselves, and ultimately the political will of the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher to get the state out of the business of oil and gas"--

This book charts the story of the raw material that shaped the world's history in the twentieth century, and with it the development of modern Britain. Ranging from the first explorations, through oil-fuelled wars and environmental crises, this book examines the strategic, economic and social importance of oil. Until the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, Britain had virtually no known oil reserves yet by the early twentieth century British companies were producing oil across the Middle East, Russia and America. How did that happen and why have British companies remained internationally important ever since? How have British domestic and foreign policies been dictated by oil? And how have the government and oil companies reacted to the growing importance of environmental issues? From Suez and the 1973 Arab oil embargo to the wrecking of the Torrey Canyon and climate change, this is a comprehensive survey of modern Britain, oil and world history.

Ths book examines the efforts made by the British government of the period to lessen its dependence on American oil supplies, the emergence of Venezuela as the largest single British oil supplier in the early 1930s, and the changing structure of the oil industry both in the US and Europe. It draws almost entirely on primary sources.

This comprehensive history of British Petroleum has been based firmly on the evidence from contemporary records.

Miller examines Britain and Japan’s involvement in the Middle East peace process after the October War of 1973 and how it contributed to the resolution of the oil crisis of 1973–74. Using important primary sources from Japan, Britain, and the United States—including recently declassified Japanese documents that had not previously been examined—this book contends that previous literature failed to address the important role of Britain and Japan and their political impact on the development in the historical events of 1973 and 1974. The two countries threw their support behind the United States, backing its policies regarding not only oil but also the Arab‐Israeli conflict. This enabled the United States to take the lead in the peace process as well as in discussions to resolve the energy crisis, which eventually led to the establishment of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Accordingly, this book challenges the accepted view that neither Anglo‐American nor US‐Japanese relations were important factors in the development of the abovementioned processes. An insightful and illuminating read for scholars of the diplomatic history of the 1970s, and especially the complex web of tensions spanning from the Arab‐Israeli conflict and between Arab oil‐producing countries and developed consumer countries.