ABSTRACT
The actual transition from coal to oil transpired in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was largely rooted in the political decision to completely open the West German market up to foreign oil, which was an opportunity that was seized by oil companies and oil traders with a view to expanding their operations in West Germany. Shortages in both energy and foreign currency in the late 1940s required Western European countries to invest in oil refining capacity to substitute oil product imports for crude oil imports, which reduced the pressure on the scarcely available foreign exchange reserves. The dominance of heavy fuel oil in the production programs of the Rhine-Ruhr refineries subsequently opened West Germany up to large imports of light fuel oil and gas oil, which continued unabated throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The advantages of fuel oil over coal became particularly important in the home heating market.
