Coal to oil and the post-war expansion of port and hinterland, 1945–1973

This chapter discusses how the transition to oil in the 1950s and 1960s necessitated the construction of a West European pipeline system, changing the Lower Rhine region fundamentally. Plans ranged from pipelines serving national demand individually to a pan-European system serving Western European demand collectively. The planning phase elucidated how the fate of the Lower Rhine region was dependent on the complex negotiations between transnational and national interests and actors. Ultimately, port improvement, economies of scale and the logistical preferences of multinational oil companies sustained the historically strong cross-border links in the Lower Rhine region.