ABSTRACT

Within the framework of the free world Europe occupies an essential role. Within the framework of the European economy, oil plays a vital role. Its availability in abundant quantities contributes significantly to the growing level of industrial production. Crude oil production in the free world, at 3.3 billion barrels in 1950, was double the 1938 rate. Moreover, the increase in production from 1946 to 1950—which amounted to about 910 million barrels—was almost equal to the current level of consumption in all areas of the free world outside the United States. In contrast to its position as a producer of only small quantities of crude oil, Western Europe has now a large proportion of the free world's oil-refining capacity outside the United States. The rapid expansion of European and world oil consumption and of the change in the direction of the international oil trade have required vast new investments by the companies which supply the European and world markets.