Business and Energy

Global energy is and always has been, highly controversial, particularly since the world converted from locally supplied coal in the 1950s to dependence on oil from the Gulf. The shift occurred swiftly. Changes in US tax incentives in 1958 encouraged the oil majors to increase their liftings from the oil-rich region of the Gulf and the Middle East. In Europe, the port at Rotterdam became the hub of tanker traffic for imported oil as a main energy source. Primary energy imports to Europe in the 1960s rose by a multiple of four, displacing indigenous coal resources. Consumer prices were kept low, through the oligopolistic structure of the oil market, dominated by the seven major Anglo, Dutch, and US companies, with extensive downstream facilities in Europe.