The fact that the US, Australia and other countries have to send warships to the Persian Gulf to protect oil tankers from Iranian interference is yet another reminder that the Middle East is such a powder keg not just because of the rise of radical Islam but because of its vast oil and gas reserves. With the rise of the internal combustion engine in the 20th century, regions and countries that own substantial oil reserves have become strategic targets both in war and peace. One of the biggest problems for the Nazis during the Second World War – and the reason why they marched on Stalingrad and the oil fields in the Caucasus behind it – was that within the German occupied territories there were few oil fields. Coal, the fuel of the past, was abundant in the Ruhr area and in occupied France, but oil was only available in Romania.
The geopolitics of renewable energy
The geopolitics of renewable energy
The geopolitics of renewable energy
The fact that the US, Australia and other countries have to send warships to the Persian Gulf to protect oil tankers from Iranian interference is yet another reminder that the Middle East is such a powder keg not just because of the rise of radical Islam but because of its vast oil and gas reserves. With the rise of the internal combustion engine in the 20th century, regions and countries that own substantial oil reserves have become strategic targets both in war and peace. One of the biggest problems for the Nazis during the Second World War – and the reason why they marched on Stalingrad and the oil fields in the Caucasus behind it – was that within the German occupied territories there were few oil fields. Coal, the fuel of the past, was abundant in the Ruhr area and in occupied France, but oil was only available in Romania.