The film starts at the very beginning in the middle of the 19th century. Technical progress, economy, history, environment and geopolitical strategies are examined and analyzed in the telling of a story which is as exciting for man as his own evolution. The great figures of the epic of black gold, its greatest historical events will be met in real life and in archive footage from all over the world: (USA, Venezuela, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia).
A look at the oil industry in the years following the World War Two, in particular, the challenges the "majors" faced from the countries whose oil they had exploited. Key events in this turbulent period include Iran's nationalisation of oil output in 1951, and Egypt's blockade of the Suez Canal which restricted the delivery of oil to Europe in 1956. This is the second part of a five part series looking at oil from its beginnings in Pennsylvania, USA in 1859, to the days following WWII
We find out how OPEC came to understand the value of oil as a fearsome weapon against the West. The real rebellion took place in the early 60’s with the creation of OPEC, the brainchild of Juan Pablo Perez of Venezuela and Tariki of Saudi Arabia. Characterized as “an aggressive conglomeration of camel drivers’ emirates and banana republics” by the Washington Post in 1960, OPEC was expected to last only a few short years, but last it has. Their dream was to make Black Gold a means of development for the Third World. OPEC reached its peak of influence in the early 70’s with the admission of Libya and Algeria at the time of the Yom Kippur War when Black Gold shot up five times its existing price in a matter of months, throwing the world into financial turmoil…putting an end to 30 years of prosperity in Europe. There was an outburst of joy in the Third World, but that was to be short-lived.
OIL has changed the face of the earth, it has modeled man. Our history, our wars, our living conditions, our standard of living, our working hours, our politics, our basic needs, our lives are totally influenced by oil. We start at the very beginning in the middle of the 19th century. Technical progress, economy, history, environment and geopolitical strategies will all be examined and analyzed in the telling of a story which is as exciting for man as his own evolution. The great figures of the epic of black gold, its greatest historical events will be met in real life and in archive footage from all over the world: (USA, Venezuela, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia). The narration will be made by an informative commentary and the interviews of specialists. The oil fields will one day go dry. How is man preparing for this unavoidable change, will he be ready?