Overview

The world as we have known it for the past century would have been very different without petroleum. Petroleum, particularly in the form of crude oil and its refined products, has been central to all aspects of modern industrial society and has been a major strategic geopolitical objective for nations. The 20th century was the age of oil, and at least part of the 21st century will be as well. Petroleum is used as an energy source and as a raw material for the production of an immense variety of chemicals and synthetic materials. Almost all the world's food relies on petroleum for fertilizer, pesticides, cultivation, or transport. Petroleum has been particularly dominant as a source of transportation fuels, an application for which cost-effective substitutes will be especially difficult to find. The Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry presents a concise but complete one-volume reference on the history of the petroleum industry from pre-modern times to the present day. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on companies, people, places, events, technologies, and phenomena related to the history of the world's petroleum industry. Anyone interested in the history, status, and outlook for the petroleum industry will find this book a uniquely valuable source.

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9780810859937

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as a starting point, this is a useful work and contains a very comprehensive bibliography broken down under headings such as general, statistics, individual countries, individual companies (see History of Royal Dutch Shell above) and biographies of major movers and shakers in the oil industry.--Williamson, Joan Reference Reviews

A comprehensive one-volume resource on the history of the petroleum industry from premodern times to today...This distinctive book will prove valuable to anyone with an interest in the petroleum industry's history, current issues, and outlook. Highly recommended for academic, research, and large public libraries. Library Journal This concise, well-organized dictionary by Vassiliou contains a wealth of information... Given the long history of petroleum, its continuing influence on nearly every facet of existence, and the major impact it likely will have in the future, this reference work will be useful for many disciplines and appropriate for a wide range of readers... Recommended. CHOICE The book is recommended as a reference or as a base for further investigation. The nontechnical language should enable readers of various backgrounds to benefit from the presentation. American Reference Books Annual This is a useful work and contains a very comprehensive bibliography broken down under headings such as general, statistics, individual countries, individual companies and biographies of major movers and shakers in the oil industry. Reference Reviews

Author Information

M.S. Vassiliou is an analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses with over 25 years of experience in R&D and technology management.

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