Evening star., 1941-08-25
The Race for Oil

Inc Vltal role played by oil, alike
In modern warfare and industry, is
strikingly illustrated by the current
struggle between Germany and the
Anglo Russian Allies throughout
Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
One of the main reasons why Ger
many attacked the Soviet Union was
to gain control of the latter's rich oil
resources, to supplement the insuffl-
cient supplies of oil produced within
the area already under German rule.
For Russia, retention of its oil fields
is equally vital, because not only
Russian industry but also its mech
anized agriculture runs largely on
oil. Lastly, Britain's fleets and
armies in the Near and Middle East
could not be maintained there with
out the abundant oil supplies OBJ
tanned from the extensive fields in
Iraq and Iran. 1t Is therefore i'm
portant to see just where the oil
fields in this disputed area are 10
Gated. and what is their relative
Importance.
Russia's richest Oil field is at Baku,
on the shore of the Caspian Seasjust
south of the Caucasus Mountains.
That is nearly 1000 miles from the
present German armies in the West
ern Ukraine. To reach Baku the
Germans would have to fight their
way across this vast stretch Of in
tervening country and cross the
Caucasus Mountain wall, which ex-
tends unbroken clear across from
the Black Sea to the Caspian.
However, the Germans would not
have to cross the Caucasus and take
Baku to get access to oil. North Of
the main range there are two oil
fields which, though not so extensive
as that of Baku, are of considerable
importance. One of these, at Mai
kop, is near the western end of the
Caucasus Range, and thus within
relatively easy access Of a German
drive to the Crimean peninsula and
through the Eastern Ukraine. The
other field, that of Grozny, lies east
ward near the Caspian. But since
the whole region north Of the Cau-
casus is open country with no nat
ural obstacles, a German drive which
reached Maikop should soon get to
Grozny as well. These fields are
already served by pipe line to the
Black Sea and the industrial region
of the Donetz Basin in the Eastern
Ukraine. Therefore the Germans
would find transportation an easy
matter.
The loss of all these Caucasian oil
fields, including Baku, would not de-
prive Russia of oil supplies. Still
other fields exist at the northern end
of the Caspian Sea and farther north
in the Urals, besides fields on the
eastern shores of the Caspian serving
its Central Asian provinces, and in
Siberia. Those fields would be
handily situated If the Soviet armies
should be expelled from European
Russia and be forced to wage war
from their Ural and Asiatic bases.
But of course Germany's oil famine
would be ended and its armies could
combat the Russians with ample
local supplies.
Britain's chief source of oil in the
Middle East is the great field in
Southwestern Persia, operated by the
Anglo-Persian Company, a British
corporation. The oil Is piped to the
port of Abadan on the lower Eu-
pirates near the Persian Gulf, where
it is refined and thus made imme-
diately available for use. The oil
fields of Iraq, whose product is piped
across the desert to the Mediter-
ranean, are secondary for Britain
to those of Persia, because there are
no local refineries. The crude oil
thus obtained is shipped to Egypt,
with the exception of an inconse-
quential portion which goes to one
small refinery at Haifa in Palestine.
That is why Britain must at all costs
control its. Anglo Persian supplies.
The Abadan reflneries are the key
to British power in the Middle East.