‘He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.’

The story of Oil will bring you closer to finally answering the question how the world really works…...three men had an appointment at Achnacarry Castle on August 28, 1928, in the Scottish highlands – a Dutchman, an American and an Englishman. The Dutchman was Henry Deterding, a man nicknamed the ‘Napoleon of Oil’, having exploited a find in Sumatra. He joined forces with a rich ship owner and painted Shell salesman and together the two men founded Royal Dutch Shell. The American was Walter C. Teagle and he represents the Standard Oil Company, founded by John D. Rockefeller at the age of 31 – the future Exxon. Oil wells, transport, refining and distribution of oil – everything is controlled by Standard oil. The Englishman, Sir John Cadman, was the director of the Anglo-Persian oil Company, soon to become BP. On the initiative of a young Winston Churchill, the British government had taken a stake in BP and the Royal Navy switched its fuel from coal to oil. With fuel-hungry ships, planes and tanks, oil became “the blood of every battle”. Al Jazeera brilliantly made a four-part series called ’The Secret of the Seven Sisters’ (TRAILER).The series reveals how a secret pact formed a cartel that basically controls the world’s oil. Throughout the region’s modern history, since the discovery of oil, the Seven Sisters have sought to control the balance of power. They have supported monarchies in Iran and Saudi Arabia, opposed the creation of OPEC, profiting from the Iran-Iraq war, leading to the ultimate destruction of Saddam Hussein and Iraq. At the end of the 1960s, the Seven Sisters, the major oil companies, controlled 85 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Today, they control just 10 percent and 3% of the reserves so the balance has shifted. The new Sisters are Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, Russia’s Gazprom, China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with its subsidiary, Petrochina, Venezuela’s PDVSA, Iran’s National Oil Company (NIOC), Brazil’s Petrobras, a leader in deep water oil production and Malaysia’s Petronas. New hunting grounds are therefore required, and the Sisters have turned their gaze towards Africa. With peak oil, wars in the Middle East, and the rise in crude prices, Africa is the oil companies’ new battleground. In the Caucasus, the US and Russia are vying for control of the region. The great oil game is in full swing. Whoever controls the Caucasus and its roads, controls the transport of oil from the Caspian Sea. Tbilisi, Erevan and Baku – the three capitals of the Caucasus. The oil from Baku in Azerbaijan is a strategic priority for all the major companies. A-ONE-NOT-TO-MISS! WATCH ALL 4-PARTS HERE!  Also recommend Daniel Yergin’s ‘bible’ book aka the definitive history of the oil industry ’The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power’ (AMAZON) And the six-hour documentary television series titled ‘The Prize’ (VIDEO), narrated by Donald Sutherland. (photo credit Al Jazeera)