I think your question needs a bit more focus but I'll try to provide a brief overview here.
Oil is a relatively recent fuel in the history of civilization to be used on a mass scale although certain sources of petroleum were developed as far back as the 4th century. It was also used as something other than fuel before this time, further back in history (for example, in binding materials to make buildings).
The development of oil as a fuel source didn't really begin until the distillation process by which oil was converted into kerosene was "perfected" in 1847. After this, in 1859 Edwin Drake who was drilling for diamonds in Pennsylvania struck a "large" pool of oil (meaning that it was, for the first time, considered commercially viable - not because of the pool per se but because it had an already established downstream market, for kerosene). The Seneca Oil Company was formed in order to finance this venture.
The Seneca Oil well was not considered viable during its early phases until Drake's driller spied crude oil bubbling to the surface. This began a wildcat approach to drilling in the region. Unfortunately for Drake, he was unable to build upon his inventiveness as a business due to his relatively poor business acumen.
The next major phase of the oil industry came from Rockefeller's Standard Oil which was established in 1870 and ran through 1911 before the Supreme Court dissolved it under the Sherman Antitrust Act, dominating the oil industry for those 40ish years. The companies formed as a result of the dissolution of Standard were numerous, many of them continuing to carry the Standard name.
Later, some of these companies merged into various entities, the largest of which were called The Seven Sisters (mid-20th century). The Seven are often (in my opinion, incorrectly) called a cartel by many. Most of these companies have survived in one form or another and continue to dominate the landscape for independent oil companies.
The most significant shift of the last 30 years, however, has been the dramatic loss in power of The Seven. This has mostly come from the emergence of national oil companies that are owned by the country's government of which they are a part. These typically arise in countries that are net exporters of oil including Iran, Brazil, Norway, etc. although there are exceptions the most notable being BP. While the mid-70s saw about 80-90% of worldwide oil reserves controlled by the independent oil companies (such as Texaco or Exxon or Chevron), most oil in the world today is controlled by the nationals - nearly 93%.
In the US, many (frankly, ignorant) people believe that the US oil companies are trying to gouge consumers (in particular, with gasoline prices) the truth is that oil and its products are, in general, bought and sold in some of the most global markets in the world.
I hope this helps. None of this is a "secret". If you want to know something specific, I'd be happy to try that too.
2007-07-06 20:24:39
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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The Iraqi parliament won't be able to bypass this Hydrocarbon regulation, as proposed, and assume the government to stay in potential for long. The Iraqi human beings could be outraged. The regulation is offering long-term administration of the Iraq oil by using foreign places oil agencies and the criminal equivalent of production sharing agreements. No Iraqi government in its suitable concepts could desire to approve such an association. The regulation ought to be revised or a clean regulation could be drafted which will maintain administration of the Iraq oil interior the Iraqi government and replicate equitable cooperation with foreign places oil agencies. The Iraqi government ought to be engaged on that suitable now.
2016-11-08 09:25:21
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answer #2
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answered by deperte 4
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