The Colonial Oil Craze

[Shtudmuffin]

1903:

-Oil reserves are discovered in Ottoman Libya, much to the excitement of the their leadership. Drilling is planned to begin soon. The Ottoman Empire's leaders are very pleased as they will now have a major boost to their economy.

-Construction begins on the Baghdad railway, intended to connect Anatolia with the Persian Gulf. The Ottoman Empire and Germany are both putting effort into the project, the latter because they want to establish friendlier relations with the Ottomans and need an alternate route to their East African colonies than the Suez canal.

-Colombia rejects the US proposal to lease land for the Panama Canal. This later leads to a US-sponsored uprising and the independence of Panama.

-The very first aircraft is flown by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in the USA.

-The leaders of Imperial Japan and the Empire of Korea sign the Eulsa Treaty, making Korea a protectorate of Japan. However, it is opposed by much of the Korean leadership.


1904:

-Drilling operations begin in Italian Libya.

-Russia completes the Trans-Siberian railway, linking its European territory with its Far Eastern ports and cities.

-The Russo-Japanese war begins. Tensions boiling over territory in the Far East lead to large naval and ground clashes around Korea and Machuria.

-The Entente Cordiale is signed by France and Great Britain, putting an official stamp on the peace that had existed between the two states since the ouster of Napoleon.

-The French discover large oil reserves in Algeria and West Africa (around modern day Niger OTL). Drilling efforts begin immediately.

-The Ottomans begin to divert their oil profits to the construction of the Baghdad railway. Refineries are constructed along the Libyan coast.


1905:

-Japan emerges as the victor of their war with Russia, gaining much territory and pride.

-HMS Dreadnought is laid down, sparking a large naval arms race between Europe's larger powers (as well as Russia, Japan, and the US).

-Oil drilling in Africa gives a boost to the economies of France and the Ottomans. The ports in Tripoli and Algiers are expanding rapidly as they are forced to be able to handle the large amounts of oil now leaving Africa for new refineries in France and Anatolia.

-The Ottomans begin plans for a railway to Libya. However, this may be an issue, due to the obstacle of Egypt (militarily controlled by the British). Thus, alternatives are searched for. In the mean time, however, it is the Ottomans goal to improve diplomatic relations to hopefully gain approval to build a railway.

-Other colonial powers, primarily Britain, Germany, Portugal, and Spain, begin searching through their African colonies for similar oil reserves, in the hopes that they can discover a lucrative source of oil. No luck is had between them so far, as no reserves are found.

-Italy, having claims to Libya, begins to look on with jealousy as the land below them is gaining much wealth for its owners.




A set of oil derricks in Libya built shortly after oil was discovered there.




HMS Dreadnought, soon after being launched.

[zeppelin247]

well think first main problem is Italy didnt own Libya in 1903, it was still Ottoman

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by zeppelin247

well think first main problem is Italy didnt own Libya in 1903, it was still Ottoman

Shit. Totally forgot about that. I'll fix it.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Shtudmuffin

1904:

-Drilling operations begin in Italian Libya.

I seem to remember that the oil fields weren't really commercially exploitable with turn of the century technolgy even if you discover them early. You might be better off looking at using the oil fields south of Mosul, although I can't talk to any serious details about them, which has a double bonus of being on the Baghdad Railway route.

[Cash]

Why the excitement over oil in 1903-05 when the demand hasn't yet materialized to make it as vital as it would become ten years later?

[Peg Leg Pom]

Warships. It's a lot more efficient to burn oil than coal. It's also a lot easier to handle, you don't have to have a whole ships crew slaving away for hours to fill the bunkers, you just conect the hoses and start pumping. Quicker to so you can have the ship back out on patrol rather than tied up alongside.

[King Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Cash

Why the excitement over oil in 1903-05 when the demand hasn't yet materialized to make it as vital as it would become ten years later?

Kerosene and industrial lubricants.

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by Simon

I seem to remember that the oil fields weren't really commercially exploitable with turn of the century technolgy even if you discover them early. You might be better off looking at using the oil fields south of Mosul, although I can't talk to any serious details about them, which has a double bonus of being on the Baghdad Railway route.

Why wouldn't the oil fields in Libya be exploitable at this time? Were they too deep to be accessed by turn of the century drilling tech? Or is there another reason? Also, I kind of preferred the oil fields in Libya be featured, as when Italy takes Libya, they'll be able to become a much more influential power as their colonial empire will be more lucrative.

[MattII]

If they're discovered in 1903-1905, then the Ottomans will hold onto the the place harder, and besides, the British and French will likely try for an invasion as well.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Shtudmuffin

Why wouldn't the oil fields in Libya be exploitable at this time? Were they too deep to be accessed by turn of the century drilling tech? Or is there another reason?

I think it was that they were too deep and would need to wait for new deep drilling techniques that were in our timelime not developed until the 1940s. At least that's what I seen to remember from the last few Italian Libya and oil threads here and on other sites, I'll have a dig and double check at some point tomorrow.

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by Simon

I think it was that they were too deep and would need to wait for new deep drilling techniques that were in our timelime not developed until the 1940s. At least that's what I seen to remember from the last few Italian Libya and oil threads here and on other sites, I'll have a dig and double check at some point tomorrow.

Ok, then we'll just pretend that some geological event in the past has allowed oil to seep closer to the top. Anywho, I'll start on the next 3 years of the TL.

[Cook]

Originally Posted by MattII

If they're discovered in 1903-1905, then the Ottomans will hold onto the the place harder, and besides, the British and French will likely try for an invasion as well.

Bit tricky that, holding onto a North African province when you’ve just done away with your navy.

[Flocculencio]

Originally Posted by Cook

Bit tricky that, holding onto a North African province when you’ve just done away with your navy.

He's right in that the Brits and French will probably muscle in. They might not colonise the place outright but they might well back some local strongman, set him up as King of Libya and use him as a puppet.

[Shtudmuffin]

1906:

-Britain completes the HMS Dreadnought, sparking a revolution in naval ship construction. They plan a sister ship for Dreadnought, named Victorious, to be constructed. Scrapping of older battleships of the Colossus and Admiral classes begin, as they are now considered obsolete.

-The Spanish discover oil in their Guinea territory. This excites the Spanish leadership. Construction on a large merchant fleet begins, and oil refineries are built all along the coasts of Spain and Spanish Morocco.

-The Netherlands discover oil in their East Indies colony. This spurs them to construct a major merchant fleet, similar to the Spaniards'. Refineries are built in Dutch ports and East Indies ports as well. Plans for a larger defense force are laid out, as the new oilfields and refineries will likely be a primary target for the growing threat of the Japanese.

-The French, curious towards the naval capabilities of Great Britain's unique battleship design, begin construction on a similar ship, the Redoutable.

-The Ottomans pour oil revenues into the construction of the Baghdad railway, expected to be completed around 1910 at the current rate.

-Towards the end of the year, oil prices drop due to increased production by the Ottomans and colonial powers.

-The United States begins construction on its first dreadnought-type battleships, the South Carolina class.



1907:

-Brazil orders 2 dreadnought battleships to be built in the UK; the first is laid down. This sparks a naval arms race in the South American continent between Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.

-Battleship construction continues in Great Britain. Germany begins construction on several of its own Dreadnought-type battleships, and France, finding itself impressed with the Redoutable, orders 3 more ships of the same design.

-France begins construction on a larger merchant navy. As opposed to having anticipated the influx of trade (which Spain and the Netherlands were doing), the French did not expect the amount of sea traffic to be as large as it turned out to be.

-Diplomats of Great Britain and the Russian Empire meet in St. Petersburg to discuss territorial matters in the Persian region. They eventually sign an agreement, equally dividing up their territories/spheres of influence in Persia and creating a buffer state in between.


1908:

-The colonial powers continue to search in vain for oil reserves of their own. However, Germany's efforts turn out to be unintentionally fruitful; various valuable minerals and metals (especially gold) are found to be present. This greatly pleases the Kaiser.

-Italy casts hungry eyes upon Libya, jealous of the vast oil wealth it is generating for the Ottomans. However, the Italians know that they cannot defeat the overwhelming Ottoman military presence sent there to defend the oil fields. Plans are conjured up to gain help.

-Russia, still reeling from the loss in the war with Japan, decides to rebuild its military (especially its navy) and seek to become dominant in the Far East again. The Russian leadership intends to build its first dreadnought battleships. The new Taganrog-class, similar in design to the French Redoutable (a modified, slightly larger version of Dreadnought herself but built in France and equipped with French weaponry) was to consist of 3 ships, and to be completed over the next 3 years. They are all laid down in November.




The USS South Carolina, America's first all-big-gun battleship (similar in design to Dreadnought).

[MattII]

Brazil can't construct dreadnoughts, hells, at this point she can barely buy them.

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by MattII

Brazil can't construct dreadnoughts, hells, at this point she can barely buy them.

But that's what she did in OTL. She ordered 2 dreadnoughts (both built in Britain) and the first one was laid down in 1907.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South...eadnought_race

[Richter von Manthofen]

Austria had no colonial interests and in 1900+ it would be too late to start.

Italy bit a chunk out of the Ottoman empire because it had easy access to the Med - Austrid did not have that.

If Austria had gone to war it would have first gone against Serbia or tried to bite a junk out of Albania/European Turkey.

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by Richter von Manthofen

Austria had no colonial interests and in 1900+ it would be too late to start.

Italy bit a chunk out of the Ottoman empire because it had easy access to the Med - Austrid did not have that.

If Austria had gone to war it would have first gone against Serbia or tried to bite a junk out of Albania/European Turkey.

Let's just say that Austria's seeing the true potential of colonies and is a bit jealous. And it's never too late to start if you have a large enough military.

[MattII]

Originally Posted by Shtudmuffin

But that's what she did in OTL. She ordered 2 dreadnoughts (both built in Britain) and the first one was laid down in 1907.

Yeah, but built in Britain, Brazil can't build her own warships at this point. The entry should read: Construction starts on the first of two Brazilian dreadnoughts in Britain.

[Shtudmuffin]

Originally Posted by MattII

Yeah, but built in Britain, Brazil can't build her own warships at this point. The entry should read: Construction starts on the first of two Brazilian dreadnoughts in Britain.

Ok, I'll fix that.