Mon Dec 2 12:20:36 EST 2002
----------------- EH.NEWS POSTING -----------------
Call for Papers: A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES
>From the interwar period to the end of the 20th century 27th and 28th
November 2003
There can be little doubt that oil is far more than a mere hydrocarbon: a
development factor; an essential element in the balance of energy
resources; a strategic weapon; an unequally distributed resource. Over more
than a century, it has demonstrated its importance, both during periods of
crisis or rapid growth. This finite, non-renewable resource, still manages
to be an infinite source of contention, being at the center of many of the
current debates concerning pollution and the environment. Unsurprisingly,
few countries have ever let free market forces entirely shape the
development of their national demand for, and supply of, oil. Whether
visible or hidden, the hand of the state has been active in several
countries, its means and methods varying according to the aims and
requirements of the time. In this respect, were not the national oil
companies themselves developed to confront and resist the power of the
Majors? Examples of national concerns can be found just as often in Western
Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Belgium.) as in certain developing
countries (Algeria, Mexico, Brazil, Iran.) In developing their national
resources, while these companies may not have shared the same destiny as
the Majors, they have, to some extent, influenced the rules of the oil
game.
The task of historians, in this as in other fields, is to explain, to
diffuse and to put into perspective the history of the petroleum industry.
The archives are open, the works accumulate, and the research continues.
However, the history of the French oil industry remains a comparatively
under-explored topic compared with the progress made in other countries, in
particular those hosting Majors. Nonetheless, in addition to the pioneering
research of André Nouschi, recent work (with the material assistance of the
current single French national, and previously, several separate oil
companies) has shed a great deal of light on the development of this
industry in France. It is with the intention of furthering these recent
developments in the field that we are organizing a conference on "National
Oil Companies", which will focus largely, but not exclusively, on Western
Europe. Europe as an area of high consumption and low production(apart from
the oil production in Romania, Galicie and later the North Sea) has managed
- through individuals such as Pierre Guillaumat and Enrico Mattei- to alter
radically the topography of the international petroleum market by
inaugurating new relations with a select number of producer countries. With
the exception of the Majors, however, we will not be concentrating directly
on the "Independents" during this symposium.
What remains of the political ambitions that once gave birth to the
national oil companies at the time of the great capitalist concentrations?
Can the " national " model (to the extent that we can speak of a model) be
a perennial reality or will it, by necessity, be consigned to the dustbin
of history? Is a typology of the national oil industry possible? And is it
practical? The proposed conference will investigate the studies and
conclusions of a variety of researchers (mainly though not exclusively
historians) concerning the politics of the public petroleum industry as it
has developed over the last century. The themes which we will consider will
include:
* Management of the Nationals (the leaders, the personnel, the distribution
of capital.)
* Political strategies:
- State powers: national legislation, forms of protectionism, interventionist and
liberal phases.
- Goals: national independence, the exploitation and regimentation of countries'
resources (prospecting, industrial diversification.).
* Major events and their consequences (wars, international crises, internal
crises.)
* The international environment (relations with the other Nationals, with
the Majors, with the independents, and with the producer countries.).
Conference proposals should be sent to Alain Beltran (details below). They
must include a brief C.V. and a short summary (1 page) in English or in
French. A committee has been established and charged with the review and
selection of the conference papers. Another committee, based in the
"Institut d'Histoire du Temps Present" (CNRS), will take care of the
organization and the general running of the conference. The conference will
be held on the 27th and 28th of November 2003 and will be conducted in
French and English. The organizers will cover accommodation expenses and,
as far as they are able, travel costs. The proceedings will be published
soon after the conference.
Please send proposals to:
Alain Beltran
Directeur de recherche au CNRS
Institut d'histoire du temps présent (CNRS)
61 avenue du Président-Wilson
94 235 Cachan cedex, France
<beltran at ihtp.cnrs.fr>