The Prize: An Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

The first wells and entrepreneurs are the foundation on which the enormous oil industry will be built.

Standard Oil, through the ruthlessness of Rockefeller, became a far reaching and monopolistic empire of oil

The introduction of the internal combustion engine and the expansion of roads across the country led to more demand on oil supply

Oil becomes a strategic resource in the Second World War, starting with a US embargo that cut off Japanese oil supplies after their invasion of Indochina

Following World War II and questions about future oil supplies, the Allied nations move towards friendly relationships with a growing oil power, Saudi Arabia

The growth of the suburbs and car culture was fueled by oil surplus and low prices, but those conditions were threatened as oil producing nations began to fight back against oil companies operating with impunity, culminating in the formation of OPEC

A conference in Tehran brings OPEC nations to the table with oil companies, allowing the nations to have a say in setting the price of oil. This power was used as a weapon in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, resulting in drastic cuts in oil production and an energy crisis in the United States.

As concerns of oil supply lead producers and politicians to look for other domestic oil sources, oil companies also face incredible environmental scrutiny after the Exxon Valdez tanker catastrophe