Cseh Valentin szerk.: „70 éve alakult a MAORT” – tanulmányok egy bányavállalat történetéből (2009)

Philip J. Mulhall: Standard Oil in Europe

reduce shipping costs. In 1886, a 100 metre long, 20,000-barrel paraffin tanker was launched. It was the first ship with tanks built right into its hull. In 1888, the Standard, the first all-steel tanker was built. In a few short years, the various Standard Oil companies owned 60 of these tanker ships. The products Standard Oil supplied were crucial for industrialisation - paraffin for lighting, waxes for candles, and then lubricants and fuels for vehicles and heavier fuel for ships. Standard Oil expanded in North America and to South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. In 1885, a sales office opened in Liverpool, England. In 1890, a German affiliate, DAPG, was formed as a joint venture between Standard Oil and German ship owners in Bremen. In 1891, SIAP, a Standard Oil subsidiary, was established in Venice, Italy. In 1893, Standard Oil was officially established in Norway, and in France. In 1901, a sales office even opened in Moscow. And in 1905 a refinery was constructed in Romania. However, this was subsequently destroyed in 1916 to prevent it falling into the hands of the Germans in World War 1. Back in New Jersey, by the early 1900s, Standard's Bayonne Refinery had become the world's largest. It processed petrol from crude oil, along with around 138 other products. Ready recruits for Bavonne's growing work force came from a few miles away in New York's Ellis Island, port of entry into the US for thousands of migrants seeking to become American citizens. At the turn of the 20th century, all of Standard Oil's production of crude oil came from North America. But more and more of its sales of finished products were in areas outside the U.S. In 1904, to help increase its supplies, and to reduce transportation costs, Standard Oil began exploring abroad for the first time - in Romania. Romano-Americana became the first foreign production affiliate outside of the US. By 1892, the Standard Oil organisation had grown to 20 companies. One key to its success was economies of scale. Large refineries were able to produce petroleum products from crude oil much more cheaply than smaller refineries. As a result, Rockefeller was able to operate profitably even as product prices declined dramatically The failure of many smaller businesses understandably made Rockefeller a target of criticism by unsuccessful competitors and later by reformers and politicians. It did not help that by the early part of the 20th century a very large proportion of the oil industry in the U.S. and, indeed, the world, consisted either of Standard Oil itself or companies controlled by Standard Oil. As Standard Oil grew larger, its great size and its "vertically integrated" organisation seemed threatening to some. In fact, for some years there had been political pressure to break up the large corporations, not only in oil but in other areas such as tobacco and paper. It is hard to imagine but large-scale business was new to Americans at that time, and many people feared this new development. Some even went so far as to view it as a threat to democratic government. One has to remember that government was much smaller then. President Theodore Roosevelt, for one, made his political reputation fighting the so-called "moneyed classes". John D. Rockefeller and his vastly successful company were prime targets for this political movement. An anti-trust suit was filed against Standard Oil in 1906, a suit that was finally resolved by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1911. The suit caused the dissolution oi Standard Oil and the creation of 34 competing oil companies. Within Standard Oil, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey had been the single holding company for the various Standard interests. With the dissolution, Standard oi New jersey