Q&A · 2:22:32-2:22:54

The petroleum equivalent of Welsh steam coal

Texas light sweet crude was the leading 1914 comparison for high-grade Welsh coal, with useful Canadian and Middle Eastern oil also available.

Question

What was the 1914 petroleum equivalent of high-grade Welsh steam coal?

Short answer

Probably Texas light sweet crude, with good Canadian oil and Middle Eastern sources also part of the picture.

Notes

Texas light sweet crude was probably the leading petroleum equivalent of high-grade Welsh steam coal in 1914. Good Canadian oil and Middle Eastern resources also belonged in the comparison. Fuel quality mattered alongside gross volume because a navy or industry needed the right product rather than barrels of any crude. The answer maps part of the resource geography available to maritime powers before the First World War.