What was the 1914 petroleum equivalent of high-grade Welsh steam coal?
Short answerProbably Texas light sweet crude, with good Canadian oil and Middle Eastern sources also part of the picture.
NotesTexas 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.