French oil sources during World War 2

[Admiral Bloonbeard]

During World War 2 from 1939-1945, where did France (and Free France) get their oil?

[EwenS]

A private French oil company owned 23.75% of the Iraq Petroleum Company from the 1920s. There were pipelines from the oilfields around Kirkuk in Iraq to refineries in Haifa in British controlled Palestine and Tripoli in French controlled Syria. AFAIK the pipelines operated throughout the war. Syria and the Lebanon were however invaded by Britain in June 1941 following the Iraqi Revolt in April that year.

So from June 1940 to June 1941 France would probably have had access to Iraqi oil.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkuk– ... l_pipeline
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Petroleum_Company

Other than that it would have been via open market purchases as it probably had been pre-war. Or at least under Vichy rule to Nov 1942. After that probably from German controlled supplies if they were willing to provide any.

[Loïc]

Tripoli is in Lebanon, not Syria

there is no more oil coming from the Kirkuk pipeline to Lebanon after july 1940 :
viewtopic.php?f=66&t=247127

[EwenS]

Oops! Need to brush up on my geography!

Thanks for the info about the Kirkuk-Tripoli (Lebanon) pipeline. Another piece in the WW2 oil jigsaw.

[Admiral Bloonbeard]

A private French oil company owned 23.75% of the Iraq Petroleum Company from the 1920s. There were pipelines from the oilfields around Kirkuk in Iraq to refineries in Haifa in British controlled Palestine and Tripoli in French controlled Syria. AFAIK the pipelines operated throughout the war. Syria and the Lebanon were however invaded by Britain in June 1941 following the Iraqi Revolt in April that year.

So from June 1940 to June 1941 France would probably have had access to Iraqi oil.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkuk– ... l_pipeline
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Petroleum_Company

Other than that it would have been via open market purchases as it probably had been pre-war. Or at least under Vichy rule to Nov 1942. After that probably from German controlled supplies if they were willing to provide any.

Where did Free France get their oil?

[Loïc]

From what I read before the war and until june 1940 France was greatly dependant from importations coming from the Americas (54%) from which United States for one third of the total and Venezuela maybe ~10%, as well the Middle East (45%) as already seen here,
it existed an old small national production on metropolitan France ~75 0000 t./year in Alsace, annexed de facto by Germany in 1940-1944

of course the wartime, then the german occupation and the british blockade cut these sources of supply
at such point that France passed from 8 293 000 tonnes of oil products of which 6 968 000 of crude oil in 1938 to only 300 000 in 1941, keeping the same level in 1945 (so losing ~96,4 % of the level of 1938)

after 1940 such greatly reduced oil source seems to come mainly from some North and Latin American deliveries from non-intercepted convoys able to reach the country, from neutral and French oil tankers not sunk or not caught by the air or naval forces of all the belligerants beginning by the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy, Japanese and Italians...
If I understand not impossible that even some Irakian oil via Haïfa and Suez Canal came given that the CFP (future Total Coy. and its afiliate CFR for refinery) kept its partnership and strong financial commercial interests with the British and Americans, all that with the agreement of Germans, it seems that concerning the oil industry of the Middle East between Germans British Americans French Dutch there was not really war in 1940-1945 business as usual, the CFR bought petroleum via the American Company Socony Vacuum,

[Admiral Bloonbeard]

From what I read before the war and until june 1940 France was greatly dependant from importations coming from the Americas (54%) from which United States for one third of the total and Venezuela maybe ~10%, as well the Middle East (45%) as already seen here,
it existed an old small national production on metropolitan France ~75 0000 t./year in Alsace, annexed de facto by Germany in 1940-1944

of course the wartime, then the german occupation and the british blockade cut these sources of supply
at such point that France passed from 8 293 000 tonnes of oil products of which 6 968 000 of crude oil in 1938 to only 300 000 in 1941, keeping the same level in 1945 (so losing ~96,4 % of the level of 1938)

after 1940 such greatly reduced oil source seems to come mainly from some North and Latin American deliveries from non-intercepted convoys able to reach the country, from neutral and French oil tankers not sunk or not caught by the air or naval forces of all the belligerants beginning by the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy, Japanese and Italians...
If I understand not impossible that even some Irakian oil via Haïfa and Suez Canal came given that the CFP (future Total Coy. and its afiliate CFR for refinery) kept its partnership and strong financial commercial interests with the British and Americans, all that with the agreement of Germans, it seems that concerning the oil industry of the Middle East between Germans British Americans French Dutch there was not really war in 1940-1945 business as usual, the CFR bought petroleum via the American Company Socony Vacuum,

Do you have sources for that?

[Loïc]

Not at lot and scattered, from the bottom to the top :
the activities of the CFP and relationships with anglo-saxons throughout the war Londres-Vichy Liaisons clandestines by Pierre Abramovici
the figures concerning oil sent to France from an other book Vichy année 40
the general considerations and datas about importations can be found on line here
https://www.persee.fr/doc/hes_0752-5702 ... _11_3_1645
https://www.persee.fr/doc/ingeo_0020-00 ... _16_2_1139

[CatalinaCyG]

In 1939-40 France also received oil from Romania. She controlled, via "Omnium français de pétrole" 29% of the company Columbia, and 12,5% of Steaua Romana. This is one of the reasons why France has delivered a large number of weapons to Romania.