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Oil is a resource in Civilization VII.
Strategy[]
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Civilopedia entry[]
Millions (and millions) of years ago, plankton died, sank to the ocean floor, and were buried under mud. As these deposits of organic matter descended deeper underground, they were subjected to intense heat and pressure, turning the bodies of these tiny creatures into a carbon slurry: petroleum. Oil – bitumen, pitch, tar (the latter two denoting wood-based resin as well as fossil fuel) – was occasionally used in ancient times as a waterproofer, road surfacing agent, medicine, or source of heat and light. Only through the development of refining technology, and the rise of the industrial age, did oil become the lifeblood of the great epoch of consumption and intensification. Its lubricating properties help machines run smoothly and for a long time. When burned – in a massive power station, an internal combustion engine, or a lamp – oil and its by-products (gasoline, kerosene, etc.) provide a ready source of power, one we have become reliant upon. Control over oil has been vital in nearly all 20th-century conflicts, from World War II (where resource-starved Japan sought to expand into oil-rich parts of Asia) to the Gulf War (where Iraq and the United States fought over Kuwaiti oil reserves). The consumption of oil has constructed our modern world and – with the carbon released into the atmosphere – heralded its end.
See also[]
- Oil in other games