The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power

S1 · E1 — Our Plan

Season 1 · 8 episodesThe Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
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Episodes

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Our PlanE1 · 52 min

The discovery of petroleum gives rise to a new global industry. John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil grows into a monopoly. Muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell pulls back the curtain and reveals inconvenient truths about the robber baron.

Empires of OilE2 · 52 min

Oil is struck in Sumatra. Henri Deterding of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Marcus Samuel of Shell join forces and compete against Standard Oil. Oil is struck in Texas. Winston Churchill recognizes the strategic value of oil on the eve of World War I.

The Black GiantE3 · 53 min

Standard Oil's Walter 'The Boss' Teagle squares off against Calouste 'Mr. Five Percent' Gulbenkian, gatekeeper to Mideast oil. C.M. 'Dad' Joiner and Doc Lloyd strike oil in east Texas, sparking a boom that brings government regulation to the industry.

War and OilE4 · 53 min

The key but often overlooked role that oil played in World War II is examined and discussed by war veterans and military historians.

Crude DiplomacyE5 · 52 min

Mideast oil is declared the greatest prize in history, but a prize not easily won. Participants and historians discuss the wooing of Saudi Arabia's Ibn Saud, the creation of Aramco, and the postwar reality that petroleum is political.

Power to the ProducersE6 · 52 min

The story of oil in the 1950s and '60s. Italy's Enrico Mattei challenges the 'Seven Sisters.' Oil diplomacy in an increasingly volatile Middle East. The creation of OPEC in 1960. Cheap oil fuels America's car culture and suburban sprawl.

The TinderboxE7 · 52 min

The tumultuous years 1971 through 1991 saw shifting power in the oil industry as OPEC commandeered the driver's seat, sparking a global search for new oil sources. 'Oil as a weapon' results in the gas shortages of 1973 and '79.

The New Order of OilE8 · 52 min

Is oil a 'sunset industry'? A galvanized environmentalist movement and government regulation pose challenges to the oil industry. The oil industry presses ahead trusting in its customers' continuing love affair with their automobiles.

Up next·S1 E2

Empires of Oil

Oil is struck in Sumatra. Henri Deterding of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Marcus Samuel of Shell join forces and compete against Standard Oil. Oil is struck in Texas. Winston Churchill recognizes the strategic value of oil on the eve of World War I.

Continue the story

Episodes

Now playing
Our PlanE1 · 52 min

The discovery of petroleum gives rise to a new global industry. John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil grows into a monopoly. Muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell pulls back the curtain and reveals inconvenient truths about the robber baron.

Empires of OilE2 · 52 min

Oil is struck in Sumatra. Henri Deterding of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Marcus Samuel of Shell join forces and compete against Standard Oil. Oil is struck in Texas. Winston Churchill recognizes the strategic value of oil on the eve of World War I.

The Black GiantE3 · 53 min

Standard Oil's Walter 'The Boss' Teagle squares off against Calouste 'Mr. Five Percent' Gulbenkian, gatekeeper to Mideast oil. C.M. 'Dad' Joiner and Doc Lloyd strike oil in east Texas, sparking a boom that brings government regulation to the industry.

War and OilE4 · 53 min

The key but often overlooked role that oil played in World War II is examined and discussed by war veterans and military historians.

Crude DiplomacyE5 · 52 min

Mideast oil is declared the greatest prize in history, but a prize not easily won. Participants and historians discuss the wooing of Saudi Arabia's Ibn Saud, the creation of Aramco, and the postwar reality that petroleum is political.

Power to the ProducersE6 · 52 min

The story of oil in the 1950s and '60s. Italy's Enrico Mattei challenges the 'Seven Sisters.' Oil diplomacy in an increasingly volatile Middle East. The creation of OPEC in 1960. Cheap oil fuels America's car culture and suburban sprawl.

The TinderboxE7 · 52 min

The tumultuous years 1971 through 1991 saw shifting power in the oil industry as OPEC commandeered the driver's seat, sparking a global search for new oil sources. 'Oil as a weapon' results in the gas shortages of 1973 and '79.

The New Order of OilE8 · 52 min

Is oil a 'sunset industry'? A galvanized environmentalist movement and government regulation pose challenges to the oil industry. The oil industry presses ahead trusting in its customers' continuing love affair with their automobiles.