“Red Oil” and Western Reactions: The Case of Britain

Abstract

When the Soviet Union re-entered the world oil markets as a major exporter in the late 1950s, there were mixed reactions in the West. While some feared that cheap Soviet oil would undermine the position of major Anglo-American oil companies in the Western European market, others saw “red oil” as a potentially dangerous political weapon to be wielded against Capitalism and the cohesion of the Western world. This chapter explores these divergent reactions in the British case. The UK government has been regarded as a leading opponent of Soviet oil exports during the late 1950s and 1960s, and as a strong supporter of British oil industry in the international market. However, as documents from British archives reveal, the British government was actually deeply divided, with strong arguments both for and against importing Soviet oil. In the end, these divisions allowed the Soviets to score a propaganda victory, even though the practical benefits for them turned out to be rather limited.