My understanding of the history of the Nazi’s is that they fueled their war mostly with oil from Romania until they captured the Soviet oil fields in the Caucusus in ‘41 and ‘42. By late 1944, after the US had bombed the Romanian oil tanks and refineries at Ploesti, and after the Nazis were pushed out of the Caucusus, they refined enough oily shale—which they mined from within Germany itself—into motor fuel to supply their war effort, including the massive offensive in the Ardennes Forest (Battle of the Bulge). What happened to that technology? The Germans apparently mastered it in a matter of months. Compare that to Jimma Cawta’s multi-billion dollar Synfuels boondoggle.
There are ample opportunities for US eneregy independence at low prices if Democrats and their attendant enviromental extremists would step aside. High prices and limited access to resources are beneficial to them and their special interest political classes.
I thought they also got oil from coal. In fact that process is being used in certain places now.
Wartime necessity. Cost isn’t a factor when you need to keep your tanks rolling and planes flying. It wasn’t cost competitive.
Germany’s synfuel project was based upon coal so far as I recall...... South Africa has also done a lot in this area. It’s more expensive than getting it from the ground (if you have the oilfields to drill), but with the current price of oil maybe synfuel diesel from coal will become a big thing. Is anyone in the USA trying to do this yet?