Strategic Raw Materials and Oil Production
in the Second World War

Strategic raw materials and oil production in the Second World War

Overview of the global production of the vital strategic raw materials, without - more or less - no modern arms industry could be possible, or at least only with great disadvantages.
As well, the motorized warfare with air support and naval power is not possible without adequate fuel supplies.

Picture: the most important German oil resources were the Ploesti oilfields.

Global distribution of production of vital strategic raw materials (in per cent for 1937)

	Coal	Iron ore	Copper ore	Lead ore	Tin ore	Zinc ore	Nickel ore	Bauxite	Manganese ore	Tungsten ore	Chrome ore	Molybdenum	Sulphur	Pyrites	Phosphates	Potash	Magnesite	Rubber	average share in per cent (excluding oil)	Oil	approx. 'Victory Points' (VP) for WW2 Total in 1937
Total world production (in millon metric tons)	1,247.4	98.0	2.3	1.7	0.2	1.9	1.1	4.0	3.0	0.2	0.6	0.016	3.4	10.6	14.5	3.2	1.8	0.92		272.0
U.S.A.	34.2	38.0	32.4	24.7	-	30.6	0.2	10.7	0.7	8.8	0.2	92.5	81.9	5.6	29.8	8.1	10.6	0.1	22.7	60.4	53
USSR	9.3	14.3	4.0	3.3	-	3.8	1.8	6.2	40.5	?	15.3	-	-	5.8	24.5	7.3	27.2	-	9.1	10.6	35.5
UK	18.6	4.4	-	1.6	1.3	0.4	-	-	-	0.4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.48	-	3.5
Canada	-	-	10.2	10.9	-	9.1	89.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6.65	-	16
Australia	-	-	-	14.7	-	11.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3.1	-	1.61	-
India	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	17.9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.99	-
Malayia	-	-	-	-	27.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	41.2	3.83	-
Burma	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.85	-
South Africa	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.0	-	12.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.21	-	3
Rhodesia	-	-	10.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	22.9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.86	-	4
Britiish Guiana	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.51	-	1
Cyprus	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7.3	-	-	-	-	0.41	-	1
South Pacific															8.7	-	-	-	0.48	-
Iran and Iraq (British occupied)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5.4
Rest of British Empire	5.0	5.9	4.0	7.9	11.3	7.7	1.1	0.9	9.7	7.1	5.5	0.2	-	1.9	-	0.6	2.9	11.0	4.71	2.0	11
British Empire Total	23.6	10.3	24.8	35.1	40.4	28.3	90.6	10.0	36.6	22.8	41.2	0.2	-	9.2	8.7	0.6	6.0	52.2	24.48	7.4	39.5
France	3.4	11.7	-	0.3	-	-	-	17.2	0.1	-	-	-	-	1.4	0.7	15.5	-	-	2.79	-	9
Morocco, Tunisia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	22.5	-	-	-	1.25	-	4
Indochina	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6.4	0.36	-
New Caledonia	-	-	-	-	-	-	4.3	-	-	-	4.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.47	-
Rest of French Empire	0.2	1.8	-	2.0	1.1	0.9	0.1	0.2	0.3	1.8	-	0.6	-	0.4	5.8	-	-	0.3	0.75	-
French Empire Total	3.6	13.5	-	2.3	1.1	0.9	4.4	17.4	0.4	1.8	4.1	0.6	-	1.8	29.0	15.5	-	6.7	5.73	-	13
Netherlands	1.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.06	-	1
Dutch East Indies	0.1	-	-	-	17.5	-	-	14.8	0.2	-	-	-	0.4	-	0.9	-	-	33.0	3.72	2.7
Italy	0.1	0.5	-	2.0	-	4.3	-	9.6	0.4	-	-	-	-	8.6	-	-	0.2	-	1.43	-	5.4
Greater Germany (including Austria and Czech Protectorat)	15.3	4.1	1.3	5.4	0.1	9.4	-	2.3	8.4	-	-	-	-	4.2	-	61.5	27.9	-	7.77	0.2	25.5
Norway	0.1	0.7	0.9	-	-	0.5	0.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	9.9	-	-	0.2	-	0.73	-	2.4
Sweden	-	9.3	0.3	0.5	-	1.9	-	-	0.1	0.4	-	-	-	1.6	-	-	-	-	0.78	-	2.5
Hungary	0.1	0.1	-	-	-	-	-	13.3	0.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0.77	-	2.9
Yugoslavia	-	0.3	1.7	4.2	-	2.6	-	8.9	0.1	-	4.8	-	-	1.3	-	-	3.9	-	1.54	-	5.9
Rumania	-	0.1	-	0.5	-	0.4	-	0.3	0.6	-	-	-	-	0.1	-	-	-	-	0.11	2.4	0.4
Greece	-	0.1	-	0.4	-	0.5	0.9	3.4	0.2	-	3.4	-	-	1.9	-	-	6.6	-	0.97	-	3.2
Turkey	0.2	-	-	0.4	-	0.6	-	-	-	-	16.3	-	0.1	-	-	-	0.1	-	0.98	-	3
Japan (including Korea, Kwantung. Manchuko and Pacific Mandates)	4.9	2.2	4.0	0.9	1.4	1.1	-	-	1.1	5.3	2.6	0.2	5.8	17.2	1.4	0.1	13.5	-	3.43	0.1
China	1.1	0.2	-	0.2	5.7	0.2	-	-	0.8	0.6	-	0.2	0.7	-	-	-	-	-	0.54	-
Latin America	0.3	1.4	21.8	16.4	17.8	10.2	0.1	0.2	6.0	7.6	5.3	3.6	0.7	-	-	-	-	-	5.08	15.3
																			89.86 %		193.2

Allied and Axis Crude Oil Production in the Second World War (m. metric tons)

Nation / Year	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	TOTAL
U.S.A.	?	?	?	183.9	199.6	222.5	227.2	833.2
USSR	?	?	33.0	22.0	18.0	18.2	19.4	110.6
UK	?	11.9	13.9	11.2	15.8	21.4	16.6	90.8
Canada	1.0	1.1	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.1	8.4
Germany (exludes imports, includes synthetic production)	3.1	4.8	5.7	6.6	7.6	5.6	?	33.4
Italy	?	0.01	0.12	0.01	0.01	?	?	0.17
Hungary	?	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.8	1.0	?	3.2
Rumania	?	5.0	5.5	5.7	5.3	3.5	?	25.0
Japan	?	?	?	1.8	2.3	1.0	0.1	5.2

Oil and petroleum supply of Germany in the Second World War

Annual German oil production by source, and consumption (in 1,000 metric trons):

Year	Home Crude	Home Synthetic	Import	Total	Consumption
1939	888	2,200	5,165	8,353	?
1940	1,465	3,348	2,075	6,888	5,856
1941	1,562	4,116	2,807	8,485	7,305
1942	1,686	4,920	2,359	8,965	6,483
1943	1,883	5,748	2,766	10,497	6,971
1944	1,681	3,962	961	6,504	?

German production and consumption of aviation petroleum (in 1,000 metric tons):

Year	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945
Production	?	643	889	1,370	1,788	998	?
Imports	?	78 + 275 captured	21	102	129	107	?
TOTAL	?	966	910	1,472	1,917	1,105	12
Consumption	?	863	1,274	1,426	1,825	1,403	114
Stocks end of year	511	613	254	324	440	146	-

German production and consumption of motor petroleum (in 1,000 metric tons):

Year	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945
Production	?	1,138	1,160	1,002	1,133	935	?
Imports	?	683 + 309 captured	1,124	1,021	804	542	?
TOTAL	?	2,130	2,284	2,023	1,937	1,477	139
Consumption	?	1,811	2,504	2,089	2,101	1,805	?
Stocks end of year	280	599	379	313	436	118	-

German production and consumption of Diesel oil (in 1,000 metric tons):

Year	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945
Production	?	781	1.114	1.285	1.358	889	?
Imports	?	501 + 200 captured	612	208	435	371	?
TOTAL	?	1.482	1.726	1.493	1.793	1.260	180
Consumption	?	1.335	1.856	1.519	1.744	1.435	?
Stocks end of year	150	296	164	138	244	121	-