The hydrocarbon past, present, and future of Romania—the world's first oil producer

‘Propitious contrast’: Romanian borrowing in a Balkan mirror, 1878–1913

“…Furthermore, as Figure 3 also suggests, Romania had plentiful access to raw materials, which creditors are likely to have seen as a potential source of reimbursement in the case of default. Indeed, the first oil production anywhere was officially recorded in 1857 in Romania and by 1900 it was the third largest oil producer in the world, with an annual production of 1.9 million barrels (Dicea and Enachescu 2000). Clemens and Williamson (2004) stressed the role of supply and demand for capital for British lending patterns, and demonstrate that British capital exports went to countries with abundant natural resources, as well as a supply of labour and human capital to exploit them, that is areas with plenty of immigrants, and young, educated urban populations 15 .…”

FDI in Bulgaria and Romania in the Wake of EU Accession

“…In particular, the heyday of Romanian oil is over. Back in 1900, Romania was the third largest oil producer and one of the largest exporters of the world (Dicea and Enachescu, 2000). Indeed, oil production had been started in Romania one year earlier (in 1857) than in Ontario, Canada, and two years before the discovery in Pennsylvania, United States (Yergin, 1991).…”

“…For Romania we do not have similar all-encompassing data. One indication on the extent of FDI is that during the golden age of oil in the late 19th and early 20th century, the overwhelming majority of extraction was carried out by foreign firms (Dicea and Enachescu, 2000).…”