Investigating the role of petroleum in East Asia from 1880 to 2008, this book uniquely considers the industry from a multinational international perspective. Covering issues of security, conflict, development and environment, this book outlines and examines key areas, such as:

• the origins of the international petroleum industry in East Asia during the late nineteenth century
• the increasing demand for petroleum in the first decades of the twentieth century
• the role of petroleum in major international crises
• the Western and Japanese post-war plans for rebuilding the oil industries of East Asian countries
• important post-war episodes including China's development of its petroleum sector with technical and financial assistance from the Western powers, the increasingly lucrative Indonesian petroleum industry and Jakarta's decision to invade oil-rich East Timor in 1975
• the evolution of East Asia's petroleum industry as the Cold War ended and the world began to adopt free trade more fully
• East Asia's role in resolving both the growing international energy and environmental pollution problems in the age of globalization.

This is an important resource for understanding contemporary energy markets and the political and economic affairs of the region today.