THE FRENCH CAPITAL IN THE OIL INDUSTRY OF GALICIA DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to elucidate the French capital involvement in the oil industry of Galicia during the interwar period, to highlight the activities of the French oil companies. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of historicism, logic, scientific objectivity in analysis of the past, a critical attitude to available sources, in particular reports and minutes of meetings of the French oil companies, notes placed in the columns of specialized magazines. General scientific (analysis, abstraction, synthesis, generalization) and special historical methods (historical genetic, historical typological, historical systemic, comparative historical, methods of statistical analysis) have been used. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the French capital impact on the oil industry development in the interwar Galicia has not been considered until nowadays comprehensively. Mostly, the scholars on the history of the oil business only mentioned the dominance of the French in the industry, listed their oil companies. Piotr Franaszek was the one and the only scholar, who did more research into the history of “Dąbrowa” and “Małopolska” concerns. Conclusions. The French capitals gained an advantage in the industry, as a result of the ownership rights settlement to oil facilities in Eastern Galicia after World War I. The French bankers took over most of the oil companies owned by the the Austrians and the Germans before the war. The policy of the Polish government helped them in this. The French created a series of firms that grew by buying up oil wells, warehouses, and oil refineries. As a result, the French took over half of the entire oil industry of Galicia. The French oil companies were particularly interested in making quick profits in the 1920s, hence, they were poorly managed, and invested little in modernizing their enterprises. Consequently, some of the companies were on the brink of bankruptcy at the end of the 1920s. At the same time, they tried to ensure the entire production cycle – oil extraction, its processing and sale. Owing to the Polish government support and the French firms unification into large concerns, it was possible to get out of the crisis. As a result, the French capital in the oil industry of Galicia was concentrated in two companies,which were called “Halychyna” and “Małopolska”. They influenced significantly the state of affairs in the industry before World War II broke out.