Energy became a dominant industry after Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in Pennsylvania (1859). Soon after, Standard Oil built one of history’s most powerful industrial empires by controlling refining, transport, and pricing.

Later, oil-rich regions in the Middle East reshaped geopolitics, while coal and electricity fueled factories and cities.

Why it mattered

• Enabled transportation, manufacturing, and electrification
• Defined modern geopolitics
• Created vast infrastructure networks

Strategic lessons from energy

• Infrastructure dominance (pipelines, grids, refineries)
• Long-term capital investment
• Control of distribution

Today, this sector is rapidly shifting toward renewables — but the same infrastructure logic still applies.

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Origins: Italy (Florence), Netherlands, United Kingdom