<Tr> <Td> 1906 </Td> <Td> 126,493,936 barrels (~ 1.726 × 10 ^ t) </Td> </Tr> <P> By 1910, significant oil fields had been discovered in the Dutch East Indies (1885, in Sumatra), Persia (1908, in Masjed Soleiman), Peru (1863, in Zorritos District), Venezuela (1914, in Maracaibo Basin), and Mexico, and were being developed at an industrial level . Significant oil fields were exploited in Alberta (Canada) from 1947 . First offshore oil drilling at Oil Rocks (Neft Dashlari) in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan eventually resulted in a city built on pylons in 1949 . Availability of oil and access to it, became of "cardinal importance" in military power before and after World War I, particularly for navies as they changed from coal, but also with the introduction of motor transport, tanks and airplanes . Such thinking would continue in later conflicts of the twentieth century, including World War II, during which oil facilities were a major strategic asset and were extensively bombed . In 1938, vast reserves of oil were discovered in the Al - Ahsa region along the coast of the Persian Gulf . </P> <P> Until the mid-1950s coal was still the world's foremost fuel, but after this time oil quickly took over . Later, following the 1973 and 1979 energy crises, there was significant media coverage on the subject of oil supply levels . This brought to light the concern that oil is a limited resource that will eventually run out, at least as an economically viable energy source . Although at the time the most common and popular predictions were quite dire, a period of increased production and reduced demand in the following years caused an oil glut in the 1980s . This was not to last, however, and by the first decade of the 21st century discussions about peak oil had returned to the news . </P> <P> Today, about 90% of vehicular fuel needs are met by oil . Petroleum also makes up 40% of total energy consumption in the United States, but is responsible for only 2% of electricity generation . Petroleum's worth as a portable, dense energy source powering the vast majority of vehicles and as the base of many industrial chemicals makes it one of the world's most important commodities . </P>

Name the three ancient cultures that first discovered and used oil