Encounter Group #18 Oilers
 

Name: Oilers
Geographical Location: 10
H&M Average:7
H&M Range 3-14
Number found : 1-100
Tech Level: B
Power / Resources : Oil based, gasoline, some electricity / Oil
Weapons: Good firearms of all types, some explosives.
Special Attributes: Available petroleum products.
These people gained control of the few surviving oil fields immediately after the war. They use the oil as trade goods and for their own needs. Their installations are well defended and they are wary of strangers.
This should be a political and economic power house in the game. Everybody needs these guys. Truckers need them for fuel and lubricants, any group doing using or trying to use modern agricultural techniques need these guys for fertilizers and pesticides. Think of all the plastic derivatives made from oil. The Lone Star State and the Kentucky Free States must trade with them by necessity. The Oilers must be able to demand and get modern weapons and other manufactured goods from the KFS because their product is so valuable. Sure the KFS can produce oil from Pennsylvania, and kerosene from coal, but can they in the quantity and quality to feed their military campaigns and other ambitions.
Oilers are the key. With the Oilers as the Projects allies the reconstruction is real.

There is one other possibility for this group. IF you have a surviving University that can build a coal refining set up that can produce diesel. (Germany did this in WWII. The entire Wermacht ran on this distilled fuel.)

This could be the source of fuel for KFS, and others that have any kind of surviving internal combustion engine.

My $0.02

Mike

Fischer - Tropsch process

That would be this process. Interestingly a process in use today in South Africa.