Nordhausen the Augustines, Franciscans and Dominicans. Agriculture plays an important role to the present day. Approximately 57% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use. Cereals from the region are used in the making of a famous local spirit, the "Nordhäuser Korn". Historically, sulfuric acid produced by the distillation of green vitriol (iron(II) sulfate) was known as Nordhausen oil of vitriol. The primary industry of Nordhausen is in the production of heavy machinery. The region had a factory for the production of rail engines until 1942. Later the region's plants produced truck motors, augers and excavators. Today, engineering is still the
Nationalization of oil supplies the control of the oil within their country. Furthermore, technological innovation and managerial expertise increased dramatically after World War II, which increased the bargaining power of producing countries. Increased bargaining power allowed the companies to change their mode of operation. Stephen J. Kobrin states that “During the interwar period and through the 1950s, international petroleum was a very tight oligopoly dominated by seven major international oil companies (Exxon, Shell, BP, Gulf, Texaco, Mobil and Chevron—as they are known today). However, between 1953 and 1972 more than three hundred private firms and fifty state-owned firms entered the industry, drawn by the