Production of oil in western Europe increased from approximately 11,000,000 barrels in 1949 to more than 14,000,000 barrels in 1950. A major development in 1950 was the discovery of an oil field in the Aquitanian basin of southern France, which has already doubled the modest production of that country. Potential gas production in Italy has increased greatly. Germany and the Netherlands registered an increase in production. Great Britain's production remained unchanged.

In western Europe, active exploration for oil was carried on in Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Wildcat drilling in Denmark was resumed, and in northern Germany exploration with the seismic-reflection method was intensified. The first deep test since the war, and the first reflection-seismic survey, were begun in the Molasse (Tertiary) basin of southern Germany. No first-hand information is available from eastern Europe.