As the 1960s ended, the Seven Sisters -- the major oil companies -- controlled 85 percent of the world's oil reserves. Today, they control a mere 10 percent.

New territory is needed to satisfy their lust for oil and power, and the Sister's gaze turns towards Africa. With "peak oil," wars in the Middle East, and the rise in crude prices...Africa becomes the oil giants' new battleground.

The real story, the secret story of oil, actually begins far from Africa.

In their bid to dominate Africa, the Sisters installed a king in Libya, a dictator in Gabon, fought the nationalisation of oil resources in Algeria, and through corruption, war and assassinations, brought Nigeria to its knees.

Oil may be flowing into the holds of huge tankers, but in Lagos, petrol shortages are chronic.

The country's four refineries are obsolete and the continent's main oil exporter is forced to import refined petrol - a paradox that reaps fortunes for a handful of oil companies.

Encouraged by the companies, corruption has become a system of government - some $50bn are estimated to have 'disappeared' out of the $350bn received since independence.

But new players have now joined the great oil game.

China, with its growing appetite for energy, has found new friends in Sudan, and the Chinese builders have moved in. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is proud of his co-operation with China - a dam on the Nile, roads, and stadiums.

"Everybody thought there could be oil in Sudan but nobody knew anything. It was revealed through exploration by the American company Chevron, towards the end of the 70s. And that was the beginning of the second civil war, which went on until 2002. It lasted for 19 years and cost a million and a half lives and the oil business was at the heart of it."

- Gerard Prunier, a historian

To be able to export half a million barrels of oil a day from the oil fields in the South, China financed and built the Heglig pipeline connected to Port Sudan. Now South Sudan's precious black crude is shipped through North Sudan to Chinese ports.

And in a bid to secure the oil supplies out of Libya, the US, the UK and the Seven Sisters made peace with formerly shunned Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, until he was killed during the Libyan uprising of 2011. The flow of Libyan oil, however, remains uninterrupted.

Desperately needing funds for rebuilding efforts, Libya is now back to pumping over a million barrels of oil per day. And the Sisters are happy to oblige.

On Tuesday, watch for parts three and four. Or of course, you can view them all at Al Jazeera.

Thousands of Occupy Oakland Protesters succeed in shutting down the Oakland Port in December of last year. The Oakland Port is the 5th busiest in the United States.

Not surprising that the FBI was keeping close tabs on Occupy Oakland last year, but documents obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show agents were particularly interested in planned protests to shutdown West Coast ports.

Via:

The FBI kept a watchful eye on the local Occupy movement last year, especially while it was planning protests to shutdown West Coast ports, according to documents obtained by the ACLU of Northern California.

The 13 pages, obtained in a public record request, include FBI reports on Occupy protests in Oakland, a Jan. 27 meeting on how to deal with a possible Occupy Oakland action the following day at the Oakland International Airport, and an FBI alert to private corporate security officials before the attempted shutdown of the Port of Oakland on Dec. 12.

More troubling to the ACLU is that the bureau has refused to release an additional 24 pages of documents it acknowledges having, citing the need to protect confidential informants and protect national security.

"What we are really interested in finding out is why Occupy rises to that level," said ACLU attorney Linda Lye. "The bottom line issue for us is Occupy is a political activist organization, and the FBI has a history of surveilling political activists."

According to Lye, the ACLU suspects the FBI has far more documents than they have acknowledged regarding the local Occupy movement, and will continue efforts to obtain those reports.

Official trailer for the documentary film "Occupy the Bay."

“Occupy the Bay” is a documentary video project directed by Jonathan Riley and produced by Kevin Pina/Long Memory Productions. The one-hour documentary chronicles the local incarnation of the Occupy Movement, which officially started in September 2011 on Wall St., and then spread across the country and continues today. Rather than aiming to define the scope of the entire Occupy Movement, to create a one-sentence slogan articulating its goals, or to abstractly discuss its impact on the “national conversation,” this film focuses more specifically on events in the Bay Area and their impact. From Occupy Oakland’s port shutdowns and controversial decision to embrace a “diversity of tactics,” to police brutality that has attracted attention nationally and worldwide, this movie deals with the unique factors that have made the story of the Occupy Movement in the San Francisco Bay Area what it is today.

Occupy Oakland and the Art Beat Foundation recently held a successful fundraiser screening of "Occupy the Bay," so stayed tuned here for updates on public release locations and dates of the full documentary.

"Occupy the Bay" chronicles the Oakland incarnation of the Occupy Movement and focuses on events in the Bay Area and their impact. From Occupy Oakland's port shutdowns and controversial decision to embrace a "diversity of tactics," to police brutality that has attracted attention nationally and worldwide, this movie deals with the unique factors that have made the story of the Occupy Movement in the San Francisco Bay Area what it is today.

Occupy the Bay is a not-for profit documentary video project directed by Jonathan Riley and produced by Kevin Pina/Long Memory Productions.

Filmmakers: LongMemory Productions