How to make the development and use of Steam Engines preferred over that of Combustion Engines?

Intro: I have gone some way to make airships more preferable over land-based transport in my beautiful conworld. E.g. making tunneling harder & making flying easier. Though there's plenty left to do...

For now I would like to address one of the bigger issues/themes of my creation: The usage of steam power in machinery and vehicles.

Setting: The world at its current state is a mix of Victorian Era society and Interwar Era technology.
Electricity is only slowly coming up so far and is mostly used as a novelty for e.g. telegraphing, heliographing, illuminating airships, treating materials, ...).
Normal households use fueled stoves and city lights are often gas-powered nowadays.

Goal: I am aiming to drive most of the machines that do actual work (e.g. drive/propel vehicles, produce electricity, move crankshafts, etc.) as well as things such as heating to be steam-based/powered.

As an explanation for the technological advance and widespread use in/of steam-technology in one of my nations/regions I am going to use the fact that there's hindrances preventing them from actually making good use out of combustion-technology.

Q: What are these hindrances that make the development and use of steam engines preferable over that of combustion engines?

My own ideas into that direction were mainly to make crude oil a very limited resource for the areas where this nation resides at, thus making it expensive and unappealing for using it as a common fuel. Instead I would've made wood, coal, peat and, of course, whale oil more readily available resources.
Thus, my thoughts go, the non-fluid fuels would still provide lots of energy when burned, but cannot be as easily used in an ICE.

Clarifications:
This question is looking for answers that leverage concepts and materials that actually exist.
This question is looking for answers that explain the whys and hows behind their proposed solutions. This question is not looking for more phlebotinum.
This question is not looking for lists of ideas without explanations.

posted over 7 years ago

dot_Sp0T‭

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