Black Gold

How has the discovery of oil affected the region of the Middle

East and its people?

Where does oil come from???

Oil comes from underneath the ocean and is formed when animals die and enormous heat and pressure turn them into oil and gas over

MILLIONS of years.

So, is all of the world’s oil in the Middle East?

From what we have already learned, which countries do you think has the most oil reserves?

• Iraq• Iran• Kuwait• Syria• Saudi Arabia • United Arab Emirates• Egypt• Yemen• Oman

Rank Country Proved reserves (bbls)1. Saudi Arabia 264.3

2. Canada 178.8

3. Iran 132.5

4. Iraq 115.0

5. Kuwait 101.5

6. United Arab Emirates 97.8

7. Venezuela 79.7

8. Russia 60.0

9. Libya 39.1

10. Nigeria 35.9

11. United States 21.4

12. China 18.3

13. Qatar 15.2

14. Mexico 12.9

15. Algeria 11.4

16. Brazil 11.2

17. Kazakhstan 9.0

18. Norway 7.7

19. Azerbaijan 7.0

20. India 5.8

Why don’t we use our own oil??

• The amount of crude oil produced in the United States has been getting smaller each year.   However, the use of products made from crude oil has been growing, making it necessary to bring more oil from other countries.  We do not produce enough to meet our demand. About 59.5 percent of the crude oil and petroleum products used in the United States comes from other countries.

So, why don’t we use our own oil?

When was oil discovered in the Middle East?

For seven years, William D'Arcy drilled well after well in Persia, now known as Iran,

looking for oil. With his funding running low, and his employers getting quite impatient,

D'Arcy drilled one last well and hit a gusher on May 26, 1908. The rest is history.

.

T/F With the discovery of oil came instant wealth.

• Six years after the discovery of vast oil reserves in the Middle East, Darcy’s oil Company almost went out of business. Why?

• Lack of customers. At this time in history, only ships and electric power plants ran on coal, and cars were owned only by those with significant wealth.

• Winston Churchill saw the value of running ships on oil and WWI changed the demand for petroleum.

Car Trivia

• By the 1920’s cars become common place for the average working man.

• Henry Ford’s Model T become one of the first affordable automobiles. As technology improved, the price continued to drop

Today$2800

Today $20,000

Today

• The WORLD WIDE demand for oil is HIGH! – Transportation– Power Plants burn oil and Natural gas to

generate electricity– Plastics, medicines, fertilizer, carpet, and

thousands of other goods.

So what is OPEC? Copy to Notes

• In 1960, an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed. This group added new members over time, and today they are able to control the price of the world’s oil. They sought to control the production, distribution, price, and quantity of petroleum available to the world.

Middle East Members•Iraq•Kuwait•Saudi Arabia•Qatar •UAE•Iran•Algeria •Libya

Other Memebers: •Indonesia •Nigeria •Gabon •Angola

With so many countries having oil, how much power does OPEC

really have??

Copy to notes

How has the distribution of oil effected the development of

the Middle East? • Oil money has allowed:

– The development of NEW industries– Improved infrastructure: roads, housing, communication– Better schools– Improved Healthcare – Money to improve agriculture

• The overall standard of living has improved in the oil rich nations of the Middle East

Before Oil

Dubai Qatar

Nomadic Lifestyle

After Oil

However….

• In some cases, oil money is used for personal gain, and evil. Muammar Gaddfi: Dictator of

Libya 1969- 2011. Lived a lifestyle of wealth while the Libyan people often did not even have running

water.

Saddam Hussein: Dictator of Iraq 1979 – 2003.

Spent oil money on weapons and war, not to improve the

life of the Iraqi people.

Copy to notes Negative Impacts of Oil

• Causes major conflicts. Many wars have been fought over oil in the Middle East– Persian Gulf War

• Pollution– Drilling often lead to pollution, including water

pollution– Iraq used pollution as strategy for fighting

• Oil money had been used to fund war and/or terrorism

Mad Money in Dubai…

World’s Tallest Building Twice the size of the Empire

States Building

Indoor Ski Slope

Most Expensive Hotel in the world

Man Made Islands

Money to the Extreme..

United Arab Emirates

Dubai

Click here to see video clip