Middle east Oil

Facts about volume of oil exported

- The Middle East represents 65% of world oil reserves and is the most important
exporter of oil in the world. Currently, 60% of exports from the Middle East are
destined for Asian markets.

- The amount of oil produced in the middle east (2018):

- The amount of oil exported in the middle east (2018):

 - The amount of oil imported in the middle east (2018):

The countries it exported to

- The middle east export 13.9 million barrels of oil a day, that’s 2209923399.5 litres of
oil!
- It is exported to mainly Asian countries.

The impact this has had on the region

- Oil sales have created immense wealth and boosted the economy in countries such
as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait. Millions of people in these and other parts of
the Middle East have homes, jobs and education as a direct result of oil.

- In the Middle East, oil contributed to the geopolitical attractions drawing imperialist
powers to the region. But it also eased the eventual transition from colonialism to
national independence for many states.

Why is oil there in the first place?

In March of 1908, after years of difficult conditions and failure, geologist George Bernard
Reynolds discovered oil in Persia (modern-day Iran).
A year later, an oil company in the UK, Burmah Oil, created a subsidiary company to develop
oil production in Persia, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), which started volume
production of oil by 1913.
Britain’s Royal Navy was under the leadership of Winston Churchill, who wanted to shift its
fuel source from coal to oil. The Navy thus became the company’s major customer and a de
facto hidden power behind its success.
Iranian popular opposition to the APOC’s royalty terms whereby Iran only received 16% of
net profits was widespread and created political discontent throughout the country.
In 1941, during World War II, Britain and the USSR invaded Iran, exiled Reza Shah, and put
his son, Reza Pahlavi, who was friendlier to their interests, onto the throne.
Following WWII, nationalistic sentiments were on the rise in the Middle East, most notably
in Iran, and the Iranian parliament voted to nationalize the oil industry; at the same time,
the public elected Mohammed Mossadegh as Prime Minister, causing the Abadan Crisis.
Britain was unable to subvert Mossadegh, so British and American intelligence agencies
orchestrated a coup d’état to overthrow him and bring Reza Pahlavi back onto the throne.
By 1954, now with a pro-Western leader in place, oil production started again under the
control of a new cartel named the “Seven Sisters,” completely based outside the Middle
East.