Oil, Gas, and More

3 thoughts on “Oil, Gas, and More”

1. The following passage from Ahmad's narrative illustrates one of the significant social transformations associated with the oil industry in the Middle East: "The whole of Gulf society changed in the 1950s with the advent of the age of oil. . . . Manual labor was carried out by immigrant workers€”Palestinians, Egyptians, Kurds, Baluch, Afghans, etc. Such labor, never highly respected in the region, became despised, as it was increasingly associated with low-status outsiders." One of the points outlined in chapter 8 of the eBook concerns the migration of laborers from the "non-oil economies" such as Jordan and Yemen AR to the "oil economies" (among them Ahmad's homeland of Kuwait). This trend resembles the so-called "feminization of migration," i.e. the increasing migration of female laborers from developing countries like Sri Lanka and the Philippines to wealthier countries including the United States. Both migration patterns stem from similar push and pull factors, such as a shortage of opportunities for traditional employment in debt-burdened counties forced to comply with strict IMF policy regulations. For countries on the sending end of "the maid trade," it has been suggested that their citizens are their primary export, leaving behind a withering domestic infrastructure and establishing economic dependency on income from remittances. In the Middle East, this dependency is even more complex and carries with it other social and political implications. For those countries sending workers to answer the demand for low-status labor in oil-wealthy economies, establishing dependency on remittances and the decline of the national infrastructure often pose significant threats. For the primary oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, a lack of diversification could limit the opportunities of both the government and the people for seeking alternatives. As dependence on foreign imports of agricultural goods becomes more unattractive, attempts to address constraints on domestic agriculture (often based on physical geography) bring to bear environmental concerns that are becoming increasingly relevant for countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. Should social, political, economic, or environmental factors lead to a negative supply shock or otherwise cause unwanted fluctuations in the oil industry, social and class structures that have adjusted to accommodate the current situation could be drastically altered. Such fluctuations might also have negative effects on political stability and aggravate tensions on all sides.

2. The presence of oil, perhaps the most highly sought after commodity in history, in the Middle East has been one of the most defining features for the region, influencing regional political, social, economic, and cultural issues. As we learned in our class discussion, Kuwait may not even exist as an independent country if it weren’t for American political interest in maintaining control of the oil reserves in the region. Also, as we recently pointed out our current events discussion in class, the lack of oil in certain middle eastern regions has allowed individual countries, such as Bahrain, to fill in the gaps in industry that exist from the vast majority of counties choosing to focus solely on oil production. This will create many social incentives to move to Bahrain in search of new jobs. One of the most important cultural impacts of the spread of the oil industry has been international exposure to the Middle East. Before the discovery of oil and other natural resources in this area, the vast majority of the world paid little attention to Middle Eastern affairs. A number of social impacts have arisen directly from the economic stimulation resulting from the oil industry as well. Increasingly more sophisticated infrastructure systems are being constructed to create easier access to oil field sites, benefiting the ordinary citizens of the country as well. Other social impacts stemming directly from the oil economy include “industrialization programs, agricultural development, services and the welfare state” (eBook198). Also, the overall rise in the standard of living in every country claiming an oil economy has been apparent and extensive. Unfortunately, the oil industry has had nothing but negative impacts on Middle Eastern physical geography and the environment. The direct environmental impacts are the worst – the Kuwait War is perhaps the best example of this. When Iraqi forces set fire to 789 individual Kuwaiti oil wells, the ecological landscape of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf was irrevocably damaged due to the destruction unleashed by the burning oil wells, and it may be generations before this environment is restored to its pre-war balance. Burning oil created soot and ash which contaminated the atmosphere and water in the area. Weather patterns carried the ash plume hundreds of miles as well. Hundreds of miles of the Kuwaiti desert were left uninhabitable, due to the accumulation of oil lakes and of soot from the burning wells. Thousands of migratory birds that spend time in the gulf waters each year died as a result of the polluted air and water. The fishing industry was also vastly affected by contaminated waters. Second hand environmental affects of the oil industry can also be calculated. Increasing standards of living and increased GDP lead to increased urbanization and irrigation which in the fragile desert landscape which characterizes much of the Middle East can be very dangerous.

3. A focus on the mass production of oil struck the Middle East in the mid twentieth century. Countries with high concentrations of crude oil reaped immediate benefits from its global economic demand. Humankind's increasing dependence on this major source of energy has dictated that oil-rich regions, especially the Middle East, specialize in its production and exportation.

   The obvious economic impacts to the region are, in fact, linked to more pressing consequences of the region's dependence on oil production. These problems are rooted in the very idea of dependence on oil. Countries that have natural deposits of petroleum are favored by actors of the international economy, and are granted much investment in their domestic production capabilities by wealthy nations. Middle Eastern countries experience spillover benefits from this type of investment; increased designation of funds to agricultural development, welfare services, and infrastructure is occurrent. Despite the rise in the standard of living in some nations, the economic €˜modernization' of the Middle East is not balanced. Even countries that are capable of oil production, such as Yemen, face mounting difficulties as they compete with rich countries like Saudi Arabia.

   For true economic development to take place, infrastructure (on all levels) must be built slowly and appropriately. A common occurrence in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries which have benefited disproportionately from other nations is hyper-urbanization. Consider, for example, the modern city Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. It is the epitome of the Western model of economic modernization applied in an inappropriate region. Dubai is environmentally unsuitable for skyscrapers and lush green lawns, but its wealth originally garnered from oil exportation has made the sky the limit. Aside from environmental issues, the political consequences of an oil dependent economy in the Middle East is evidenced by the warfare and turmoil that plagues the region. Even if the Iraq war was purely a stride to support democracy and topple oppressive regimes and terrorism, the conclusion that the world's most powerful nations are resource hungry is no understatement.

   The Middle East has been thrown into an economic framework that is too rapid; there has not been enough time to allow balances in the region to occur naturally.

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