Oil in Southwest Asia: How “Black Gold” Has Shaped a Region Chapter 24 Oil in Southwest Asia: How “Black Gold” Has Shaped a Region

Introduction State: A political unit that controls a particular territory Nomads: A person who wanders place to place Oil reserves: Underground oil that has been discovered but remains unused Natural gas: Gas within the Earth’s crust. Crust: The outer layer of the Earth Region: An area defined by one or more natural or cultural characteristics that set it apart from other areas

The Geographic Setting SW Asia lies at the crossroads of three continents: Europe Africa Asia Oil: Southwest Asia’s Hidden Treasure Crude oil: Another name for petroleum as it is found in the ground Developed countries: A wealthy country with an advanced economy. Have many industries and provide a comfortable way of life for most of their people

Oil: Southwest Asia’s Hidden Treasure cont’d Nonrenewable resources: Resources that are in limited supply Renewable resources: Resources that will not run out or that can be replaced Geothermal energy: Heat from the center of the Earth

Many Ethnic Groups, One Major Religion Ethnic groups: A group of people in a country who share a unique culture and identity Kurds (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran) Persians (Iran) Islam is the most important religion in Southwest Asia Israel is the only country in the region that does not have a Muslim majority

The Geology and Geography of Oil Oil Was Formed Millions of Years Ago

Oil is Found in Pockets Deep in the Earth A lot of the world’s oil lies buried under Southwest Asia Millions of years ago, this area was under water Movement of the Earth’s crust Tectonic plates collide, creating pockets where oil can form Oil Is Not Distributed Equally Saudi Arabia is the largest country in this region Has the most oil

Distribution of Oil cont’d Kuwait (tiny country) Holds 1/10 of the world’s known oil reserves Other countries, like Syria and Yemen have less oil, but still have more than most other countries

Oil Wealth and People’s Well-Being Saudi Arabia’s royal family very rich from oil $185 million preparing the Marbella, Spain palace for their visit Daily flower delivery ($1,500 for each day’s flowers) Oil Has Made Many People Better Off Life expectancy: The average age that a person in a given population can expect to live to. Varies from one country to another. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A measure of the goods and services produced by a country each year

Oil Has Made Many People Better Off cont’d Per capita GDP: Measure the average income of the people in a country. Per Capita GDP Does Not Tell the Whole Story Human Development Index (HDI) Looks at a country’s per capita GDP along with other factors that reflect quality of life. Infant Mortality Rate: Number of deaths of babies under age 1 per 1,000 births in a year

Oil Has Not Improved Life for All Yemen One of the 20 poorest countries in the world Population about 80% as large as Saudi Arabia’s Oil reserves are about 1% the size of Saudi Arabia Oil-Exporting Countries: Working to Control the Price of Oil The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): An organization formed to ensure a steady flow of money to come back into the participating countries 11 member countries, 6 from SW Asian countries Includes Venezuela, Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Indonesia

Oil-Importing Countries: Working to Protect the Flow of Oil Countries depend on the flow of oil from SW Asia to fuel their economies

Global Connections What energy sources is the world using to meet most of its energy needs? What do they have in common? Why isn’t the world getting more of its energy from renewable resources? How might having renewable energy resources affect a region in the future?